Alex, who is fifteen years old, sitting at the table for breakfast was feeling lethargic, unmotivated, and felt a deep sense of hopelessness. Greeted at the breakfast table by their step mother Lorraine she noticed immediately Alex's slumped posture and tapping of fingers on the table. Lorraine made Alex breakfast and then sat down, and waited for Alex to talk. Alex revealed how they were anxious about the medical appointment with a psychiatrist that morning. Lorraine knew that when Alex was experiencing anxiety in a situation like this Alex did not want to be offered advice but to just be listened to.

After the appointment, Alex was dropped off at school. Alex's two close friends, Kayley and Sam were pleased when they saw Alex, Kayley giving Alex a hug and Sam a high five. Alex valued their friendship and could trust them unlike other friends who didn't seem to get why Alex would withdraw socially and was often away from school.

After school, Alex went online and into a website which provided support for young people experiencing mental illness. It provided a chat room where people could 'talk' to their peers. Rocket and Nova, are two of the young people that Alex will often chat with in the forums provided online. There is so an online counsellor present who vetted the chat to ensure it was safe and answer questions that may be raised during the forums.

Alex always felt better while in the chat room and was often reluctant to leave this safe environment. Alex knowing, they have work at their part time job tomorrow had to log off early and get some sleep. Alex had never disclosed their mental illness to their workplace supervisor, Shani, as Shani had quickly worked out that Alex was far more efficient at cleaning up at the end of the day if they were left alone. Alex really enjoyed their part time work, appreciated the responsibilities and knew that they were a really important member of the team.

Part One:

Plan to support self-advocacy

For your client, use the below template to plan and document the proposed strategies.

Planning
Situation requiring support	In this section, detail the support needed. Outline what the issue is and what will be required of you to support the client.
Strategic Questioning	Use this space to record the questions you may ask the client to assist in clarifying the issue/need.
Needs and Rights	In this section, outline the strategies that can be used to assist the client in identifying their own needs and rights.
Advocacy Options	In this section, outline the potential advocacy options and list the benefits and key features of these options. Include reference to the opportunity that each of these options has for negotiation.
Sharing Understanding	Detail how you suggest to plan to create a shared understanding about the issue and the choices available.
Potential Barriers	In this section, detail any barriers or potential barriers identified in either the choices available or the ability of the client to self-advocate. For each barrier identified, highlight proposed strategies to assist in overcoming each barrier.
Collaborate and Practice	Describe the plan you will put in place to invite collaboration and assist the person in practising self-advocacy. List in this section the following information: Potential strategies to invite collaboration Strategies, schedule and approach to assist supporting self-advocacy practice (including negotiation & mediation).
Resources	This section requires you to identify and list self-advocacy resources. Include reference to: Promotional material developed about self-advocacy Referral options Documentation utilised by yourself to document advocacy options Resources that the person may use to document their circumstances and events relating to the situation.

Part Three:

Support self-advocacy

For your client, use the below template to document the steps taken to support self-advocacy in relation to the following points. You will be required to answer the questions and provide any additional information about the topics.

Supporting
Selected Strategies	What are the action steps required, and what support is needed to complete the actions? Include what the client can do independently and detail the support required from you.
Barriers	What barriers has been uncovered, and how have you supported the person to implement strategies to overcome these barriers? Include the actions that the person applied and the support needed from you.

Part Four:

Reflective Report

For your client, use the below template to complete your reflective report.

Reflection
Follow up	Describe the follow-up process you undertook and how you supported the client to reflect on their situation and their actions. How did they feel about the process taken and overall outcomes? What further support is needed from you?
Reflection	Looking back at this situation and process undertaken, what do you feel worked well, and what strategies applied would you re-consider next time. For this section, also consider what you recorded in Part One - Planning and Part three - Supporting. Questions to prompt reflection Were there questioning strategies identified in the planning stage that were more effective than others? What strategies were applied that resonated with the individual? What promotional material and information provided met the person's needs? Were the strategies used to assist the person in identifying their rights and needs effective? Were the potential barriers identified in Part A planning, reflective of the barriers uncovered in Part B, and were the strategies applied supportive of the individual and assist overcoming the barriers? What would you do the same? What would you do differently?