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What does a mental health advocate do?
If you’re thinking about becoming a mental health advocate, you may wish to first work out what would be an appropriate approach to your mental health advocacy. For example, if you live with the person you wish to support, your existing relationship may mean you can talk about more personal issues than with someone you don’t know very well.
A typical advocate will:
Ask open questions and actively listen to the person they are supporting
Provide information that may improve their current situation
Help explore different options and approaches to improving their mental health
Highlight any personal rights or support that the person is entitled to
Contact relevant people, organisations, or charities either with or on behalf of them, always keeping the individual involved in decision-making
Accompany the person in question on calls, and at meetings or appointments, where possible
At the same time, it’s worth noting that there are certain actions that you are not required to fulfil when acting as an advocate for somebody. Mental health advocates do not need to:
Give their personal opinion or advice
Solve problems or make decisions on behalf of the person they are advocating for
Make judgements about the person they are advocating for
It’s important to keep in mind that mental health experts, therapists and counsellors train for years to develop the skills, experience, and emotional resilience needed to offer specialist advice.
However, you can offer authentic support to someone by ensuring you follow the above steps, while taking care of your own feelings at the same time. These steps will help you to provide clear, impartial support, as well as prevent you from taking on any unnecessary stress or responsibilities that may become too burdensome.
