Allan Pinches, consumer consultant
With more than 20 years’ experience in mental health consumer participation roles, Allan Pinches has a thoughtful and well-informed perspective on the opportunities and challenges that our new Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) service will encounter, and a hopeful vision of what can be achieved by unlocking the potential of the Mental Health Act 2014.
Mental Health Act reforms
The reforms introduced by the Act have ‘many working parts’, Allan believes, and ongoing, sustained communication and partnerships between consumers, service providers, families and carers will be vital in transforming them from aspirational goals to day-to-day practice.
‘For the ideals of the Act to become real, there will need to be a lot of goodwill and co-operation. Education is vital as clinicians will need to feel confident they can still carry out their duties and responsibilities with the new focus on less restrictive outcomes, and consumers need to have trust as well,’ he says.
The Act has a strong focus on recovery, and IMHA will have a role in supporting consumers to have a say and take control over their own treatment. ‘For a recovery-oriented approach to succeed there will need to be lots of skill, co-operation, empathy and the ability to listen,’ Allan says.
‘A big part of recovery comes when a person is encouraged and supported to go beyond their own limitations, delve more deeply into their personal potential and be more hopeful about their future.’
This also involves accepting the dignity of risk, as Allan explains. ‘People can’t be wrapped up in layers of protection; that gets in the way of life’s possibilities and the risks all of us take whenever we do something new, whether it is our first exam, first job or first date. People need to be supported to step outside their fears and barriers.’
Compulsory treatment and Independent Mental Health Advocacy
The role of IMHA, Allan believes, can be in supporting communication of these aspirations and developing non-adversarial discussions, between consumers, families, carers and clinical staff. ‘It’s not always easy, and there will need to be a spirit of negotiation and compromise.
‘When a person is in compulsory treatment, putting forward their own views can be hard and they can need support, because of the level of distress and the impact of previous experience where they feel they have not been heard. Advocates can act as a circuit breaker in putting forward alternatives that may not have been considered.’
Allan sees great potential in the Act’s provision for advanced statements, where a person can set out their treatment preferences and wishes. ‘These can be a great discussion tool and education opportunity for clinicians and consumers to talk together and develop an understanding before they become unwell.’
About Allan
Allan Pinches has worked in mental health consumer participation roles for more than 22 years, including on the boards of the Richmond Fellowship of Victoria and Neami, and has led many service improvements through his work with North Western Mental Health Services. Allan currently working at La Trobe University on a strategic history of the consumer consultant movement.
Read Allan's article 'Better mental health advocacy: A ‘virtual panel’ of consumer thinkers explore some possibilities' in the magazine New paradigm (PDF, 813 KB).
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