Client choice has often been defined as one of the fundamental principles of the recovery process. However, in the day-to-day work of mental health professionals, knowing how to respond to client choice, especially when the choice appears to be self-defeating or poses a safety risk, is difficult. What guidelines do we offer staff for responding to client choice? Can we help staff avoid the extremes of neglect and/or over-control i.e., "I let the client do whatever they want" or "I know what is best for the client"?

Advocates Inc., in consultation with Pat Deegan, spent many months working on developing performance standards for staff to guide them in more empowering ways to respond to client choice. The standards include the following:

• Why we value client choice
• The dignity of risk and the right to fail
• Direct service workers are advocates of client choice
• We do not abandon clients to suffer the "natural consequences" of their choices
• The worker is not a failure if a client's choice results in failure
• Responding to client choice: The three zones
  • The Comfort Zone: When staff agree with a client's choice
  • The Conflicted Zone: When staff and client disagree about a choice
  • he Risk Management Zone: When client choice is a threat to safety
• When a client can't make an informed choice
• When a client won't respond to the choices that are presented