Despite the small number of studies identified, the available evidence suggests that experiences of IPV and mental disorders among Indigenous women are linked and exacerbated by poverty, discrimination, and substance abuse. More research is needed to better understand distributions and presentations of IPV-related mental illness in this population.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) initiated an ambitious effort to develop the first shared decision making guidelines. The purpose of this commentary is to identify three main concerns pertaining to the new published guidelines for shared decision making research, practice, implementation and cultural differences in mental health.

Open dialogue (OD) is a person-centred social network model of crisis and continuing mental healthcare, which promotes agency and long-term recovery in mental illness. Peer support workers who have lived experience of mental illness play a key role in OD in the UK, as they enhance shared understanding of mental health crisis as part of the OD model and provide a sense of belonging and social inclusion. These elements are in alignment with the shared decision making (SDM) approach in mental health, which focuses on person-centred communication in treatment decision-making. The previously documented benefits of peer-led SDM include increased engagement with services, symptom reduction, increased employment opportunities, and reduced utilization of mental and general health services. While the contribution of peer support and SDM principles to OD has been acknowledged, there is only a small body of literature surrounding this development, and little guidance on how peer support can enhance treatment decision-making and other aspects of OD. This viewpoint, which was co-authored by people with lived experience of mental illness, clinicians, and researchers, discusses practical implications and recommendations for research and training for the provision of a co-produced OD model grounded in peer support and SDM.

Background: Shared decision making (SDM) is a health communication model promoting patient-centered care that has not been routinely utilized in mental health. Inconsistent definitions, models, measurement tools, and lack of sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of SDM interventions are potential contributors to the limited use of SDM in mental health. Aims: (1) Provide the first systematic analysis of global development trends and challenges of SDM research; (2) clarify the meaning, role, and measurement of SDM in mental health; (3) create a theoretical framework for key effective SDM components to guide future development and implementation of SDM interventions. Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was conducted in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycInfo. Included reviews focused on SDM interventions for prevention and/or treatment of mental illness in adults. A narrative synthesis was performed to capture the range of interventions, populations, measurement tools, comparisons, and outcomes. Results: Ten10 systematic reviews of SDM in mental health were included with 100 nested studies spanning from 2006 to 2020. All reviews focused on dyadic and psychopharmacological decision-making. Primary outcomes of SDM in mental health interventions include treatment satisfaction, medication adherence, symptom severity, quality of life, and hospital readmissions. Participant-related factors unique to SDM in mental health, such as stigma and mental capacity, were not reported. Conclusions: The current landscape of SDM in mental health is overwhelmingly disconnected from the needs and experiences of potential end-users; clients, clinicians, and family members. Most SDM interventions and tools were adapted from physical health and are mainly geared to psychopharmacological decision-making. The SDM in Mental Health Framework (SDM-MH), developed here, expands the scope of decisions to non-psychopharmacological discussions, diversifies the pool of SDM participants and settings, and offers potential primary target outcomes of SDM in mental health to reduce heterogeneity across studies.