[Conceived of as an empowering alternative to inpatient treatment and traditional community programs, mental health consumer-run organizations--CROs--offer consumers a hands-on stake in their own recovery. A growing evidence base suggests that CROs are a particularly effective form of self-help, with randomized trials demonstrating CRO participants experience improvements in personal empowerment, social integration, and well-being. Consumer-Run Mental Health explains their methods and analyzes their efficacy.A robust theoretical framework synthesizes diverse perspectives to illuminate behavioral processes that contribute to recovery and the dynamics of CROs in creating environments that promote recovery. Data from the author's studies of CRO participation highlight consumer perceptions of the benefits of their involvement. An in-depth ethnographic study examines participant’s lives inside and outside the organization. And in a set of remarkable narratives, consumers describe dealing with both mental illness and the tasks of running a non-profit organization, for a fuller understanding of the impact of CRO participation on their lives., Conceived of as an empowering alternative to inpatient treatment and traditional community programs, mental health consumer-run organizations--CROs--offer consumers a hands-on stake in their own recovery. A growing evidence base suggests that CROs are a particularly effective form of self-help, with randomized trials demonstrating CRO participants experience improvements in personal empowerment, social integration, and well-being. Consumer-Run Mental Health explains their methods and analyzes their efficacy.A robust theoretical framework synthesizes diverse perspectives to illuminate behavioral processes that contribute to recovery and the dynamics of CROs in creating environments that promote recovery. Data from the author's studies of CRO participation highlight consumer perceptions of the benefits of their involvement. An in-depth ethnographic study examines participant’s lives inside and outside the organization. And in a set of remarkable narratives, consumers describe dealing with both mental illness and the tasks of running a non-profit organization, for a fuller understanding of the impact of CRO participation on their lives.]