How can you collaborate with stakeholders to promote mental health advocacy?

Mental health advocacy is the process of raising awareness, challenging stigma, and influencing policies that affect the well-being of people with mental health issues. As a peer support worker, you have a unique role and perspective in promoting mental health advocacy, as you use your lived experience to connect with and empower your peers. However, you cannot do it alone. You need to collaborate with various stakeholders, such as service users, professionals, organizations, and policymakers, to amplify your voice and impact. In this article, we will explore how you can collaborate with stakeholders to promote mental health advocacy in your peer support work.

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1 Identify your goals and values

Before you reach out to potential collaborators, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and why. What are your goals and values as a peer support worker and a mental health advocate? What are the issues that matter most to you and your peers? How do you want to address them? Having a clear vision and mission will help you communicate your message effectively and align yourself with like-minded stakeholders.

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Beatrice N.

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Identify the root cause: Mental health basically affects how people act, react, their general feelings, thought processes, and their relationship with others. Part of planning to promote mental health advocacy must include understanding the root cause of the problem at the beginning. E.g. What are people mostly stressed about? How can the identified root causes be resolved to reduce their effects on the general well-being of people? How can those already affected be supported in their journey to recovery (stigma-free)? Depending on their area of specialty, stakeholders play a big role in identifying, designing, and executing mental health advocacy programs from start to end in a given community/ society.

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2 Research and network

Once you have identified your goals and values, you need to find out who are the relevant stakeholders in your field and how you can connect with them. You can start by doing some online research, such as browsing websites, social media, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, or forums related to mental health advocacy. You can also attend events, workshops, webinars, conferences, or meetings where you can meet and learn from other peer support workers, mental health professionals, organizations, or policymakers. Networking is a key skill for building relationships and trust with stakeholders, so make sure you introduce yourself, share your story, ask questions, listen actively, and exchange contact information.

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3 Engage and collaborate

After you have established some connections with stakeholders, you need to engage and collaborate with them in meaningful ways. You can do this by joining or creating groups, committees, coalitions, or campaigns that focus on specific mental health issues or goals. You can also participate in or initiate projects, events, workshops, surveys, consultations, or advocacy actions that involve different stakeholders. For example, you can co-produce a resource, co-facilitate a training, co-design a service, or co-lead a petition with other peer support workers, professionals, organizations, or policymakers. When you engage and collaborate with stakeholders, you need to respect their perspectives, values, and roles, while also asserting your own.

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4 Evaluate and improve

Finally, you need to evaluate and improve your collaboration with stakeholders. You can do this by reflecting on your experience, feedback, outcomes, and challenges. What did you learn from collaborating with stakeholders? What worked well and what did not? How did you contribute to mental health advocacy? How can you improve your collaboration skills and strategies? Evaluating and improving your collaboration will help you grow as a peer support worker and a mental health advocate, as well as strengthen your relationships and impact with stakeholders.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you collaborate with stakeholders to promote mental health advocacy?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Identify your goals and values

2 Research and network

3 Engage and collaborate

4 Evaluate and improve

5 Here’s what else to consider

Peer Support

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How can you collaborate with stakeholders to promote mental health advocacy?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Identify your goals and values

2 Research and network

3 Engage and collaborate

4 Evaluate and improve

5 Here’s what else to consider

Peer Support

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