The effectiveness of services led or run by consumers in mental health: Rapid review of evidence for recovery-orientated outcomes

Recommendations of this report include the commissioning of a survey of consumer-operated services in Australia (similar to two conducted in the United States – Goldstrom et al 2006 and Ostrow et al 2014), to find out what is currently happening. Evaluation of existing services is also encouraged, with an emphasis on the kinds of outcomes that are meaningful to consumers. This will mean that consumers need to be involved in the research processes. Finally, it is also important that consumer-operated services that are particularly successful be encouraged to document what it is that they are doing well, to share their success stories and inspire others.