Your Mental Health Rights: How They Protect and Support Your Recovery
Your Rights to Make Informed Choices

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Your Mental Health Rights: How They Protect and Support Your Recovery
Your Rights to Make Informed Choices

You have the right to make informed choices. This right says that you can decide things for yourself. When you are making a decision — you should have the chance to know what positive things and what negative things can come from your decision, and what other choices you have. The right also means that other people are not allowed to frighten you or threaten you when you are making a decision.

This right is based on the idea that you are the person who best knows what works for you, especially if you know about mental illness, and about treatment choices, and about the rights and the laws that protect you.

Your Right to Make Your Own Decisions

It is your right to make your own decisions about what you want, and to change your mind about what you want. This right can support your recovery because:

• you get to decide, and that can help you feel in control;
• making your own decisions can help you feel like you have more freedom; and
• being able to change your mind helps you grow and change as a person, even if this means you make mistakes.

Use your rights:

• let people know what you want;
• let people know if you change your mind about what you want;
• if you feel uncomfortable or if you are afraid to ask for what you want, talk to someone about why you feel uncomfortable or afraid; and
• you should also know that sometimes a court decides that it is better for a person not to make all of his or her own decisions. If a court decides this about you, the court may give another person permission to make some — but not all — of your decisions for you. The other person is usually called a guardian.

Other people should help you use your rights. Other people should:

• not make decisions for you, unless you say it is OK;
• try to respect your opinion about what you want;
• not make you feel bad about what you want;
• encourage you to think for yourself, and to make up your own mind; and
• help you feel good about making choices for yourself.

Your Right to Say Yes or No

It is your right to say yes or no to things people ask you. This right can support your recovery because:

• having a choice to say yes or no helps make you who you are;
• having a choice to say yes or no can help you feel stronger about who you are; and
• being able to say yes or no freely can help you feel more in control and more independent.

Use your rights:

• say yes when you want;
• say no when you want;
• don't be afraid to say no, even if you are saying no to a family member, a doctor, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or other important person; and
• don't be afraid to ask questions or get more information before you say yes or no.

Other people should help you use your rights. Other people should:

• not make you feel bad about saying yes;
• not make you feel bad about saying no;
• not make you hurry up to give an answer — you should have time to think about a question before you answer yes or no; and
• help you out if someone refuses to take no for an answer.

Your Right To Choose Your Own Friends

It is your right to choose your own friends. This right can support your recovery because being around friends that you choose can help you:

• feel better about yourself;
• feel that you have a support system;
• feel more accepted;
• feel more in control; and
• not feel forced into being friends with someone you don't like, or someone you don't want to be around.

Use your rights:

• don't let other people choose your friends for you, or tell you who your friends should be;
• don't let other people make you feel bad about the friends you choose; and
• don't feel bad if other people don't like your friends.

Other people should help you use your rights. Other people should respect your choice of friends. No one should make you feel bad about having friends, whoever your friends are.

Your Right to Say Yes or No to Being in a Video, Movie, or Having Your Voice Tape Recorded

It is your right to say yes or no to being in a video or movie, or to having your voice tape-recorded. This right can support your recovery because:

• being able to say yes or no freely can help you feel more in control and more independent; and
• you can be private if you want to be and that can help you feel safe.

Use your rights. If someone asks you to be in a video or movie, or to tape-record your voice, do these things before answering yes or no:

• ask why the person wants you to do this;
• ask who will see the video or movie, or who will hear the tape-recording; and
• ask if you will be able to see or hear the video, movie or tape-recording before giving any one else permission to see or hear it.

If you do not want to be in a video or movie, or if you do not want your voice tape-recorded, say no. Don't be afraid to say no, even if a doctor or other important person asks you.

Other people should help you use your rights. Anyone who wants to video you or tape-record your voice:

• must first ask if it's OK with you;
• should tell you why they want you in the video or movie;
• should tell you how they will use the video or movie;
• should answer any of your questions;
• must not video or tape-record you unless you say it's OK; and
• No one should make you feel bad about saying no.

Your Right To Know There are Laws and Rules that Protect You

It is your right to know there are laws and rules that protect you from being treated unfairly because of a mental illness. Getting treated unfairly because of your mental illness is "discrimination." This right can support your recovery because knowing that you cannot be treated unfairly can :

• help you make the decisions you want to make; and
• give you confidence to speak up for yourself and for your own decisions.

Use your rights. Ask about laws and rules that protect you from being treated unfairly. Tell someone, and complain:

• if you think you are being treated unfairly;
• if you think the reason is because of a mental illness or diagnosis; and
• if you think you are not getting a fair chance to make your own decisions because of a mental illness or diagnosis.

Other people should help you use your rights. A client rights advocate, a patient representative, and a client rights officer must tell you about the rights that protect you from being treated unfairly because of mental illness or diagnosis. If you have a lawyer, your lawyer must also tell you about your rights. Other people should help you learn about the laws and rules that protect you from being treated unfairly because of a mental illness or diagnosis.

Your Right To Know That There are Laws That Say You Must be Treated Fairly and Without "Discrimination"

It is your right to know that there are laws that say you must be treated fairly and without "discrimination." There are laws and rules that protect you from being treated unfairly because of:

• your disability;
• your age;
• your color;
• your sex;
• your race;
• your religion;
• the country where you were born;
• some rules protect you from being treated unfairly because of your sexual orientation or lifestyle; and
• getting treated unfairly because of any of these things is "discrimination"

This right can support your recovery because:

• knowing that you cannot be treated unfairly can help you make the decisions you want to make; and
• knowing that you cannot be treated unfairly can give you confidence to speak up for yourself and for your own decisions.

Use your rights. Ask about laws and rules that protect you from being treated unfairly. Tell someone, and complain:

• if you think you are being treated unfairly;
• if you think the reason is because of your disability, or age, or race, or color, or sex, or religion, or the country where you were born, or your sexual orientation or lifestyle; and
• if you think you are not getting a fair chance to make your own decisions because of any of these things.

Other people should help you use your rights. A client rights advocate, a patient representative, and a client rights officer must tell you about your rights. People who give mental health services should help protect you from being treated unfairly because of your disability, age, color, sex, race, religion, country where you were born, and your sexual orientation or lifestyle.

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