National Mental Health Information Center
Article location: http://www.mentalhealth.org/publications/allpubs/ken98-0051/default.asp
Know Your Rights
What does the Americans with Disabilities Act do?
What are State Protection and Advocacy
programs?
What is an advance directive?
What is 'informed consent'?
Can I refuse treatment?
What about managed care rights?
Do I have a right to privacy?
Resources:
What does the Americans with Disabilities Act do?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that people with
disabilities, such as severe mental illness, have legal protection against
discrimination in the workplace, housing and residential settings (including
treatment facilities such as hospitals), public programs, and
telecommunications. The ADA's goal is to give the 54 million Americans with
disabilities full and equal opportunities (President Bush's New Freedom
Initiative, 2002).
Back to top
What are State Protection and Advocacy programs?
Each State, as well as the District of Columbia and the five Territories,
has a Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI)
program. PAIMI programs safeguard the rights of people with mental illness.
Where problems are found, PAIMI programs pursue legal, administrative, and
other remedies to ensure protection of rights for people with severe mental
illness. People with disabilities who are not eligible for PAIMI services may
be eligible for other programs within the Protection and Advocacy (P&A)
system, such as the Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR)
program or the Client Assistance Program (CAP).
Back to top
What is an advance directive?
If you frequently seek and use mental health services, you may want to
establish an advance directive. There are two general types of advance
directives: instructional, such as living wills, and proxy, such as durable
power of attorney. Each directive is a legal document that lets you describe
what services you want to receive if an illness renders you unable to make
decisions about your care. Give a copy of the directive to your usual service
provider(s) so that it can become part of your medical record. Laws about
advance directives vary from State to State. Work with a lawyer, paralegal, or
advocate to write your advance directive.
Back to top
What is 'informed consent'?
Informed consent refers to when a patient agrees to undergo or participate
in a medical or surgical procedure, treatment, or study after learning what is
involved. Informed consent requires that a person know and fully understand
the risks and benefits of a certain treatment or procedure.
Back to top
Can I refuse treatment?
People generally have the right to consent to or refuse treatment. However,
under certain conditions-such as when a person is considered a danger to self
or others-he or she may be required to seek or receive treatment. This can
include involuntary civil commitment, which can be for either outpatient or
inpatient treatment, as well as forced medication. Laws about commitment vary
by State. If you have questions about the commitment process in your State,
contact your State P&A program or consumer or family organization.
Back to top
What about managed care rights?
Many organizations have developed bills of rights for people with severe
mental illnesses who are treated in a managed care setting.
The Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
has developed principles for managed care treatment </publications/allpubs/MC96-61/default.asp>.
CMHS recommends that providers, managed care firms, and consumers consider
these principles in their decision-making process. Most managed care firms
have a process for grievances and appeals. Participants may appeal a treatment
decision, question payment decisions, or file complaints about providers and
facilities.
Back to top
Do I have a right to privacy?
Mental health providers agree to keep your meetings and what you discuss
confidential. This means that what you say-as well as your diagnosis and
treatment-cannot be disclosed to anyone, including family members, without
your written consent.
Back to top
Resources:
The following list is a basic guide to organizations that can help protect
your rights. For more information on any of these issues and other aspects of
mental illness, call SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center (NMHIC).
SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center
P.O. Box 42557
Washington, DC 20015
Telephone: 800-789-2647
Fax: 301-984-8796
(TDD): 866-889-2647
E-mail: info@mentalhealth.org
<mailto:info@mentalhealth.org>
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov
</default.asp>
American Bar Association
Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law
740 15th Street NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Telephone: 202-662-1570
Fax: 202-662-1032
E-mail: cmpdl@abanet.org <mailto:cmpdl@abanet.org>
www.abanet.org/disability
</_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=1277>
American Civil Liberties Union
of the National Capital Area
1400 20th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-457-0800
www.aclu.org </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=2295>
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
Telephone: 800-514-0301
Fax: 202-307-1198
(TDD): 800-514-0383
www.usdoj.gov/crt/drssec.htm
</_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=2296>
Judge Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
1101 15th Street NW, Suite 1212
Washington, DC 20005-5002
Telephone: 202-467-5730
Fax: 202-223-0409
www.bazelon.org </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=6464>
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
Telephone: 800-950-6264
Fax: 703-524-9094
www.nami.org </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=1896>
National Association of Protection &
Advocacy Systems, Inc.
900 2nd Street NE, Suite 211
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: 202-408-9514
Fax: 202-408-9520
(TDD): 202-408-9521
www.napas.org/ </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=4847>
National Empowerment Center
599 Canal Street
Lawrence, MA 01840
Telephone: 800-769-3728
Fax: 978-681-6426
www.power2u.org </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=86>
National Mental Health Association
2001 N. Beauregard Street - 12th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22311
Telephone: 800-969-NMHA (6642)
Fax: 703-684-5968
www.nmha.org </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=4833>
National Mental Health Consumer's Self-Help Clearinghouse
1211 Chestnut Street, Suite 1207
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Telephone: 800-553-4539
Fax: 215-636-6312
E-mail: info@mhselfhelp.org <mailto:info@mhselfhelp.org>
www.mhselfhelp.org </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=89>
National Rehabilitation Information Center
4200 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 202
Lanham, MD 20706
Telephone: 800-346-2742 or 301-459-5900
E-mail: naricinfo@heitechservices.com
<mailto:naricinfo@heitechservices.com>
www.naric.com </_scripts/redirect.asp?ID=2297>
Note: These are suggested resources. It is not meant to be a complete list.
KEN98-0051
04/03
Please note that this online publication has been abridged from the printed
version.
All text materials on this web site are in the public domain. CMHS encourages
copying or any other utilization of the text. Some of the graphic materials on
this site are in the public domain and other graphics may be used with
permission, but that permission does not necessarily extend to all. If you have
any permission questions, please contact
info@mentalhealth.org <mailto:info@mentalhealth.org>.
