Promoting autonomy in mental health care practice

It is a widely acknowledged fact that professionals in medical and social spheres, as well as police officers, lawyers, judges and journalists require information and training on different types of disabilities, communication and de-escalation techniques and skills, and most importantly, knowledge of the human rights of persons with disabilities. 

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) under General Obligations (art. 4) highlights the necessity to “promote the training of professionals and staff working with persons with disabilities in the rights recognized in this Convention” and to “actively involve persons with disabilities in the development and implementation of legislation and policies to implement the present Convention”. Thus we must rely on these international legal standards to involve persons with psychosocial disabilities in the training of professionals. 

The need for such trainings and the involvement of persons with lived experience in the delivery of them has also been recognized from a practical point of view , as a way to facilitate learning by professionals about human rights and disability-related issues, and to decrease negative attitudes towards persons with disabilities. WHO Quality Rights training modules are designed to be co-facilitated by a person with lived experience .

This presentation will explore examples of training for professionals by or with the involvement of persons with psychosocial disabilities and the effect it has on the learning process and attitudes of professionals. The presenter will bring examples from training sessions she has delivered herself for medical and social services professionals, journalists, judges, police officers and fire fighters, both in her home country and abroad, including parallels to other trainings delivered by persons with lived experience, highlighting key points of importance in the involvement of persons with lived experience as trainers. 
 

Olga Kalina is a human rights activist in the disability and mental health fields. After being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2005, she joined the NGO, Partnership for Equal Rights in Georgia, promoting the rights of people with mental health problems. Since 2014, she has been Chair of the European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP) and a member of the monitoring team of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in Georgia with which she has been involved in monitoring of elderly care homes, prisons, residential facilities for persons with psychosocial disabilities and psychiatric institutions.
 Since 2021, Ms. Kalina teaches the course ‘Mental Health, Disability and Human Rights” at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia based on WHO Quality Rights modules, along with national thematic reports and legislation. In 2022, she became a member of the Consultative body for the Georgian Intergovernmental Committee on implementation of the UN CRPD, Chair of the De-institutionalization Committee of the Georgian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and a member of the Consultation Group on Disability Issues for the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (representing the Georgian Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry). With the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ms. Kalina has been involved in the design and delivery of trainings on disability issues, including psychosocial disabilities/mental health conditions for police officers and fire fighters.