Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2007) 13: 60-67. doi: 10.1192/apt.bp.105.002196
© 2007 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Choice in mental health: myths and possibilities{dagger}

Koravangattu Menon Valsraj and Nichola Gardner

Koravangattu Valsraj is a specialist registrar on the Maudsley rotation (Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ, UK. E-mail: k.valsraj{at}iop.kcl.ac.uk). He has special interests in the teaching and training of medical students and junior doctors, and he has a keen interest in management, particularly change and modernisation. Nichola Gardner is Head of Organisational Development and Lead for Choice and Mental Health at the London Strategic Health Authority (South East London sector). Her interests include organisational psychology and the use of creativity and arts in healthcare.

The government in England and Wales is promoting policies and initiatives to offer patients choice across all healthcare specialties. This has raised concerns in mental healthcare, particularly if the physical healthcare model of implementation is imposed. However, the ‘choice agenda’ is an opportunity for mental health services to be innovative and act as beacons to other disciplines in healthcare. The south-east London programme introducing choice in mental health services is offered as an example here. There already exists an ‘ethos of choice’ within mental health services, but current practices may require a focused approach and structuring to fit in with national policy. This also might be necessary to influence policy makers to take a different perspective on choice in mental health. The principle of choice goes hand in hand with the drive towards greater social inclusion for people with mental health problems.


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