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Abstract
This paper shows how a global and person-centered approach can be used to support a participatory research agenda that would be as ‘user-led’ as possible. One aspect of applying such a participatory approach to research on mental health services is discussed: the role of mental health service users engaged as research partners in a participatory research initiative with policy and decision makers and researchers. The results of a survey and a focus group are discussed. Their collective interpretation suggests that this initiative became more in line with the principles of participatory research as the engagement of service users grew over time. Thirty possible research themes were identified by this group, and would guide future research collaboration. This evolution may be due to commentaries from some service users such as this: ‘For the first time, we are also on the upper end of the microscope, no longer the only ones underneath the lenses’.