Shared Decision-Making in Mental Health Care - SAMHSA Store ...

110What is the role of the professional? If the goal of SDM is to help enable mentalhealth consumers to be true collaborators in decisions about their own lives, theprofessional’s role is to offer support to that end by:• Welcoming and inviting participation. Consumers need to feel empowered tobe part of the decision-making process; professionals can help them build confidenceas they take on new roles.• Providing information. Mental health consumers often lack adequate informationabout potential benefits, risks, side effects, and alternatives to make fullyinformed decisions. DAs can clearly offer such information. The professionalcan offer DAs at the appropriate time, help interpret them, and ensure that theconsumer understands their relevance to his or her life.• Offering suggestions about both the process itself and the decision. Professionalscan guide consumers through the collaborative process. It is importantfor case managers and clinicians to provide neutral information, both in theform of DAs and in face-to-face interaction with consumers. These individualscan also present their own opinions and values, based on their professionalknowledge and experience, within the context of a process that is structured toprovide balanced information and that fully supports the consumer as a peerto the professional.What might encourage professionals to offer DAs to consumers? The effort to trainconsumers needs to be balanced by an effort to train providers. Providers may beexpected to need help in developing collaborative approaches to care and in understandingthat DAs have potential value not only for consumers but also for themselves.Although not confirmed by data in this writing, providers who encourageSDM believe that a consumer who is actively involved in decision-making is morelikely to follow through with treatment, especially over the period of time neededfor recovery from mental illnesses. An informed consumer, these providers believe,is more likely to recognize the benefits of a potential intervention, more alert to sideeffects, and more inclined to perceive what a particular treatment can and cannotaccomplish. Providers may need help understanding how best to work with consumerson SDM.What are some of the special considerations that must be taken into account forpoor and minority group consumers? Seeking mental health treatment itself is ataboo in some minority cultures and in some communities mental illness may beequated with a character flaw or weakness. In addition, mistrust of the public mentalhealth system, experiences of discrimination, and discouragement by family andcommunity members (possibly including faith-based organizations) may deter somefrom seeking mental health care. When minorities do seek treatment, some reportdiscriminatory behaviors or a lack of genuine concern on the part of the staff, thusvalidating their earlier mistrust. Mental health centers may have few staff membersShared Decision-Making in Mental Health Care: Practice, Research, and Future Directions