Co-production in mental health: Not just another guide

The term co-production is used widely and with much currency in contemporary policy and practice in mental health.

Despite existing guides and toolkits to support organisations to work co-productively, many organisations, providers and commissioners still don’t feel equipped to approach co-production with people with lived experience of mental health conditions.

This guide is different - it explores what’s stopping people from attempting co-production and what can help, using the experience of people trying to do it in different settings across England.

It’s for people who commission, design or deliver mental health services to help you understand co-production better, reflect on your own practice and implement changes in your organisation.

The learning is based on evidence from mental health services – however some of the findings and recommendations might be useful in other areas, for example Transforming Care Partnership work.