ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we will describe our experiences of working together on Cases for Change, a narrative review of adult mental health services, published by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) in January 2003. We will tell our story of working together in an essentially chronological order, and discuss the per sonal and professional costs and benefits of user involvement from both service user and ‘professional academic’ perspectives. These, as you will see, include not only the value of ensuring a user perspective throughout the work and the personal positive consequences of involvement for Marion, but also problems created by inflexible academic timeframes, lack of in-house support, academic practices such as the ‘expert panel’ system of reviewing work in progress and university employment regulations. We will conclude with a small number of practical recommendations, based on our experiences, to guide future researchers and service users who wish to work positively and productively together on a research study in an academic setting.
