Acknowledgements

This book wouldn’t exist without the collective wisdom, experience—and yes, pain, frustration, and disappointment—of hundreds of patients, their family members, and healthcare providers. Thanks to everyone who gave so generously of their time, freely sharing their stories of both good and bad experiences with mental health care.

Many people we talked to had been dealing with mental health challenges, their own or those of others, for years or decades. They weren’t shy when sharing insights about what went well and what didn’t. Most often, they talked about things they didn’t know at the time or incorrect assumptions they’d made. “If I only knew then what I know now,” they’d say, “things would have turned out a lot differently.” Many commented that their mental health care was a tremendous learning experience, one they never thought they’d need to go through.

Some people scoff at the idea that patients benefit from knowing about certain aspects of their treatments and how the health system works behind the scenes. We beg to differ. The breadth of material covered in this book reflects the range of issues multiple people have directly struggled with. At the same time, it’s easy to go overboard on the details. We appreciate everyone who helped us isolate and distill which parts are truly useful in practice.

We’re grateful for those who provided feedback on early drafts of parts or all of the manuscript. They included Marla Abells-Segal, Carolyn Boutillier, Bev Cooke, Dr. Jon Davine, Bill Lysak, Evelyn Lysak, Tania Lysak, Dr. Michael Mawdsley, Ryan McDonald, Lauralee McDougall, Lindsay Millala, Kyle Parrott, Leanne Parrott, Dr. Laura Phillips, Lana Tong, and Christina Vesty. The final result is much tighter and more coherent for all your efforts.

Our editor, Peggy Herring, was a pleasure to work with. Her contributions shine through on every page. If errors crept in, they were doubtless a result of our compulsion to make “just one more” change after the fact. Sorry, Peggy. Hina Shakti was endlessly patient with our indecision around the cover design, providing us with numerous alternatives until we were finally happy.

Finally, thanks to everyone, especially current patients, who encouraged us, and shared ideas for book titles and cover concepts. Thanks for putting up with what must have seemed to be outlandish questions at times. We are grateful for those who graciously offered their time and talents.

Thanks for sharing the belief that your experiences with mental health care will make a positive difference in the lives of others.