Consumer providers' experiences of recovery and concerns as members of a psychiatric multidisciplinary outreach team: A qualitative descriptive study from the Japan Outreach Model Project 2011-2014

Objective: The objective of this study was to clarify consumer providers (CPs) subjective experiences as members of a psychiatric multidisciplinary outreach team that provided services to individuals with a mental illness living in the community. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted through semi-structured interviews. Participants were clients hired as CPs in the Japanese Outreach Model Project from September 2011 until March 2014. Of the seventeen CPs, nine participated in this study. We looked at the CPs' subjective experiences of fulfillment and difficulty. Results: In the process of providing services, CPs experienced both achievements and concerns. They had a sense of achievement by caring for their clients and they experienced that they themselves were recovering. They were also concerned about having inadequate knowledge and skills to provide psychiatric services to their clients. Further, there were concerns about their dual role on the multidisciplinary team and being support staff while they were still using mental health services themselves. Conclusion: The results show that the activities of CPs included fulfillment, recovery, and dilemmas. Clarifications will likely contribute to an increase in understanding and cooperation between CPs and other professionals with whom they work. Further studies are needed to investigate policies related to mental health consumers who are also providers of mental health services.