title: How people can benefit from mental health consumer-run organizations.
abstract: The goal of this study is to develop a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of the processes by which people can benefit from mental health consumer-run organizations (CROs). To accomplish this goal, the concept of roles is used to create a preliminary framework that draws connections between several established theoretical explanations. To ground theory development in empirical data, 194 CRO members from 20 CROs answered open-ended questions about what personal changes occurred as a result of their CRO involvement and what CRO participation experiences enabled personal change. Data analysis led to the identification of 18 personal change categories and 7 experiences that led to change. These categories were integrated into the preliminary theoretical framework, which needed to be extended to accommodate all categories. While inevitably tentative, the final conceptualization provides a more comprehensive understanding of the processes by which people can benefit from CRO participation.
authors.affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University, 135 E. Nittany Avenue, Suite 402, State College, PA 16801, USA. ldb12@psu.edu
authors.forename: Louis D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003255:Consumer Organizations / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult