About this Toolkit
The Headspace Toolkit is to support and empower young people who need to use mental health services – particularly those who need to go into hospital. It gives practical information about what will happen when they are admitted to hospital for mental health care; and includes information about their rights, their legal protections, and how to self-advocate in decisions about their care.
It is about:
- supporting you so that you can be heard
- supporting you so that you can take part in decisions made about you
- making sure you know your rights.
In this toolkit, we give you basic information about:
- being an inpatient
- what the law says
- what to do if you are not happy with the service you receive
- how you can get your questions answered
- other important things.
You can use the toolkit on your own or with help from an adult that you trust. This could be your key worker, your advocate or another member of your team.
Make sure to ask if an independent advocate is available in your unit or hospital.
We have included a 'People You Might Meet' section and a ‘Words You Might Hear’ section. Every time you see a word underlined and coloured throughout this website, the word will be explained in the ‘Words You Might Hear' section.
We have also created the Headspace Support Tools to help you be more in charge of your care in the hospital. The Support Tools will help to make sure that mental health staff and other adults hear you better and know more about what you think, feel and what you want to happen.
The ‘Support Tools’ can also help:
- you get your questions answered
- you understand your care and treatment choices better
- your general circumstances as an inpatient.
Helping you to speak up for yourself in hospital:
The Support Tools also have tips to help you feel more comfortable speaking to the adults around you about your needs. This is also called self-advocacy, and it’s an important skill to have in hospital and in life. If you are not given a copy of the Support Tools when you are admitted to hospital, you can ask for a copy from your key worker. Read more at the link Words you might hear
You can access our support tools at the link Headspace Support Tools
The law at moment uses language (words) that may be considered outdated. However, we need to use these terms as they are the ones used by the law.
The mental health law in Ireland (the Mental Health Act) is being amended. At the time of preparing this toolkit, the government is working on changing this law to include a separate section dedicated to children and to young people who are 16 and 17 years old. Once this happens, we will update the information in the toolkit to reflect the new law.
Remember: No one else knows you better than you do. No one is in a better position to be able to speak up for your needs, wants, views, feelings, opinions, and ideas than YOU.
- Your voice is very important
- You have a right to be heard.
