Rights and support of users' movements and professional organizations
Support of nationwide union of relatives of mentally ill people
SYMPATHEA, o.p.s. (2005 - 2007) CMHCD provides technical and professional support to organization SYMPATHEA, o.p.s., a Czech member of international organization EUFAMI. CMHCD also makes it possible for mentally ill people to participate in implementation of majority of its projects thus increasing their participation in decision-making processes concerning the system of mental health care in the Czech Republic. SYMPATHEA’s members take an active part in destigmatization activities through project Změna (Change).
SYMPATHEA, o.p.s. is mainly supported by the grant fund of company Bristol-Myers Squibb, and other companies.
Establishment of support of Association of Community Services in mental health care (AKS) (1999 - 2007) As part of its activity supporting emergence of new organizations in 1999, CMHCD supported establishment of Association of Community Services (AKS) in mental health care. It is currently providing the Association with technical and organizational support. AKS is a civic association uniting providers of extramural social and health care services to people suffering from psychoses. Its goal is to protect the rights and interests of providers of community services as well as development and improvement of existing and newly-emerging services.
Establishment of the Association was supported by the MATRA programme sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
General protection of interests of the mentally ill and support of users’ advocacy (Mainstreaming Mental Disability Policy) (2005 - 2006)
The project focuses on educating users of psychiatric services how to communicate with the media, state administration and users’ organizations. Its goal is to increase the ability of patients’ organizations to speak publicly, protect their rights in communication with the state administration and communicate with the media.
In 2005 there were carried out two four-day meetings abroad (Brussels, Budapest), which included a training programme for teaching skills necessary for dealing with representatives of state administrations and self-government as well as dealing with the media and abilities to describe and purposefully present problems in public. Based on acquired skills users conducted a two-day seminar for further 10 users representing various self-help groups. A nationwide seminar focusing on presentation of problems related to mental illness to politicians took place in the Czech Parliament building and included 60 representatives of the state administration and self-government, family members, users and community workers.
The project emerged in cooperation with programme Inclusion Europe and Global Initiative in Psychiatry.
Public health - human rights and mental health care in the Czech Republic (2003 - 2004) The goal of the project was to create a draft of a concept of a reform of mental health care focused on consistent observing and implementation of all human rights. The project produced two reports, which describe possibilities of changing mental health care as well as ways to implement those changes. The reports were submitted for evaluation to the Commission for Implementation of Psychiatry at the Czech Ministry of Health and other Czech and foreign experts. Both reports and their evaluation are used as a tool for further projects designed to transform mental health care in the Czech Republic.
The project was supported by foundation Open Society Fund Praha.
Apel I, II - Audit of patients’ rights and ethics of treatment at psychiatric hospitals (2002 - 2003) During 2002 CMHCD in cooperation with a patients’ rights group created a draft for basic tools for evaluation of quality of intramural treatment in terms of human rights. The Czech Ministry of Health later got money for implementing this project.
Project Apel I resulted in creation of a tool for evaluation of quality of intramural treatment in terms of human right. The tool was test tried at four psychiatric hospitals.
Project Apel II developed and improved the evaluation tool and created electronic versions of questionnaires. CMHCD was planning to carry out evaluation using the new tool at all psychiatric hospitals but this plan did not materialize due to lack of money. Instead CMHCD trained users of the new tool at psychiatric hospitals.
Support and development of VIDA centers (2001 - 2003) With the help of CMHCD and financial support by the Czech Ministry of Health and GGZ Netherlands there emerged seven VIDA centers – information centers for issues related to mental health and illness. CMHCD started and supported the VIDA centers project till the end of 2003. Starting 2004 VIDA centers are the responsibility of a new organization, VIDA o.s. The main goal of VIDA centers is to provide information about issues related to mental health bases of users’ own experience. Users assisted by professionals participate in founding and developing VIDA centers.
Establishment and support of the Czech Association for Mental Health (ČAPZ) (1996 - 1998)
In 1996 CMHCD helped to create the Czech Association for Mental Health (CAPZ), a civic association of users of psychiatric care and their relatives as well as health care providers and the public. The association helps to create in the Czech Republic a positive environment for protecting mental health care. CMHCD provided this association professional and organizational support for two years.
