SDM provides an approach through which providers and consumers of health care come together as collaborators in determining the course of care. Research has shown that SDM, when practiced in general health care, increases consumers’ knowledge about and comfort with the health care decisions they make. These alone are worthy goals—but the promise of SDM in mental health care is truly transformative.
By placing mental health consumers at the center of the decision-making process, SDM provides a model through which multiple calls for transformation of the mental health field might be answered.