York and District Mind

How an advocate can help

An advocate is there to protect your rights as a user of mental health services, and to support you in putting forward your point of view.

• You may not agree with professional decisions which are being made about you

• Getting the right kind of support can be confusing and frustrating

• You may be concerned about your rights and freedom if you approach services for help

Advocates can help in the following ways:

• Helping you to decide what to do

• Finding out information and who to contact

• Telling you about your rights

• Going to meetings and appointments with you

• Representing you at reviews, hearings and tribunals

• Speaking out on your behalf

• Making sure your rights are being respected

Key values and principles of advocacy

empowerment
supporting people to make their own decisions and sort out their own problems/ with the underlying aim of enabling people to be their own advocates

autonomy
supporting each person to be self-determining, to be seen as unique, to be who they are, and to do the things they want to do

citizenship
enabling people to be aware of and exercise their rights, and safeguarding against abuse

inclusion
supporting people to be involved and have a voice, on the basis of equality of opportunity and access

Essential features of advocacy

independence
Advocates must be free of conflicts of interest so that they can unreservedly support their partner. It is essential that Advocacy projects should be managed independently and funded at arm's length

confidentiality 
Within the advocacy scheme, information shared by partners with their advocates remains confidential and the partner remains in control of disclosure

information
The advocate must ensure their partner has access to all relevant information on which to base their decision

choice
Supporting people to make their own choices. Advocates need to be accepting and non-judgmental. Advocates will not take any action or raise any issue without the agreement of their partner

listening and support
Taking time to enable someone to talk things through and build a relationship of trust

reliability
Advocates must be clear about what they can and cannot do 

The need for advocacy

Advocacy in its present form has developed since the 1960s. Advocacy can mean different things to different people but the essential idea is ‘everyone, sooner or later, needs help in making their voice heard – and advocates are people who can provide the time and support to enable this to happen.’ (Dorothy Atkinson, in Advocacy, a Review, Pavilion/ JRF, 1999)

Survivors and users of mental health services can find their status is devalued through poverty, social exclusion and prejudice. Dependency on services and carers may leave individuals vulnerable to exploitation or abuse. Mental distress may cause difficulties in ascertaining or asserting rights.

Contact with mental health services, in particular, is often disempowering.

People may be depersonalised through labelling and assumptions.
Treatment and care arrangements frequently don't give due regard to the fact that individuals have their own personal history and a right to make their own choices. Services may have a vested interest in minimising risks, but the individual is denied the chance to learn through experience and take risks.

Bureaucratic procedures are confusing and often create severe barriers to people's attempts to gain access to support or treatment. Despite attempts to coordinate services through the Care Programme Approach, getting the right kind of support is often confusing and frustrating.

the powers of compulsory treatment and detention not only create a need for extra safeguards, but also pose a general background threat which disempowers individuals in their dealings with doctors and other mental health professions
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