User Self Advocacy Project - Chinese Mental Health Association
In 2003/4 the highly publicised suicides of the Hong Kong superstar Leslie Cheung and the successful Asian American Writer, Iris Chang, brought the reality of mental health issues to the forefront of many Chinese people's thoughts.
Mental health issues can affect people from all walks of life. Social, economic and racial backgrounds provide no barrier to experiencing depression or being unable to cope with the stresses that modern day life can bring. Chinese culture has many aspects, nuances and beliefs such as the concept of 'face' and 'pride' which can prevent people of Chinese descent from accessing help and support.
This is where the Chinese Mental Health Association (CMHA) and in particular their 'User Self Advocacy Project' come in. From its inception in 1992, CMHA has been at the forefront of providing community based mental health assistance and support to the ever growing Chinese community in the UK. CMHA wants to break the cycle of ignorance and end the stigmas that prevent people from speaking up and seeking help.
Launched in 2006, the user self advocacy project aims to work with Chinese mental health service users, survivors or carers living in the Greater London area. The project consists of a user forum where participants meet regularly to voice views on services and policies impacting upon their lives, and a training programme to help people to build self esteem, improve communication and social skills. It's funded by Comic Relief with top up funding from the Lloyds TSB foundation.
"In the long term we want their empowered voice to influence health policies and increase an awareness of the needs of the Chinese community amongst health and medical professionals? explains Eddie Yu, User Self Advocacy Coordinator. "Through self advocacy and training, the participants can provide a needed voice for what is thought to be the 'invisible' Chinese communities as well as being more able to assert for their needs and wishes in their daily living."
Eddie explains that some of the common issues facing Chinese mental health service users arise as a result of language. "The Chinese language is so complicated that we have Mandarin, Cantonese and different dialects as spoken forms, as well as traditional/ complex and simplified Chinese as written forms. It is usually the case that non Chinese speaking service providers deliver information in English so people don?t understand and don?t know what services are available or what their options and rights are. Services find it difficult to support them. In most cases there is a reliance on interpreters, but getting an interpreter takes time and quality varies. In some cases an interpreter is arranged that speaks a different language to the service users."
There are also cultural barriers. "Service users feel much more comfortable if the health professions speak their mother tongue and understand their cultural background. In Chinese culture mental health illness is seen as shameful and there is a stigma attached to it. Without an understanding of the cultural aspects it is very difficult to build rapport which is significant in the working relationship."
The first year of the project has focused on the recruitment of user participants, the facilitation of Chinese user forums and the development of the training programme.
"The first Chinese user forum took place in late October last year" explains Eddie. "Nineteen Chinese service users attended the consultation which was impressive. It indicates to us that Chinese people have a great desire to express what they think and want to see and experience better mental health services. They just don?t know where and how to do it. The User Self Advocacy Project is like a bridge to link up Chinese service users and mainstream mental health services"
According to Eddie one of the challenges though is supporting people to speak up when they are not used to being proactive and voicing what they think. "We want the project to be truly user led but people need great encouragement. It is essential to support them by providing information and organising training to let them excel their roles. User led is always important so there is a culture at the project which is always to involve service users in project planning and consult their feedback."
"There have been challenges" continues Eddie, "attendance of participants can be inconsistent, with people sometimes feeling unwell on the day, or having personal commitment like taking care of children. There is also the sense that people have been invited to join many consultations and meetings in the past, but the lack of visible impact and changes can make them question the effectiveness of their involvement. But we are determined that this project will make a difference and ensure Chinese voices are heard, change is achieved and ultimately Chinese people receive equal treatment to the rest of society."
Article published:2007-07-03
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