Mental Health America of Virginia The voice of reason in mental health advocacy

Screen 5: Medical Directive for Psychiatric Care (often called a Psychiatric Advance Directive)

A Medical Directive for Psychiatric Care is a specific type of Medical Directive which allows individuals in mental health recovery to have greater control over their treatment when they are in crisis. In a Medical Directive for Psychiatric Care, you can be very specific about the types of treatment you want and don't want. You can also identify doctors and facilities you would prefer to work with and those you would rather avoid. For example, you can state whether you would rather go to Facility A or Facility B if there is an option; you can state that you do not want ECT (electroconvulsive therapy or "shock treatment"); you can list medications that have worked for you in the past; you can state which medications you do not want to take and the reasons why; you can list those individuals you would like the hospital to notify if you are admitted; and you can list people you would like to permit as visitors and those you would prohibit from visiting. You can use your Medical Directive for Psychiatric Care to state your wishes about anything that is important to you in your recovery. If you have a WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan), you have already thought about these things. A Medical Directive for Psychiatric Care allows you to condense those decisions into a legal document that can be used when you are in crisis. You can also appoint an agent to make decisions for you when you can't, just as in a Power of Attorney. You might have the same agent in both your Power of Attorney for general medical decisions and for psychiatric decisions or you might have a different person for each.

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