Ali is in his late 40s and was detained on a mental health ward under the Mental Health Act. He wanted to apply for a tribunal to challenge the reasons he was detained and needed a solicitor to represent him. He’d had problems with lawyers in the past and didn’t feel confident looking for one on his own, so he asked to be referred to The Advocacy Project.
Ali met with Deniz, one of our Independent Mental Health Advocates, to discuss the situation. Ali said he wasn’t used to doing things for himself and felt overwhelmed at the prospect of finding a solicitor on his own; he was worried someone might take advantage of him.
Deniz shared with Ali a list of NHS approved solicitors, sharing with him some local names that she’d heard of and that she knew had good reputations. Ali asked Deniz to contact one of the firms and to instruct a solicitor on his behalf; Ali explained why he didn’t feel confident to do this himself. Deniz explained that she could also support Ali to make the call – giving him guidance as to what to expect at each stage of the process. Ali then felt able to make contact directly, but asked Deniz to sit in on the call in case he needed her.
Although the solicitor directed questions to Deniz on the call, she re-directed to Ali to give him the chance to answer first and to instruct on next steps. Ali was able to explain everything to the solicitor without Deniz’s help and was delighted at the end of the call that he had taken all the necessary steps independently.
From that point, Ali felt much more confident to speak up for himself and to feel he had a say in decisions that were being made about his future care. He was able to book in a date for the tribunal to review his case. Deniz was also able to explain to the solicitor the value in giving time and space to clients such as Ali to offer them the opportunity to answer questions directly themselves first. It’s another great example of how advocacy can help build self-esteem and help people feel in control of the decisions which affect their lives.