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Program environments of self-help agencies for persons with mental disabilities
S P Segal1, C Silverman, T Temkin
1Center for Self-Help Research, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA.
Journal of Mental Health Administration
|November 19, 1997
Summary
Self-help agencies (SHAs) align with leader ideals, offering consumers involvement, support, and autonomy. SHA consumers perceive greater control over program rules compared to community mental health agency (CMHA) consumers.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Services Research
- Consumer-Directed Care Models
- Program Environment Evaluation
Background:
- Self-help agencies (SHAs) aim to provide distinct program environments compared to traditional community mental health agencies (CMHAs).
- Understanding consumer perceptions of SHA environments is crucial for validating leader aspirations and identifying unique service delivery characteristics.
- Previous research suggests perceived control over program rules is linked to positive outcomes in mental health services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if consumer perceptions of self-help agency (SHA) environments align with the ideal characteristics envisioned by agency leaders.
- To compare program environment perceptions between consumers of self-help agencies (SHAs) and community mental health agencies (CMHAs).
Main Methods:
- A national survey of 189 SHA leaders assessed expectations of ideal SHA environments.
- Interviews with 310 SHA consumers and questionnaires from 779 CMHA consumers (across 54 programs) gathered perceptions of actual program environments.
- The Community-Oriented Program Environment Scale (COPES) was utilized for data collection.
Main Results:
- SHA consumer perceptions largely matched leader expectations, indicating successful implementation of involvement, support, and autonomy within SHA services.
- While relationship and treatment characteristics showed minor differences, SHA consumers reported significantly higher perceived control over program rules than CMHA consumers.
- The observed differences in perceived control align with prior findings linking this factor to improved consumer outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Self-help agencies (SHAs) effectively create program environments that embody consumer-centered values like involvement, support, and autonomy.
- Enhanced consumer control over program rules in SHAs represents a key differentiator from community mental health agencies (CMHAs) and a potential driver of positive outcomes.
- Findings support the unique value proposition of SHAs in fostering empowering service environments for mental health consumers.