A Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD) is a legal document with instructions about exactly what type of mental health treatments you prefer in an emergency. If you have an episode involving psychosis, lack of insight, and/or difficulty thinking and communicating, a PAD will tell your treatment team what you can’t. It covers things like works for you and what doesn’t, who to contact, what medications and treatments that you don’t want, how to take care of your home and pets while you’re in hospital, and other relevant info. They’re becoming popular with the rise of mental health consumer rights groups and news about risks with some drugs. PADs are helpful, for example, if you’re schizophrenic and don’t want to take a specific antipsychotic drug when psychotic, or if you’re bipolar but don’t want to undergo ECT when severely depressed.

The National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives has a web site with lots of info about these medico-legal issues in America, state-by-state. It includes a great series of multimedia webcasts in plain English, annotated and searchable, which tell you exactly how to go about making a PAD of your own. Check it out if you or a family member may be in a situation where it could save a lot of trouble in communicating your wants and needs when you may have trouble doing so.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Mar 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.