The significant role of family as a resource for mental health, psychiatric care and recovery and rehabilitation is well documented. However, despite ongoing family advocacy the situation in most settings is still characterized by significant unmet needs and lack of resources and expertise in working with families.

This presentation will highlight pertinent issues and present data, concepts and experiences towards an improvement of partnership work with users of services and their families in a human based context.

Topics will include the needs of specific types of relatives, such as siblings, children, partners, grandparents, members of the peer group of friends as well as the need for support for families without patient consent. Recent developments with regard to individual and group therapy as well as multilevel interventions to further family advocacy and the fight against stigma and discrimination will be presented and discussed.

Special attention will be given to new roles and responsibilities arising from the historical challenge of the UN-Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities for mental health professionals, users of services as well as relatives and friends including changes in national guardianship laws, new rights to patient autonomy as well as new entitlements for support for living in the community including the right to family life, reasonable accommodation and supported decision-making.

Current developments with regard to needs and rights of users of services and their families and friends urgently warrant attention and common efforts in Trialogue and other participatory approaches.

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.