Advocacy
And
Mental Health
Mental Health Is A Human Right
ADVOCACY MODELS
SELF ADVOCACY
PEER ADVOCACY
GROUP ADVOCACY
PROFESSIONAL ADVOCACY
Self advocacy is a civil rights movement for those with mental health problems or intellectual disabilities.
It plays an important role in the disability rights movement by encouraging and supporting services users in speaking up for themselves.
It reduces isolation that service users suffer and it empowers people with information and knowledge of their rights.
This form of advocacy can be provided in a range of different ways. For example, it may be delivered formally by social services, support workers or voluntary organisation such as Citizens Advice. It promotes confidence and assertiveness and the protection of individual rights[i].
Though these means self advocacy promotes autonomy, independence and assertiveness.
[i] Lawton, A: “Personalisation and Learning Disabilities: A review of Evidence on Advocacy and its Practice for People with Learning Disabilities and High Support Needs” 2009 Paper 24, Social Care Institute for Excellence, London
Peer advocacy works by bringing the advocate and a person of a similar background or situation: considered “experts by experience”, this can happen spontaneously when service users are receiving treatment in the same facility, or this can be actively engineered[i].
[i] Monaghan J (2012) Advocacy resource exchange: Achieving excellence in advocacy services: an evaluation report 2009-2012
Group advocacy or collective advocacy is built on the premise that services users can discuss their experiences and views with each other, learning from each others experiences and supporting each other’s goals.
This can be organised with the view to improve services either on a small scale within local organisations or a national scale for, example via the Patients council[ii].
[ii] http://rehpatientscouncil.org.uk/collective-advocacy/
Independent or professional advocacy works on the basis that the advocate is paid for their role.
They provide support, information and representation for the service user.
This type of advocacy can be set up on a long or short term basis depending on the complexity of the issues experienced by the service user.
It provides support through independent governance which is separate from other forms of direct service provision, free from conflicts of interest, it is individually tailored rather than being group advocacy[iii].
[iii] http://www.iriss.org.uk/resources/advocacy-models-and-effectiveness
