EUFAMI has designed and developed two training programmes for its member organisations.
- PROSPECT - Peer To Peer Empowerment
- INVOLVE - Family Friendly Mental Health Services
There are four Training Programmes available:
- Family & Friends
- People with Self-Experience
- Health and Social Care Professionals
- Common Ground
All the programmes are based on certain principles.
- Peer to peer – the facilitators are from the same peer group as the participants
- Based on participants own personal experiences
- Not providing answers or solutions but opens new ways of thinking and perspectives
The Prospect Family & Friends Training Programme addresses the needs of carers - family members and friends. It enables them to gain confidence and develops their coping skills. This supports regaining control of their lives and improves their quality of life.
The INVOLVE Project focuses on the training of participants in developing advocacy strategies regarding the involvement of relatives, friends, partners and carers in relation to the social needs and treatment of the individual they are supporting.
Mental Health Services often unconsciously and consciously exclude family members, friends or other care partners, from the care and treatment process and focus only on the person presenting a mental illness. International research reflects this experience and is supported by EUFAMI’s research on the Value of Caring.
The project commenced in 2021 and has completed four Information Sessions in the form of Workshops on Advocacy within 2022, with participants from Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece, and Ireland.
A Family Advocacy toolkit, which can be adapted by each national member, is underway and will include an analysis of inputs, outputs and outcomes.