"When you train in QualityRights, you question many of your practices."
Natalia Kazah, a psychologist at the Specialized Inpatient Unit for Intellectual Disability (UHEDI) of the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, recently received training in QualityRights . But it has been a revelation for her, as she explains in this testimonial, because it has made her " review and question many attitudes and behaviors that you have in your daily clinical practice."
In her experience, her daily work with people with intellectual disabilities has made it clear that one of the most frequently violated rights is their right to make their own decisions : "We invalidate them, we take away their voice and their vote, and we don't give them the opportunity to choose," she reflects. For this reason, she has decided to change this practice, to listen to what the people she works with have to say and to respect their decisions, "whether it's choosing what they want for breakfast or what activity they prefer to do in the afternoons, or choosing who they want to spend the weekend with, whether with their grandparents or their mother," for example.
Often, we invalidate the people we serve, we take away their voice and their vote, and we don't give them the opportunity to choose.
Changes that sometimes seem small, though necessary, but that affect every aspect of a person's treatment and recovery . "I think it results in a huge benefit for them, but also for us, as mental health providers, because the person will be much more consistent with that choice of treatment and lifestyle."
Following her experience, which has given her "a change of perspective," Natalia Kazah is clear that "respecting or not respecting QualityRights is not a personal choice, because we are talking about respecting and promoting the human rights established in the New York Convention." With this premise, she makes a demand: "I believe that all professionals who work with people should be trained in QualityRights."
The QualityRights initiative, by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to improve the quality of care provided in social and mental health services, and to promote the human rights of people with psychosocial, intellectual or cognitive disabilities worldwide.
To this end, it offers training in QualityRights, which aims to expand knowledge, skills and understanding among stakeholders on how to promote these rights and improve the quality of services and support provided in the field of mental health and other related areas.
Do you want to train in QualityRights? You can complete the training and become accredited in QualityRights on the WHO online platform .
