MARIAN BARNES is Director of Social Research in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Birmingham. Over the last 12 years she has worked extensively on user involvement and user self-organisation in the context of health and social care. She is a member of the national Health Action Zone evaluation team, focusing on community involvement, and is leading a project on public participation and social exclusion in the ESRC's Democracy and Participation research programme.RIC BOWL is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Birmingham. Much of his work has focused on developing involvement of users in a number of different public services, including older users of day centres and their carers, adult education students and the clients of social work teams. He is responsible for two Approved Social Worker training programmes and is engaged in extending the contribution of service users to the management, monitoring and delivery of Approved Social Worker training.

• PrefaceMental Health and EmpowermentFrom Lunatics to SurvivorsStrategies for EmpowermentDiversity, Difference and EmpowermentChanging Lives and MindsChanging the SystemSocial Movements and Social ChangeFuture ProspectsReferencesIndex.

MARIAN BARNES is Director of Social Research in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Birmingham. Over the last 12 years she has worked extensively on user involvement and user self-organisation in the context of health and social care. She is a member of the national Health Action Zone evaluation team, focusing on community involvement, and is leading a project on public participation and social exclusion in the ESRC's Democracy and Participation research programme.RIC BOWL is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Birmingham. Much of his work has focused on developing involvement of users in a number of different public services, including older users of day centres and their carers, adult education students and the clients of social work teams. He is responsible for two Approved Social Worker training programmes and is engaged in extending the contribution of service users to the management, monitoring and delivery of Approved Social Worker training.

• PrefaceMental Health and EmpowermentFrom Lunatics to SurvivorsStrategies for EmpowermentDiversity, Difference and EmpowermentChanging Lives and MindsChanging the SystemSocial Movements and Social ChangeFuture ProspectsReferencesIndex.