Ms Estela Vidal:

Now that we are talking about language, I will take the opportunity to raise a language issue that has been brought to our attention by the people who use our services. I refer to the use of the term "mental disorder". There is no better way for me to explain what we think about this than to share with the committee a few testimonies. The person who provided one such testimony tells us that they think the term "mental disorder" is deeply damaging and disempowering to the person who is going through mental health difficulties or illness. They believe that this label does not allow autonomy with regard to a person's care needs. They had to do a Google search for the word and found the following definitions: "a state of confusion", "the breakdown of peaceful and law-abiding public behaviour" and "an illness or condition that disrupts normal physical or mental functions". This person does not believe that any of these definitions are helpful to them. They also feel that the label of a mental health diagnosis can be damaging and disempowering, that mental health recovery has to be person-centred and that the language around such recovery needs to be inclusive of the person rather than damaging to their needs.

Another person's testimony says that calling a person with mental ill-health someone who has a mental disorder shows poor judgment and that it can be very damaging to be given such a label. They believe the word "disorder" should be removed and that it is like the word "lunacy". They say the word is very aged and should be discarded immediately.