What the guide is
Developed with people using services, families, carers and staff, the guide responds to feedback that some terminology can feel unhelpful or intimidating. It encourages staff to ask about individual language preferences and offers suggestions for discussion rather than mandatory replacements.
The 3 words it gives as examples
People told the project that 'assessment' can feel like a test you pass or fail, that 'discharge' can feel like the door closing, and that some people don't want to be called a patient or a service user. So for each, it suggests other words.
Instead of 'assessment'
- Consultation
- Conversation
- Information-gathering
- Health and wellbeing discussion
- Initial appointment
- Introduction
Instead of 'discharge'
- Warm handover
- Transfer of care
- 'Step down'
- Transferred back into the care of your GP
- End of episode of support
Instead of 'patient' or 'service user'
- Client
- Customer
- Service leader
- Consumer
- Expert by experience
- Survivor
- Person with mental illness
- Person receiving support
It covers other words too
'Non-disabled' rather than 'able-bodied' or 'normal'. 'Under-served' or 'underrepresented' rather than 'hard to reach' or 'difficult to engage'. 'A neurodivergent individual' rather than 'a neurodiverse individual', because, in the guide's words, it's not possible to be 'a diverse individual'.
On autism and ADHD, it recommends 'autistic people' rather than 'people with autism', because many autistic people see autism as part of who they are. It recommends 'a person with ADHD' rather than 'an ADHD person', because 'identity-first language is preferred by many people with ADHD'.
It's not complicated: speak to me the way that you would want to be spoken to, should one day you wake up with my illness and problems to deal with.
What it asks staff to do
The guide notes that some people prefer medical terms and others prefer everyday language. It asks staff to find out at the earliest opportunity, such as a first appointment, what a person would like to be called and which words work for them, to record it, and to use those words from then on.
Sources: Sussex Health and Care: Changing the language, a guide to language for mental health and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust: launch of the guide, 6 March 2025
