The term psychiatric consumer originated at the 1985 Alternatives Conference and was chosen to represent individuals who receive care from mental health and psychiatric services. It was chosen in part because it was meant to signify that patients have, or ideally should have, a choice of services and treatment.

Psychiatric Consumer

The Community Support Program at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was set up in the early 1980s out of a realization by the federal government that there was a growing ex-patient movement that was operating successful programs outside of the psychiatric industrial complex without funding or outside support. The program was set up to provide funding for these alternative programs.

Community Support Program at the National Institute of Mental Health

The Alternatives Conference was a conference held in 1985 in Baltimore with funding from the Community Support Program at the National Institute of Mental Health. The conference had over 300 attendees. One of the goals of the conference was to come up with a name for individuals to call themselves after the term "ex-patient" had fallen out of favor. The term psychiatric/mental health consumer was chosen.

In the early to mid-1970s, there was a problematization of the term 'ex-patient' because it was seen as embracing the medical model by defining individuals by their status as patients. Additionally, the term 'ex-patient' by using the term 'patient' was seen as not capturing the violence of forced commitment to asylums. Groups like Madness Network News promoted the use of the term ex-psychiatric inmate for individuals who had been in asylums. The terms psychiatric client, psychiatric consumer, and psychiatric survivor also came about. 

Move Away from Ex-Patient

Chamberlin, Judi: The Ex-Patients' Movement: Where We've Been and Where We're Going. Journal of Mind and Behavior 11:323-336, 1990

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