The INVOLVE Project focuses on the training of participants in developing advocacy strategies regarding the involvement of relatives, friends, partners and carers in relation to the social needs and treatment of the individual they are supporting.
Mental Health Services often unconsciously and consciously exclude family members, friends or other care partners, from the care and treatment process and focus only on the person presenting a mental illness. International research reflects this experience and is supported by EUFAMI’s research on the Value of Caring.
The project commenced in April 2022 and has completed four Information Sessions in the form of Workshops on Advocacy within 2022 and 2023, with participants from Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece, and Ireland.
More specifically, the project focuses particularly on themes to assist national member organisations to advocate for Family involvement in mental health Services in their own country. This includes:
- Providing a professional advocacy advice and mentoring service to participating member organisations.
- Co-producing with each national member organisation an advocacy tool kit to support its programme to improve Mental Health services in its own country.
- Providing specific training to a Mental Health advocate in each participating national member organisation.
The process has been divided in three phases:
- Phase I – had been on Recruitment of national partners and initial scoping workshop
- Phase II – had been Training on advocacy skills and the development of advocacy strategies – this phase was subdivided into 4x information sessions
- Phase III – Mentoring implementing partners during the development of their own advocacy strategies and guiding the start of the implementation process
Phase I and II of this project have already been completed and our Advocacy Consultant, Ms Estela Vidal, is currently collaborating with the partners of this project towards carrying out Phase III.
A Family Advocacy toolkit, which can be adapted by each national member, is underway and will include an analysis of inputs, outputs and outcomes.