ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a major challenge for many primary care practitioners, who may not be familiar, or comfortable, with the activist nature of many mental health service users and their family members. It discusses advocacy and strategies for overcoming stigma in primary care mental health. The chapter offers useful background information about the need and relevance of integrating mental health services in primary health-care services. It describes the reasons why informed and concerted advocacy will be required to create the necessary public policy, education and service-delivery system that will support effective integration and service improvement for people who experience mental health problems and serious mental disorders. The integration of primary care into mental health programmes is not likely to achieve success, given the extremely weak primary care system in many countries, particularly in terms of human resources and poor financial coverage of most basic health-care interventions.
