Dr. Patricia E. Deegan is an independent consultant specializing in research and education about mental health recovery and the empowerment of mental health consumers. She is an activist in the disability rights movement and draws on her own perspective of recovery from schizophrenia as a teenager. She is creator of CommonGround, a webbased application that helps consumers prepare for visits with mental health practitioners in order to better advocate for their treatment and recovery. She is an Adjunct Professor at Dartmouth College School of Medicine and Boston University, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services.