Mental health policy and practice across Europe: an overview

344 Mental health policy and practice
and lobbying/political activism to influence policy and practice. They can also
be involved as stakeholders in the planning and delivery of services by the
statutory sectors. One final area where data was not collected, but which is
important for user involvement, is that of research, where the United Kingdom
would seem to be leading the way in service user-led research activities. Service
user researchers may either be professional researchers or alternatively may be
lay individuals who receive research training enabling them to undertake such
work. This is discussed briefly later in the chapter.
Funding is of course a major determinant of what groups can do. Large groups
such as those in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands receive substantial
funding from their national governments. In the United Kingdom, groups are
mostly funded through local government, in addition to support from charitable
monies – for example, through grants from the National Lottery. This funding
is often insufficient and insecure, with groups having to apply and reapply
for money on an annual basis. Where the user movement is less developed,
groups tend to be part of larger NGOs. Some groups, of course, have no funding
at all and rely on the goodwill of volunteers.
Self-help and mutual support
The main activity of most user groups across the whole of Europe is self-help
and mutual support, where users share their experiences and create a place to
support each other, develop self-confidence, learn skills and ways of coping, and
share knowledge. In the United Kingdom for instance, 69 per cent of user
groups provide such activities (Wallcraft et al. 2003). Small self-help groups,
where people meet regularly, can have a profound impact on their lives, and
one advantage of this system is that it costs virtually nothing, even though
finding the rent for a meeting space can be a problem for many such small
groups. Larger organizations, for example in Sweden, may run drop-ins and
social clubs. Forms of self-help may also be designed for people experiencing or
recovering from crises. For instance, there is a ‘runaway house’ (weglaufhaus) in
Berlin. This house, an antipsychiatric project which has received some public
funding, provides an opportunity for people to live for up to six months in
an environment not subject to psychiatric diagnosis or psychiatric drugs. One
survey at the house reported that the overwhelming majority of house residents
continued to reside in the community after leaving (Hölling 1999). Another
example comes from Helsingborg, Sweden, where there is a well-appointed
hotel, the Hotel Magnus Stenbock, run by the RSMH and funded by the Swedish
government. It is a place where people recovering from crises or those who are
homeless can stay as long as they like (Brown and Fleischmann 1999). The hotel
is managed by a user-controlled council and some of the staff are service users.
Advocacy
In line with the human rights orientation of many European groups, advocacy
is another activity practised by some. Individuals, particularly those living in