What is General Mental Health Advocacy?

Free, confidential and independent advocacy support

This service is for adults (aged 16-65) who either need to access mental health services in Sheffield, or who are already using those services.  It aims to empower people to put forward their views about their needs and priorities for their own wellbeing.

This includes accessing mental health care through your GP, Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT), and other services such as IAPT (Counselling and Psychological Therapies eg CBT) and Day Services.  We can support you accessing and using services provided by the NHS, Sheffield City Council, Voluntary Sector and private providers.

It is also available for patients in hospital who are not entitled to our IMHA service, that is those who have not been detained under the Mental Health Act, known as informal or voluntary patients.

We can also help if you are applying for a Self-Directed Support budget at the assessment stage and want support to speak your views.

If you need support, click on the 'Need an advocate?' link on the menu.

Download our leaflet about general mental health advocacy (pdf).

Read on for how we can help