Commentary: listening to the message.

Abstract

The first-person accounts of c/s/x experiences with the mental health system have several common threads that run through them. These are: (1) labels are stigmatizing; (2) pathology-based models are destructive: (3) it is important to value individuality; (4) alternative treatments are valuable: (5) peer support and self-help are important; (6) therapist training must be reconsidered; and (7) services should be recovery-oriented. In order to be as helpful as possible, mental health professionals must enter into creative partnerships with those in the c/s/x movement, and must consider incorporating these issues in their own functioning and in the training of future professionals.