Consumer Advisors

What is a consumer?

Consumer is a term that refers to anyone with personal experience of mental illness who has used mental health services.

Mind and Body employs a team of Consumer Advisors to provide specialist advice to Auckland District Health Board Mental Health Services from the perspective of people who experience mental illness. They are contracted to meet the Ministry of Health standard 2.5 of NZS 8134.1.2:2008: Consumers are involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation at all levels of the service to ensure services are responsive to the needs of individuals.

Consumer Advisors come from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicity, with a mixture of skills and qualifications. All have personal experience of mental illness. All have a sound knowledge of mental health services. And all have personal experience of recovery and maintaining wellness.

Key points of the role include:

• Consulting with people currently using Services to gather information about their experience of service use.
• Advising mental health management on service planning, project and other activities that relate to service development and review.
• Assisting with the interviewing of prospective staff.
• Helping to ensure services provided are client centered and recovery focused.
• Providing information and orientation for mental health staff.

Mind and Body Consultants also provides consultancy services to other agencies in the mental health sector.