'I am more than my diagnosis': Amplifying the voice of consumers in the design and delivery of mental health services.

Objective: In line with the Australian Government's Vision 2030, this research foregrounds consumer experiences of recovery to inform the (co)design and delivery of mental health services for people living with complex needs and/or a severe and persistent mental health condition.

Setting: The research takes a specialist focus on the regional setting, with data collected from client experiences within Western NSW, Australia, in the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) implementation and inclusion of psycho-social disability within the NDIS service environment.

Participants: Thirty-seven people aged 19-70 years living with complex needs and/or a diagnosis of a severe and persistent mental health condition were recruited from services where they had a care plan or where they were members of a consumer reference group for recovery-oriented services.

Experiencing recovery: findings from a qualitative study into mental illness, self and place.

Background: Community-managed mental health organisations are important vehicles for "place-based" recovery-oriented services in regional areas. However, the community-based sector is not well described in data collections and more research is needed to identify the specific contributions that such services can make to recovery. This situation has become more acute in Australia with the restructure of mental health services under the new National Disabilities Insurance Scheme (NDIS).