Collaboration in Mental Illness

There are many opportunities for collaboration between advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies. However, three of the most common types of alliances involve pharmaceutical company support of advocacy group:

• convention presentations
• lobbying efforts to change policies
• collaborative programs with mental health care team members

NAMI’s presentation on Access to Medications at the NAMI 2001 Convention demonstrates how pharmaceutical companies can support the lobbying efforts of advocacy groups to change policies regarding mental illness. This presentation, which reviewed the advantages of atypical antipsychotics and discussed various fiscal and policy issues that can impact access to medications, was strongly supported by the pharmaceutical industry. Similarly, the NMHA has received support for policy statements on the dangers of restricting access to atypical antipsychotic agents Finallyother opportunities for support may arise when physicians and other mental health team members want to develop an educational program in their community. Advocacy groups are often interested in participating in such efforts, and they may receive pharmaceutical company support for such programs.

Local Advocacy Groups and Building Credibility in the Physician's Office

As with advocacy groups, mental health care providers are not in the business of selling medications. Thus, the strength of your relationship with physicians may depend on the degree to which you are genuinely interested in the patient, rather than in selling medications. One way to establish your credibility with health care providers is through your knowledge of local advocacy groups. Understanding and displaying an interest in the objectives of advocacy groups will increase your credibility with physicians because advocacy groups are interested in patients’ overall needs.

On the other hand, keep in mind that blind acceptance of an advocacy group’s views can backfire because physicians usually do not embrace all of an advocacy group’s initiatives. For example, while an advocacy group may oppose managed care tactics that limit the physician’s decision-making abilities, it may also favor direct-to-consumer advertising, which many physicians do not like. nother area of communication that can impact your credibility relates to the terms used when referring to people with mental illness. Psychiatrists, having gone through years of medical training, are strongly focused on the doctor-patient relationship and hence usually prefer the term “patient.” Social workers, in contrast, often prefer the term “client.” Neglecting to use the preferred term with either professional may not be technically wrong, but it could be perceived as insensitive and lower your credibility.