Client > Service-User > Patient

[lostinme]

1 minute ago, Gemma7 said:

I know it is! 

I know  I started with service user because it covered all aspects, but then I changed my mind because of several different reasons and now I’m feeling back where I started again 

[Orwell1984]

My choice would be 'client'. 'Service-user' makes me think of people recovering from drug addiction or people in an assisted living environment, and 'patient' evokes a feeling of not being able to help oneself and determine one's fate. I suppose it makes me feel the same way as the term 'sufferer'

[lostinme]

2 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

As i pointed out earlier, I'm sure the charity recieves communications from friends or family of sufferers, asking what they should do about a sufferer. You wouldn't call them sufferers.

Yes I know what your saying and they are not patients either, so what would be your choice? 

Its a great discussion though 

[taurean]

I used to struggle with decisions, now I simply can't make up my mind

 

[PolarBear]

I'm discombobulated and kerfuzzled. I've put it out to the Twittersphere to see what others think.

[lostinme]

1 minute ago, taurean said:

I used to struggle with decisions, now I simply can't make up my mind

 

Me either, how would a therapist refer to us to a fellow colleague ? 

[lostinme]

1 minute ago, PolarBear said:

I'm discombobulated and kerfuzzled. I've put it out to the Twittersphere to see what others think.

Good thinking ? 

I love a good discussion though, even if it gets confusing 

[Ozy]

There have actually been surveys conducted on this topic in terms of what people who receive mental healthcare wish to be called. In these studies, the majority of respondents have endorsed patient over terms like client, service user, or survivor.

[taurean]

Patient for professional healthcare providers, but re the charity we are mental health patients seeking support help and guidance from the charity. 

[Saz]

33 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

Someone calls the charity for help. It is staffed by volunteers or Ashley. Should that someone be referred to as a patient?

Polar bear I'm saying the term 'patient'  in relation to Ashley's post about what term is best to describe us when in therapy. I see this as the correct term in my opinion (see reasons on 2 prev posts on this thread). The second post by him was what to call us on the forum/charity (I think) and for that I agree patient isn't the right word, perhaps just simply 'forum members' x

Edited January 11, 2018 by Saz

[taurean]

Just now, Saz said:

Polar bear I'm saying the term 'patient'  in relation to Ashley's post about what term is best to describe us when in therapy. The second post by him was what to call us on the forum/charity (I think) and for that I agree patient isn't the right word, perhaps just simply 'forum members' x

The charity provides more than that service though Saz. It's not just about these forums. 

[PolarBear]

I don't want to be picky here but someone could call the charity who has never been to the forum. They aren't a forum member. 

[Saz]

22 minutes ago, taurean said:

The charity provides more than that service though Saz. It's not just about these forums. 

 

21 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

I don't want to be picky here but someone could call the charity who has never been to the forum. They aren't a forum member. 

Yes that's true.

I still stick to the term patient though when in therapy x

[Orwell1984]

'Members' and 'guests' are good terms for people who contact the charity online or via phone-- in my mind anyway!!!  

I think 'patient' is more a term reserved for hospital-based settings. 

Just to be controversial: I think 'OCD' should be rebranded into something different cos those three letters are accepted in popular culture as a step up from a  buzzword. How do you undo that?! 

[Saz]

3 minutes ago, Orwell1984 said:

'Members' and 'guests' are good terms for people who contact the charity online or via phone-- in my mind anyway!!!  

I think 'patient' is more a term reserved for hospital-based settings. 

Just to be controversial: I think 'OCD' should be rebranded into something different cos those three letters are accepted in popular culture as a step up from a  buzzword. How do you undo that?! 

I was just going to put 'member' but I misread the 2nd post by Ashley and thought he was just referring to the forum (oops) so wrote forum member... But really I just mean member

[snowbear]

15 minutes ago, lostinme said:

how would a therapist refer to us to a fellow colleague ? 

Client.  

I prefer client to patient, but I think that's because I'm further along the recovery road now than back in the days when I thought of myself as a patient. I still refer to myself as a patient sometimes, but usually only when I need somebody to do something for me, or if I'm after special treatment/consideration/privileges.  

However, personal feelings aside, I'm going to come at this discussion from a writer's/psychology perspective. Writers deliberately use metaphors and carefully chosen sets of words to stimulate the reader's subconscious mind. It's tapping into stereotypes as a shortcut to describing everything from scratch, using the knowledge readers already have about their everyday world to fill in (deliberate) gaps in the narrative so the fictional story becomes real, believable and engaging.

For a formal/informative article I think client would be best as it subconsciously empowers and motivates the person to take an active role in what they are reading. If the article uses the term 'patient' it awakens a subconscious set of ideas around doctors, patients, illness, hospitals etc. and stimulates them to think within that framework of learned (typically passive) behaviours which is the last thing you want to happen when informing someone what to expect in a CBT therapy session.

 

For the charity I think 'service user' is suitable, though client works too. The charity is providing a service, but those accessing it aren't patients of the charity even when they are patients of a doctor of psychiatrist helping with their OCD treatment. So 'patient' would be totally wrong in this context. I like 'guest' or 'visitor' for those using the forum who aren't members, but we have flexibility within the charity over what terms to use and when. What we call each other, and those accessing the charity's services isn't written in stone,  unlike this article on 'what to expect in CBT' which will be a published/printed/permanent feature. 

[lostinme]

Maybe we should be thinking along the lines of how we would prefer to be referred as- 

Client

Patient 

Services user 

[Saz]

I also see it like this. If we are sat waiting to go into see the gp for whatever reason, we are the patients. We are waiting to go in and be seen and be helped/treated. I don't see a difference between waiting to be seen by the gp for help/treatment or the cbt therapist who will be there to help us with their techniques to get better. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Saz

[Ashley]

Well this caught me out, I wasn't expecting so much discussion over a relatively minor issue (although on other levels maybe a significant issue). It's clear everyone put so much thought into this, and how fantastic to see the forum used in such a way that people have been open to other people's reasoning and have openingly been persuaded by such (sometimes back and forth lol).

It wont be published until the next magazine so a fair bit of time to continue the discussion. But thank you again to everyone whose taken thre time to vote, comment and explain their reasoning.

Maybe there is no right or wrong answer to this, and in therapy maybe the therapist should simply ask the patient what term they prefer. 

[lostinme]

I think this has been a great discussion, with possibly no wrongs or rights, just individual preferences. Different views and opinions to how we all see things differently. 

[PolarBear]

When generally referring to a person or group of people who have OCD, i think sufferer(s) is fitting. That's what we call ourselves.

When referring to a person accessing the services of a mental health professional, i think client is best.

The charity should also use client to describe someone accessing their services. They aren't mental health professionals but they provide a service and the people who access that service are clients.

Each sufferer can describe their relationship with a mental health professional however they are comfortable. For example: I am Dr. Smith's patient.

[BelAnna]

1 hour ago, Orwell1984 said:

Just to be controversial: I think 'OCD' should be rebranded into something different cos those three letters are accepted in popular culture as a step up from a  buzzword. How do you undo that?! 

Completely agree! I wrote a few posts on the forum about this a few years ago  

[Lacko'zeds]

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (Shakespeare).  It's all semantics, but the term client smacks of ££££ signs, the term patient elevates the status of those below the status of doctor, so, pressured for choice, I would choose my name: Mr Smith, and the respect that goes with uttering it.

[Ashley]

2 hours ago, Orwell1984 said:

Just to be controversial: I think 'OCD' should be rebranded into something different cos those three letters are accepted in popular culture as a step up from a  buzzword. How do you undo that?!

 

51 minutes ago, BelAnna said:

Completely agree! I wrote a few posts on the forum about this a few years ago  

 

It would be a pointless exercise, because the new name would simply become misused too.

What needs to be done is apply some CBT to the way the general public view OCD, and change their beliefs around the meanings they associate with OCD.   If we do that, then we can shift attitudes. 

[gingerbreadgirl]

This is a really interesting disussion. I have a question for those people who prefer "client" (which was also me a few hours ago lol) - in an ideal world would you prefer all doctors, health providers etc. to refer to you as a client? (which I would think would be a very valid standpoint!) - and if not why do you feel differently about therapy/mental healthcare provision?

Most people wouldn't expect their GP, or cardiologist, to refer to them as a client, but the same reasoning about empowerment, equality etc. would surely stand?

My view, I think, is that I'm not generally keen on the word patient for ANY individual who is receiving healthcare as to me it suggests a certain amount of passiveness.

BUT conversely I think it's important that mental health conditions are viewed as substantially no different to physical conditions, and on that basis, as long as others in the healthcare world are called patients, I think it's important that we don't imply there is a big distinction (or we're not "really ill") by calling ourselves 'clients'.  To me that smacks of going to a therapist just to get some tips on life rather than to treat a debilitating condition.

I think this is a really complicated discussion which proves just how important language is!

 

Edited January 12, 2018 by gingerbreadgirl