Page 38 - ENGLISH SPEAKING E-MODULE

Telling your story from a consumer perspective

Speaking in ways that support other consumers too Obviously we cannot (and don’t
wish to) dictate what you say and how you present your story. After all, your story is

your story. This is your view of the world. However, no story, no language, no

attempt to communicate, takes place in a political vacuum. Some consumer history
will give you a context to consumers telling their stories.

A bit of history
Twenty years ago, mental health consumers – those people that mental health services

are designed to serve – had very few chances to tell our stories publicly. Sometimes
our stories contributed to the education of mental health professionals but, typically, if

we were involved at all, we were wheeled in at the eleventh hour of the eleventh week

of an eleven-week course, and then wheeled out again, giving students time to talk
about and (sometimes) diagnose us afterwards!

This sort of scenario is now seen as abhorrent by many consumers and
unacceptable by academics and professionals in many disciplines, though it does still

happen sometimes.

In general, though, the territory has changed. We are no longer just stories

added in to illustrate content. There are now many consumers teaching clinicians,
defining our own roles, using ‘story’ when we choose, not using story at all if we

don’t want to, making decisions about curricula, marking assessments and

coordinating other consumers to teach particular sessions where they have greater
experience and expertise.

37