6. Key challenges to shared decision making

As these experiences highlight, shared decision making in mental health is more complex than in other areas of healthcare, at least at first sight.  At times, people with mental health problems can be perceived as making unwise choices.  This can make it difficult for health care workers to support the individuals’ preference. Two key issues are often cited by healthcare workers when giving their reasons for non-involvement of service users in shared decision-making. The first is legislation and the second is a lack of insight.