Supported decision-making to be rolled out soon
One of the key aspects of the Mental Health Act 2014 reforms is that mental health services should be supporting consumers to make decisions about their treatment, rather than making these decisions for them.
IMHA is now working to develop training to support clinicians and help develop their skills in this area.
We are building on the practical knowledge of our IMHA advocacy team who are leading this work, as well as utilising the expertise of our Consumer Advisory Group, Speaking from Experience, to make sure the training we develop has a strong consumer focus.
Sophie Howes, Senior Advocate, says, ‘This is a very exciting development for IMHA.
'We know from our work in mental health services that clinicians are keen to incorporate supported decision making into their practice, however they need assistance to make this happen. IMHA is keen to support this change by providing practical accessible training to clinicians working at a ward level.
‘In our conversations with services we hear that they are keen to change practice; however they need training and support to encourage this to happen on the ground.
‘We hope our training will be ready to deliver in the second half of the year, so watch this space!'
More information
If you would like further information please email Senior Advocate Sophie Howes at sophie.howes@imha.vic.gov.au.
Reviewed 23 July 2021