The five types of advocacy in mental health

On this plate (9 sections)

People often ask for "the five types of advocacy", usually meaning individual, systemic, peer, legal and self-advocacy. This plate defines each one using public sources, and it says plainly where the sources stop. There is no single official list of five. Mind, the English mental health charity, sorts advocacy in its own way, a 2021 journal article describes advocacy by action and by group, and a United States federal program describes legal-based advocacy. The five-part scheme used here is an editorial arrangement of those descriptions, and other schemes exist.

Why there is no official list

Different organizations draw the lines in different places. Mind's page on what advocacy is separates statutory advocacy, which the law entitles some people to, from community advocacy, group (also called collective) advocacy, peer advocacy, help from friends and family, and self-advocacy. That is more than five headings, and it mixes what the advocate is (a peer) with what the entitlement is (statutory). The names individual, systemic and legal come from other descriptions, which are noted below. Treat the table as a map, not a standard. The wider definition is on the plate about what mental health advocacy is.

Individual advocacy

Individual, or one-to-one, advocacy means one advocate supports one person. Mind describes advocates who help a person "express your views and wishes" and "stand up for your rights", support them in meetings, explain options without giving their opinion, and help them contact the right people. Examples on Mind's pages include an Independent Mental Health Advocate for some people detained under the Mental Health Act in England, an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate for some decisions when a person lacks capacity, and an NHS complaints advocate who helps with a complaint. Mind says these statutory advocates are free of charge. Who qualifies differs between England and Wales, and the request an advocate plate covers the outline.

Systemic advocacy

Systemic advocacy aims to change policy, law or services rather than to help one person. The 2021 article "Advocacy in mental health" describes actions meant to change "structural and attitudinal barriers" and says advocacy movements have influenced mental health policy and legislation in some countries. The article does not use the label "systemic". It is used here as the natural name for this population-level work. A federal page from the US Administration for Community Living, on state Protection and Advocacy systems, mentions legal help and systems change among their aims. The plates on the consumer/survivor movement and parity law in the United States show systemic work in history.

Peer advocacy

Mind defines peer advocates as "people who have lived experience of a mental health problem" who can support you and offer advice based on their own experience. Mind also describes group or collective advocacy, where people with similar experiences meet to support each other and strengthen their voice together. Peer support in the wider sense has its own plate on what peer support is.

Legal advocacy

Legal advocacy uses legal routes to protect rights. SAMHSA states that its Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness program exists to provide "legal-based advocacy services", protect the rights of adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance, and investigate abuse, neglect and rights violations. The program page, last updated 11 April 2024, says state systems are the grantees. Mind uses a different label, statutory advocacy, for advocates whom a law entitles some people to, and notes that if an eligible person is denied an advocate they may need legal advice from a mental health or community care solicitor. Statutory advocates are not lawyers, so the two ideas should not be merged.

Self-advocacy

Mind describes self-advocacy as "being able to speak up about what you want", and notes that this is not always easy with a mental health problem. Its page on finding an advocate suggests preparing for appointments, learning self-advocacy skills through training offered by some organizations, and thinking about ways to deal with stigma. The plate on how to advocate for your own care works through practical steps.

The five types compared

Five types of advocacy, as described by the cited sources (editorial grouping)

Type	Who acts	Goal	Example from the sources
Individual	A trained or volunteer advocate	Help one person be heard and know their options	An NHS complaints advocate in England (Mind, December 2024)
Systemic	Groups, organizations, coalitions	Change policy, law or services	Movements that influenced mental health legislation (journal article, 2021)
Peer	People with lived experience	Support and advice based on shared experience	Peer advocates and group advocacy (Mind, December 2024)
Legal	State Protection and Advocacy systems in the United States	Protect rights, investigate abuse and neglect	PAIMI program (SAMHSA, updated April 2024)
Self	The person themselves	Speak up about what they want	Preparing for appointments (Mind, December 2024)

Other schemes

Mind's pages also mention advocacy by a friend, family member or carer, and say the relationship differs from friendship. Mind adds that a professional advocate will not give a personal opinion, make decisions for the person or judge them, and that relatives who advocate should not assume they know what is best. Other terms such as citizen advocacy or professional advocacy appear in the field, but none of the opened sources defined them, so they are not described here.

The short version

The five-part scheme is a handy way to sort advocacy, but it is a convention rather than an official standard. Each type has a different actor and goal, and the types overlap in practice. Entitlements and services described here differ by country, and the sources are dated above.