Being Heard is our self-advocacy guide for carers
Self-advocacy is about speaking up for yourself. It’s about getting your voice heard and effectively communicating your own interests. Our guide has been designed to help you communicate your needs with professionals, understand your rights and look after your wellbeing.
Main guides
Caring can be rewarding but also very isolating. You may not know what help to ask for, how to ask, or indeed who to ask.
Being Heard can help you get your voice heard when you care for someone. Self advocacy is also about being able to have your own needs listened to, as well as speaking up for the person you care for.
As well as being a solid source of information on your rights as a carer, the guides offer helpful tips on how to speak up and look after your wellbeing. For useful accompanying resources, such as a complaints letter template, see the links below.
Click the relevant link below to download the Being Heard guide:
We have some printed copies which you can order from our online shop.
Other useful resources
The guide also features extra resources to explore:
- Complaints letter template
- Mindfulness hub
- Reflecting on events
- Watch our animated film about self-advocacy
Watch our video for more self-advocacy tips
This is for general information purposes only. Correct at time of recording (October 2023).
Latest updates

Thousands of carers receiving new debt letters as review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments continues
The number of carers facing overpayment debts continues to rise.

Carers UK responds to the Government’s publication of the welfare reform green paper proposing changes to disability and health benefits
“We are very concerned that the plans the Government has published today could hit unpaid carers, disabled people and their…

Carers Scotland calls for urgent action to tackle Scotland’s growing mental health crisis for unpaid carers
Press release for ‘State of Caring in Scotland 2024: Health and social care support for unpaid carers’.

Carers NI's response to the NI Programme for Government
Carers are invisible and ignored in the NI Executive’s Programme for Government say Carers NI.
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