What do Women Want from Mental Health Services?

Abstract

21 on what they want from mental health services. However, this issue of ‘representativeness’ is one which has been addressed within the user movement for some years and, rightly, has not stopped the growing influence of users as a group. Given what is now known about user involvement within statutory services, this article does not intend to look in detail at how to involve women users — the issues are not dissimilar and could be tackled by any agency which has the will to truly consult its women users. It is this latter point which I would like to address, to make the case that women do have unique needs in relation to mental health care and to indicate to statutory agencies that distinct service responses are not only desirable but necessary, if local services are to be effective. By making the case and giving some examples as to how services could be developed to better meet women’s needs, I hope to show the value and possible outcomes of consulting separately with women. However, this article should start with an acknowledgement of the good practice that does exist. Good Practices in Mental Health4 has recently produced an excellent information pack on mental health services for women across the UK; this is a timely reminder that there is a wide range of services which do attempt to meet women’s mental health needs, although many of these are outside the statutory sector and those within it are on the margins of mainstream services and are not seen as central to local service provision. Most of the initiatives within the pack are led by — or are the result of — women users or women workers who have a particular interest in women’s issues; there are virtually no schemes initiated by purchasers who have identified gaps in service provision through local needs assessment. Helen Smith, Senior Consultant CMHSD