“This time, with a PAD, I did not receive any treatments that I did not want. They were very respectful. I really felt like the hospital took better care of me because I had my PAD. In fact, I think it’s the best care that I’ve ever received.”Read More PAD Stories...
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About PADs
A psychiatric advance directive (PAD) is a legal document that documents a person’s preferences for future mental health treatment, and allows appointment of a health proxy to interpret those preferences during a crisis.
PADs may be drafted when a person is well enough to consider preferences for future mental health treatment.
PADs are used when a person becomes unable to make decisions during a mental health crisis.
Links
National Organizations
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law For three decades, the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has been the nation’s leading legal advocate for people with mental disabilities.
National Mental Health Association The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) is the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness.
National Alliance on Mental Illness The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families.
DisabilityInfo.gov DisabilityInfo.gov provides people with disabilities, their families, employers, service providers and other community members with critical disability-related information.
Caring Connections Learn more about general advance directives. A program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Caring Connections provides free resources and information to help make decisions about end-of-life care and services before a crisis.
National Empowerment Center The mission of the National Empowerment Center Inc. is to carry a message of recovery, empowerment, hope and healing to people who have been labeled with mental illness.
Association for Academic Psychiatry The Association for Academic Psychiatry focuses on education in psychiatry at every level from the beginning of medical school through lifelong learning for psychiatrists and other physicians. It seeks to help psychiatrists who are interested in care.
National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse A consumer-run national technical assistance center serving the mental health consumer movement. We help connect individuals to self-help and advocacy resources, and we offer expertise to self-help groups and other peer-run services for mental health.
National Disability Rights Network The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the P&A/CAP
Advocacy Unlimited, Inc Advocacy Unlimited offers education in self, systems, and legislative advocacy skills for persons with, or in recovery from, psychiatric disabilities, as well as a wealth of information and resources on mental health.
OnlineColleges.net OnlineColleges.net has recently published a mental health resource guide that provides college students and young people with critical information on maintaining good mental health and identifying mental health issues.
State Organizations and Other Links of Interest
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Located in Boston, Massachusetts, The Center is a research, training, and service organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons who have psychiatric disabilities by improving the effectiveness of people, programs, and service systems.
Louisiana Mental Health Rehabilitation Services The purpose of this web site is to provide up-to-date information about the MHR Program and allow recipients, MHR agencies, and others to ask questions, submit comments, and report complaints.
Disability Rights Center (Maine) The Disability Rights Center (DRC) is Maine’s protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities. It is a non-profit agency, independent of state and federal government.
Schizophrenia Digest The only magazine of its kind solely dedicated towards sufferers, family members, relatives, caregivers, and professional in the field of mental health.
NAMI – Pennsylvania Founded in 1983, NAMI Pennsylvania is the largest statewide non-profit organization dedicated to helping mental health consumers and their families rebuild their lives and conquer the challenges posed by severe and persistent mental illness.
Ability Maine: Links This link provides information of interest to people with disabilities.
Mental Help Net This link provides helpful information on mental health.
Promoting Student Mental Health The guidebook educates the reader on multiple illnesses but focuses on enabling students with mental health illnesses to be successful while in school.
