The behavioral health field is constantly improving. New treatments and interventions delivered by compassionate providers are making a real difference in people’s lives. But accessing behavioral health care is often challenging. It is common to hear stories about people or their families struggling to figure out where and how to get care.
These real experiences with the behavioral health care system — including experiences of patients, providers, and administrators — offer crucial perspectives and insights. Across the behavioral health field, interest is growing in ensuring that people with behavioral health conditions have a greater voice in the system.
Listening to people with lived experience of behavioral health care is essential to finding solutions to policy and practice problems, improving trust, experiences, and outcomes, and helping people recover and live with purpose.
Resources in this section share people’s experiences with the behavioral health care system, including:
- How behavioral health conditions are connected to or exacerbated by the shortage of affordable housing, involvement in the criminal justice system, poverty, or other health conditions
- Poor treatment from providers because of race or ethnicity, or being unable to find care in one’s language
- What it’s like trying to access treatment, including what’s working and opportunities to fill in the gaps
CHCF envisions a behavioral health system that respects the self-determination of people with behavioral health conditions. A stronger system engages them to codesign care models and policy solutions that improve patient experience and outcomes.
Featured Resources
