IMHA self-advocacy resources - for consumers, by consumers

In June last year I was fortunate to start my role as Senior Project Officer for Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA). My new mission, after working as an advocate for IMHA, was to Co-Produce self-advocacy resources. Today I’m excited to introduce you to the new resources.

What does IMHA do?

IMHA is a specialist non-legal advocacy service within Victoria Legal Aid. We support people who are receiving compulsory mental health treatment to understand and exercise their rights under the Victorian Mental Health Act 2014.

How do we do it? By giving consumers information about rights, discussing their options, supporting them to speak up, and talking to their treating teams directly. We only act on the instructions of consumers, and never decide or suggest what is in their best-interests.

You can read more about us by checking out our recent external evaluation.

Information empowers

Consumers have told us information is key to advocacy. It gives them choices and the ability to reclaim their power.

That’s what this project was about – making meaningful tools and resources. We know that consumers are the experts in their experience, but also experts in navigating a fragmented system that inconsistently protects and promotes their rights. From our work on the ground and our consultations with our advisory group (Speaking from Experience), it was clear that the written law, and consumers' lived reality of it, were very different.

We had to bridge this gap. One way was to build information and strategies that connect with those who have first-person knowledge of the system. So we set about meeting consumers across Victoria, looking to co-producing a suite of self-advocacy resources. 

First, we asked consumers about their experiences of the mental health system and the difficulties in speaking up. We delved deep into these difficult spots for speaking up, unearthing what the specific practical tasks that consumers had to do to resolve their problems, and why they were difficult. The reasons were clear – power, the threat of treatment, a lack of information, the level of distress people were experiencing, and not feeling heard.

We discussed options, and consumers told us what resources would help at these difficult times. It was clear that these resources needed to look beyond legal information, towards the circumstances and environment consumers face. It also meant framing resources around the issues people faced rather than the law that sat behind it. Finally it meant taking seriously how people wanted to interact with resource - in what setting? with who? in what modality?From there, we collated people's advice, drafted our prototypes and piloted them with consumers. Throughout this process we worked closely with the Speaking from Experience advisory group.

Finally, we took the draft resources back to the focus groups for our second meeting – asking them what they thought about the resources, changes we should make, and how we can make them available in services.

The New Tools

So, what did we make? After drafting, prototyping, and reviewing resources, we have made:

• Written factsheets – with information on people’s rights, focusing on the issues that matter most to them (such as “I want to have more say in my treatment”, or “I want to fee safe while I am receiving treatment”). You can see them all here on our website.
• Videos – we made this information accessible in video format, and hope to have them played in mental health units and clinics across Victoria. Here is an example below, but there are more on our website here.

• Wallet-cards – these cards have basic information about IMHA, your rights, and can prompt you to have discussions with your treating team about your advance statement or nominated person. You can contact us on the details below to get a copy.
• Self-advocacy workshop – a workshop focusing on the information and practice of speaking up. Advocates hope to deliver these in hospitals and in the community.
• An online self-help tool - a responsive tool that helps people resolve the most common issues in the mental health system by learning about their rights and making a self-advocacy plan.

Where to from here?

While the resources are finished, our job isn’t. Our attention now turns to how we can make these resources available to consumers in hospitals and the community. We have worked closely with mental health services to learn about this process and are ready to reach out more broadly.

Consumers can access these resources by talking to your advocate, calling our intake line, or visiting our website.

If you are a clinician or service provider, we want to hear from you about how we can make these available. Be sure to contact the IMHA advocate in your service or use the contact details below.

Get in touch if you want to talk more

[email protected] | 1300 947 820