Projects: Advocacy in Mind

What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is about making sure your voice gets heard in any decisions that affect your day-to-day life, helping you to speak up for yourself, and ensuring that your views and opinions are listened to, understood and respected. It is a process to enable you to say what you want, obtain your rights and access services.

If you have a mental health issue or experience emotional distress, it can be difficult to express your wishes and represent your own interests to people who provide your care and treatment. This may be due to feeling anxious, depressed or confused, or worried that you will not be understood or treated with respect.

Historically people with mental health issues have been marginalised in society and faced discrimination and exclusion from opportunities to participate fully in life, which can result in feeling disempowered.

Advocacy aims to promote equality and make services more inclusive and accessible. It can involve supporting you to express yourself, and your needs, or if you wish and with your consent communicating your opinions on your behalf.

What is an Advocate?
An Advocate is independent and impartial. They are there solely for you and will not give a personal opinion on what they think is best for you, but listen to you and find out what you think and feel about your treatment and care and what you would like to happen.
An advocate will not judge you and will treat you with respect whatever your gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, cultural background or religion and will defend and promote your rights.

They will help you talk through your concerns, identify what choices are available to you and provide information on mental health issues and services and how to access them. They will agree a plan to work with you towards your goals and provide support for as long as necessary to address your issues. The service is free of charge.

What can an Advocate do?
There are lots of specific ways an advocate can support you. Some examples...

• Listen to you so they can understand your concerns

• Speak for you about your worries or about a particular issue

• Go with you to meetings or appointments, as a supportive presence

• Represent you in situations where you don't feel able to represent yourself

• Help you write letters or emails

• Make a phone call for you

• Help you find out information and access services

If you have a mental health issue and would like the support of an Advocate then please contact Bethan at Mind in Taunton & West Somerset by emailing bethanf@mindtws.org.uk or telephoning 01823 334906.

You need to be aged 18 – 65 and living in Taunton Deane or West Somerset to access the service.

Sue's story*

Sue came to Advocacy in Mind for help and support talking to her previous employers. She had felt bullied at her workplace and was off sick for 2 years with severe anxiety and depression before leaving the job. The stress had exacerbated Sue’s mental distress and she felt angry and unable to move on.

She met with an Advocate and they agreed a plan to contact her employers and ask to arrange a meeting to discuss her feelings. Together they worked out and prepared what she wanted to say to them. During the meeting, Sue felt able to self-advocate and speak for herself, with her Advocate there to underline her concerns, and speak up if she had missed anything out.

Sue felt that the meeting was very positive and that her employers listened to her and took her views seriously. She received a verbal and written apology, acknowledging the impact of the events which had taken place on her mental health, which was what she wanted. She now feels that she has put the employment issue behind her and this has helped her to move forward in her life.

Sue says: "I was very nervous about seeing an Advocate but she listened to me and validated my feelings. She kept in touch with me to let me know what was happening whilst arranging the meeting. She helped me prepare and checked what I would like to do if I needed a break in the meeting. She was there with me all the time, before and after the meeting and had a calming effect on me and showed understanding and empathy.

My Advocate helped me to bring closure to a very difficult period in my life. All of my anger has gone and although day to day living is still difficult, it has helped me move on myself in many ways. I would definitely recommend Advocacy in Mind to others. Its strengths are the attitudes and depth of understanding shown by the team and I found them very helpful and supportive."

*The client's name has been changed to protect her identity.