Family Road Map Guide

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Build RELATIONSHIPS
Getting Help From
Advocacy Groups
Family advocacy organizations
can help with
advice or letter-writing. In
some cases, a member of an
organization will go with you
to a meeting or appointment.
One of the most useful family
advocacy organizations is the
National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI), which has
affiliate groups all over the
nation. Many NAMI affiliates
also offer free classes and
support groups for parents.
Go to www.nami.org to find
the closest affiliate.
Another excellent source of
help are chapters of the National
Federation of Families
for Children’s Mental Health.
Go to www.ffcmh.org to find
one near you.
What to Do When Someone’s
Not Listening
Problems happen. People don’t always get along. You may be denied
services or feel your views are not being heard. Whatever the situation, it’s up to you
to act like an equal partner on the team who deserves respect and results. Here
are some suggestions from the Tennessee Mental Health Consumers’ Association:
Approaches that are likely to work:
• Understand that mental health providers are only human. They will do what
they can; you do what you can.
• Learn what services you can expect from your providers.
• Learn about agency grievance procedures. (Note: These are steps you have to
take when making a formal complaint about a provider or about the services
you receive.)
• Learn about the services and resources available in your community.
• If you have a complaint, keep a written record of what happened. Include
dates, names of those involved, witnesses, and specific details.
• Go to the person who can make the decision you are asking for. If a problem
cannot be resolved on one level, take it to the next.
• Be polite, but keep asking until you are satisfied.
Tips for Success:
• If you have a problem with a provider, first talk to him or her about it before
going to someone higher up in the agency.
• Listen to the provider all the way through, just as you like to be heard.
• Politely insist that the provider listen to you all the way through. Give details
to back up your points.
• If the problem is resolved, thank the provider.
• If you are not satisfied, take your concern to the next level. Keep going up the
chain of command until you are satisfied.
• If you are still not satisfied, file a written grievance (letter) with the agency,
government mental health authority, or behavioral health organization. You
have a right to a copy of the results of each grievance.
Contact an advocacy organization to help you.
Reprinted from BRIDGES: A Peer-Taught Curriculum on Recovery from Mental Illness by Sita Diehl, MSSW, Barbara
A Nelson, and Elizabeth Baxter, MD. Reprinted with permission from NAMI Tennessee and Tennessee Mental
Health Consumers’ Association.
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