There is a long history of people who have used, or survived, mental health services getting together to campaign for improvements and rights. A recent study suggests the Survivor Movement began in 1620 with the 'Petition of the Poor Distracted Folk of Bedlam'.
The modern movement is generally thought to have grown from the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1960's. Perhaps fuelled by the 1983 Mental Health Act, which offered patients greater protection, and placed more emphasis on rights, the mid-1980s saw an upsurge in activity.
There are now a number of groups and organizations, nationally and in Leeds, that have been developed by, and are led by, service users and survivors. Locally these include Leeds Mental Health Advocacy Group, Self-Help Initiatives Project (SHIP), and Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service.