2.4 Explain why it is important to work in partnership with key people, advocates and others who are significant to an individual using mental health services

This guide will help you answer 2.4 Explain why it is important to work in partnership with key people, advocates and others who are significant to an individual using mental health services.

People receiving mental health services benefit when those supporting them work together. This partnership approach helps the person feel listened to, safe and involved in their own care. Key people may include family, close friends, carers, advocates and any others who play a significant part in the person’s life. Working together brings many benefits to the person using services and those around them.

What is Partnership Working?

Partnership working means everyone involved in supporting a person collaborates openly and respectfully. This includes health professionals, social care staff, family, friends, and representatives such as advocates. Partnership working focuses on open communication, sharing relevant information, and agreeing shared goals that are centred on the wishes and needs of the person using mental health services.

Open and honest communication is the basis of strong partnerships. Clear shared aims help everyone understand what the person wants to achieve and how best to provide support. Trust builds over time as those involved stay committed and listen to each other.

Working in partnership can involve:

• Care planning and review meetings
• Agreeing support strategies for day-to-day living
• Joint problem-solving
• Sharing updates on progress, setbacks or new needs

Partnerships may change over time. New key people may become involved as someone’s circumstances or wishes change. Good partnership working takes account of this and adapts.

The Role of Key People

Key people are often central to someone’s life. They may include parents, partners, adult children, siblings, close friends or carers. They might know the person well and understand their preferences, strengths, habits, fears and hopes. This knowledge helps make care and support more personal.

Key people can:

• Share information about how the person copes, what helps or triggers them
• Support the person to express their wishes or concerns
• Encourage and motivate the person
• Notice early warning signs if someone’s mental health is changing
• Provide practical daily help, such as food, transport or keeping appointments
• Offer emotional support, comfort and reassurance

Involving key people builds on existing relationships. This supports recovery and helps prevent feelings of isolation. It can also help the person stay connected to their community and maintain important relationships.

Advocates and Their Function

An advocate is someone who speaks up for, or supports, another person’s interests. They might be a professional paid advocate or a volunteer. Family or friends can sometimes act as informal advocates, but professional advocates are independent. They work for the person, not the service or organisation.

Advocates help people:

• Understand their rights
• Have a say in decisions affecting their life
• Make choices about their care and treatment
• Get their views heard when they may feel overlooked or ignored
• Raise concerns or complaints
• Access information in ways they can understand

Some people may have a legal right to an advocate. For example, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives people access to an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) when serious decisions are needed but the person cannot express their views. The Mental Health Act 1983 gives some patients the right to an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA).

Referring someone to an advocate means you create extra support so their views and rights do not go unheard. This is especially helpful if the person feels powerless or intimidated in meetings with professionals.

The Significance of Others

‘Others’ means anyone important to the person using mental health services who might not fit neatly into the categories of key people or formal advocates. This might include neighbours, spiritual leaders, support workers, work colleagues or voluntary organisation staff. Such people can still play a large part in the individual’s wellbeing.

They may:

• Offer reliable friendship
• Bring a different perspective
• Introduce the person to community activities
• Help with confidence building
• Spot changes in mood or behaviour
• Support tasks like job hunting or learning new skills

Workers should find out who these significant others are and involve them as much as the individual wishes. Sometimes the less obvious supporters play a critical role in the person’s recovery or day-to-day comfort.

Benefits for People Using Mental Health Services

Working in partnership with key people, advocates and significant others brings positive outcomes for those receiving support. Some key benefits include:

• Better communication between everyone involved
• A stronger, more consistent support network
• Feeling listened to, respected and valued
• Increased confidence in expressing wishes, choices or concerns
• Tailored support that meets personal preferences
• Quicker spotting of potential setbacks or risks
• Safer decision making with fewer misunderstandings
• Motivational encouragement to pursue or achieve goals
• More effective relapse prevention
• Reduced risk of isolation or loneliness
• Higher chances of recovery or managing ongoing needs well

People who feel involved in their own support often engage better. When everyone supporting them pulls together and listens carefully, fears and anxieties can reduce. Positive relationships build trust and hope.

Benefits for Key People and Supporters

Key people, including family members and close friends, may have their own needs. Caring or supporting someone with mental health needs can be stressful or tiring at times. Working in partnership:

• Shares information so everyone feels included, not left out
• Helps family or friends understand the care plan and what to expect
• Gives supporters a say in discussions where appropriate
• Makes it easier to spot stress or strain in carers and provide extra help
• Offers reassurance that their loved one is being looked after properly
• Strengthens relationships between service providers and informal supporters

Feeling included helps key people and other supporters feel valued and respected. This can help keep support networks strong in the long run.

Benefits for Workers and Services

Working in partnership leads to better results for staff and organisations too. Workers gain valuable insights from the people closest to the person they support. It can reduce the risk of professional burnout, disagreements or complaints because everyone works together, not in opposition.

For workers, partnership working:

• Builds trust and professional satisfaction
• Makes it easier to gather a full picture of someone’s needs and preferences
• Helps spot potential risks or difficulties early
• Reduces duplication of work
• Enhances communication and cooperation across agencies or teams
• Meets the standards expected under law and policy

Managers and organisations find that partnership working can mean fewer complaints. It may reduce the number of people needing crisis intervention or long-term hospital stays.

Legal and Policy Expectations

Laws and national guidance set clear expectations for mental health workers about partnership working. The Mental Health Act 1983 (and later amendments), the Care Act 2014 and the Code of Practice all highlight the need to involve those important to a person’s life.

Key points include:

• People have the right to be involved in decisions about their own care
• People have the right to nominate others to support, accompany or represent them
• Certain situations give an automatic right to advocacy
• Workers must always seek consent before sharing information, unless there is risk of harm
• Organisations must involve carers in assessments and planning, where the person wishes
• People must be treated with dignity and respect at all times

Not following these laws and rules can lead to complaints, professional misconduct cases or legal penalties.

Consent and Information Sharing

Confidentiality remains important when working with partners. Workers need to balance sharing enough information to help with protecting a person’s privacy. Consent means permission from the individual to share details about them.

Only share information with key people, advocates or others if:

• The person has agreed (preferably in writing)
• There is a legal obligation, such as in cases of risk or neglect
• The information is needed for immediate safety

Keep clear records of who can access information, when and why. Service users have the right to decide who gets involved and to change their minds at any time. Workers must respect this choice.

Negotiating Difference and Conflict

Sometimes key people, advocates or others may disagree with staff or with each other. Disputes can happen about what is best for the person. Always focus on the wishes, wellbeing and rights of the person using services.

Good practice includes:

• Remaining calm, respectful and objective
• Listening carefully to concerns or differences
• Mediating sensitively
• Referring to the person’s documented wishes and care plan
• Involving independent advocates to support fair discussion
• Escalating to managers only if resolution cannot be reached

Working in partnership does not mean always agreeing. It means working to find the best outcomes for the person, based on their goals and in line with law and policy.

Cultural Sensitivity and Personal Circumstances

People may come from many different backgrounds. Culture, beliefs and personal experiences shape their preferences for care and support. Working in partnership helps workers:

• Understand family structures or significant relationships in the person’s culture
• Respect communication styles and beliefs
• Adjust care and support to fit individual values
• Include community leaders, faith representatives or other significant supporters if the person wants this

Being open to learning about the person’s world helps create a support network that feels safe, responsive and relevant to them.

Supporting Autonomy and Choice

Everyone has the right to be as independent as possible and make their own choices. Partnership working strengthens autonomy.

Ways this is supported:

• Encouraging the person to speak for themselves where possible
• Involving a trusted advocate to help communicate wishes if needed
• Listening carefully, without making assumptions
• Giving clear, balanced information about choices and consequences
• Checking in regularly to see if the person wants to review decisions
• Respecting “no” if the person does not want a particular key person involved

People feel empowered when their choices shape their care and support. A strong partnership helps make this possible.

Promoting Recovery and Resilience

Recovery in mental health means more than managing symptoms. It involves building a hopeful, satisfying and meaningful life. Strong partnerships play an important part in recovery.

Key benefits include:

• Stable relationships that support ongoing wellbeing
• Early intervention if difficulties arise
• Positive encouragement and celebration of progress
• Opportunities to explore new possibilities, such as education or work
• Strengthening the skills and confidence needed to face setbacks

Resilience means being able to cope when challenges happen. A supportive network, made up of workers, key people and others chosen by the person, helps them develop this resilience.

Final Thoughts

Working in partnership with key people, advocates and others is not just a professional responsibility. It is a respectful and effective way to support anyone with mental health needs.

By listening carefully, valuing everyone’s unique contribution, and working as a team, you support the person to live a safer, more connected and fulfilling life. Always ask who matters to the person, include those people as much as they want, and respect the person’s privacy and choices at all times.