The state of knowledge of the effectiveness of consumer provided services

There is a mixed record of research on consumer delivered services. There has been a great deal of descriptive work that supports the feasibility of consumer provided services. Only a limited number of studies have been reported that focus on outcomes for people who receive services from consumers. This new literature is at a critical juncture. This paper examines the state of research on three types of consumer provided services-consumer operated services, consumer partnership services, and consumers as employees. All these service types include consumers as paid providers who deliver mental health services to others, not primarily for their own benefit. This excludes self-help programs. Research resources need to be focused less on consumer provided services as adjunctive to professional services and more on determining the effectiveness of stand-alone consumer provided services in order to develop evidence to influence policy decisions.