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Section three - Tackle stigma and discrimination
Human rights and respect for people with mental health problems must be protected. Empowerment is a crucial step towards meeting these objectives, as it enhances integration and social inclusion. Recovery models of care seek to afford the individuals more choice and responsibility over managing their own lives and illnesses.
Advocacy Services
There are currently three collaborative projects in operation:
- South and East Belfast Advocacy Service
- Holywell Advocacy Service
- Armagh and Dungannon Advocacy Service
All of these projects work in hospital and community settings and:
- Offer individual and group advocacy
- Facilitate user input into mental health policy and planning
- Provide information, training and education relating to user participation
The Advocacy Service aims:
- To help safeguard the right of service user—both rights under mental health policy and rights as citizens
- To empower service users to make informed decisions about their care and treatment and to take greater control over their lives.
- To support service users to get their views heard
- To represent the views of service users as if they were their own if the service user wishes it.
- To support service users in seeking resolution to issues which concern them.
- To protect service users who are particularly vulnerable for reasons of their illness or lack of capacity to make informed decisions
- To feed-back issues raised by service users to those providing and commissioning services so that services can be constantly improved.
- The service will deliver professional advocacy to individual service users who are subject to, or at risk of detention or compulsion under mental health legislation.
Recovery is for everyone
This seminar was held at the Wellington Park Hotel on Friday 12 November 2004. Jointly sponsored by the Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (N.I.) and the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health, it proved to be a very worthwhile event.
Over eighty mental health professionals, service users and carers, from a wide variety of organisations attended. The day was considered to be successful.
Chaired by Professor David Bamford, the seminar consisted of three presentations; the first on the work of the Review and the second and third by Dr Dan Fisher M.D., PhD, of the National Empowerment Centre in Lawrence, Mass., U.S.A. Dr Fisher (pictured on the left) was key speaker on the day and his experiences of mental illness and the mental health system were shared with all present.
The recovery model he espouses is progressive, encouraging individuals to take increased responsibility over their own lives and illness. Recovery is not necessarily intended to reflect ‘full’ recovery, but an enhancement of quality of life, choice and independence over time. It is a hopeful message, to which delegates responded warmly.
Principles of Recovery
- Trust
- Self-determination
- Hope: believing you’ll recover
- Believing in the person
- Connecting at a human level
- People are always making meaning
- Having a voice of one’s own
- All feelings are valid
- Important to follow dreams
- Relating with dignity and respect
Recovery models are very prevalent in the USA and elsewhere internationally. They are also beginning to be viewed as beneficial in the UK. No doubt with time, Northern Ireland will adopt recovery models in helping people in the healing process.
