Supported decision-making

For 35 years, Mental Health Europe (MHE) has been a leading pan-European organisation that promotes the rights of people with mental ill-health and psychosocial disabilities. Its work is guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) which reiterates that people with disabilities, including people with psychosocial disabilities, must fully enjoy their human rights.

As both means and ends, MHE aims to increase the participation of people with lived experiences of mental ill-health at the European level and their meaningful contribution to the decision-making processes of the EU based on their personal autonomy and self-determination. The active and informed participation of everyone in decisions that affect their lives and rights is consistent with the human rights-based approach in public decision-making processes, and ensures good governance and social accountability.

Mental Health Europe envisions a Europe where full and meaningful participation is guaranteed at all levels of decision-making – stretching from legal frameworks, across policy development, monitoring and evaluation up to the level of implementation. To achieve this, barriers to the legal capacity need to be dismantled which include forms of partial and/or full guardianship. Instead, supported decision-making regimes should be introduced, allowing persons with psychosocial disabilities to take responsibility for their own lives. Among others, supported decision-making is an essential aspect of the mental health recovery process.

Below you can find out all MHE publications and our latest video series concerning supported decision making, constituting a central pillar in its work on human rights and mental health.

 

Related Content

Policy documents

Publications and multimedia

July 5

MHE and EDF call on Council of Europe to withdraw Oviedo

Mental Health Europe, together with the European Disability Forum and other stakeholders, call on the Council of Europe, and its Committee of Bioethics, to halt working on legislation that would allow any forms of involuntary treatment and placement in psychiatry. 

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June 16

New WHO Guidance on community mental health services: A critical milestone for mental health reforms in Europe

Mental Health Europe (MHE) welcomes the launch of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) long-awaited guidance on community mental health services on 10th June 2021 and calls on European, national and local authorities to transform their mental health systems and services towards human-rights compliant care.  

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June 1

UN experts: Stop legislation for coercive mental health measures in Europe

Read MHE's reaction to UN Rights statement to stop legislation for coercive mental health measures.

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April 8

No more legal barriers, let’s move towards supported decision making instead

Read MHE's statement about European Commission's ambition to ratify 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults.

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July 29

MHE launches video series on supported decision-making

The video series supports the release of a new report and sheds light on recent developments related to supported decision-making in Europe.

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June 8

New report shows developments in supported decision-making across Europe

The report provides an overview of the current situation with implementing supported decision-making for people with (psychosocial) disabilities.

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News

March 6

European Elections 2019: Did you know that thousands of Europeans will not be able to vote because of their disability?

MHE launches new video on the right to vote

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October 9

We are moving in the right direction! Mental Health Europe welcomes the UN’s recommendations to the EU

We are moving in the right direction! Mental Health Europe welcomes the UN’s recommendations to the EU.

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October 6

Mental Health Europe in Geneva for the EU-CRPD

Mental Health Europe in Geneva for the EU-CRPD review Let's use all means possible at EU level to guarantee equal rights.

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