New York State Office of Mental Health Bureau of Recipient Affairs C/S/X Oral History Project Materials

In 2000, the Bureau of Recipient Affairs started the C/S/X (Consumer/Survivor/Ex-patient) Oral History Project in order to ensure that the experiences and perceptions of people who received mental health services were adequately documented. The project's name reflected the variety of ways in which consumers described themselves and other recipients of mental health care: some preferred to be called "consumers," others defined themselves as "survivors," and others saw themselves as "ex-patients."

This series contains audio recordings and paper and electronic transcripts of interviews documenting the life histories of approximately eighty people who had received mental health treatment in state psychiatric centers, the psychiatric wards of general hospitals, or private psychiatric facilities. In varying levels of detail, the interviewees discuss their formative years, relationships with family and friends, educational and employment history, psychiatric hospitalization, perceptions of the mental health care system, and future goals. Individual interviewees also talk about a wide array of other subjects, including: art, music, and writing; the criminal justice system; electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); physical health concerns; political beliefs; psychiatric drugs; recreational interests; religion and spirituality; social services organizations and agencies; self-help groups and techniques; substance abuse; and trauma (i.e., emotional, physical, or sexual abuse).

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office of Mental Health.