Advocacy – Help Speaking Up For Yourself
I went to a Mental Health User group meeting at the close of their 2014 year. Advocacy was one of many that were competing for spotlight in the provision of services for people affected by mental health issues. Advocacy helps you to speak up for yourself. This service for the benefit of those affected by mental health issues takes on even more urgency in a time of funding cuts and insensitivity by those making decisions on their behalf.
We can only use any resource given us effectively when we have a thorough understanding of it and trust in its purpose. When it is about speaking up for yourself it is even more important you trust the people and the process involved.
It was an excellent beginning with the presenters giving a definition of Advocacy. This set the stage to prepare us delegates for effectively using the services of advocates. After taking a sounding of what people thought advocacy was about, we were guided into a better understanding. I was given an appreciation of how vital it is to know what people are doing in order to channel my contributions the best way possible.
A few wrong conceptions I corrected from the meeting were:
#1 Role Recognition
The role of Advocacy is to give direction; in some jargon- sign posting. Advocacy services work only on the instruction of the client – in this case someone affected by mental health issues. This can lead to wrong ideas by the client about what the client and others should expect from the advocate.
Where there are others in a better position to provide a service, the advocate would point the Client to these. The purpose of advocacy is to empower people to speak for themselves. This is vital for people faced with stigma. People faced with stigma can however fall into emotional traps with the expectation that advocacy is there to provide emotional support and carry out their responsibilities for them.
#2 Representation is Not Responsibility
Advocacy encourage clients to speak up for themselves, explain their rights to them and where appropriate represent them. However they act on the instruction of what the Client requests and are not an advisory service. Responsibility for the instructions that the client gives remains with the Client. Responsible advocates I would expect guide clients to advisory services to explore their options before settling on a decision for action. This is particularly essential for those affected by mental health issues as they may have perceptions not in keeping with reality.
#3 Guidance is Not Advice
This gets me to another major mistaken belief I have faced in the past. It is essential to know the purpose for which a service you are seeking has been established. Guidance is about setting in motion actions based on decisions taken. You must be conscious you have taken a decision before taking guidance.
A service providing guidance will run on your instruction regardless of whether you have taken advice or not. Where their income relies on the activities they undertake, they may just run on your instruction without directing you to first seek advice.
Material distributed on the day showed what advocacy was about (encouraging clients to speak for themselves, being included in the decision making process, being treated equally, challenging assumptions, explaining your rights); how advocacy can help; how advocacy works; independent Mental Health advocates and who could make referrals.
All in all, my first user group experience gave me cause for hope on how mental health facilities had progressed since I was last in hospital and an understanding of areas we must all stand in the gap for.
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