A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science examines what researchers call the “Turbulent Consumer Journey”—a prolonged, crisis-ridden path that families navigate while seeking mental illness treatment. According to the research led by Ann M. Mirabito, Ph.D., a professor of marketing at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, families often move through recurring cycles of hope, confusion, frustration and adaptation as they attempt to secure treatment and stability.
The Experience of Uncertainty
Families navigating mental illness treatment frequently face profound uncertainty. “There’s no clear path forward,” Mirabito said. “Participants of the study described feeling ‘hijacked, blindfolded and handcuffed.’” Unlike traditional consumer experiences, families often do not know what treatments will work, how to evaluate providers or what outcomes are possible. Many parents reported cycling through numerous doctors, therapists and medications while struggling to determine whether treatment failures were caused by ineffective providers, flawed systems or the illness itself.
Three Predictable Phases
The research identified three phases of the Turbulent Consumer Journey. The invisible embarkation begins long before families recognize they are on the journey, with early warning signs such as anxiety, emotional withdrawal or behavioral changes often dismissed as stress or personality traits until a crisis forces recognition. The second phase, the long and winding road, captures the exhausting search for answers as families progress through doctors, diagnoses and medications. The fragmented mental healthcare system places enormous responsibility on families to coordinate treatment, often forcing them to become overwhelmed care coordinators. The final phase reflects what many families call the “new normal,” marked by radical acceptance—recognizing that mental illness may remain part of life while finding ways to adapt and hope.
Systemic Improvements Needed
Mirabito and her team assert that improving mental healthcare requires more than expanding treatment access. The study calls for systems of care that reduce unnecessary uncertainty, improve care coordination and better support families making complex decisions under pressure. “Our findings show that consumers are often forced to become the architects of their own care journeys,” Mirabito said. The research suggests these findings may also apply to other high-stakes consumer experiences including cancer treatment, caregiving and major financial hardship.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2026/hijacked-blindfolded-and-handcuffed-consumers-face-turbulent-journey-mental-illness