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Speaking Out for Yourself
A Self-Help Guide
Know Your Rights
Everyone is entitled to the same civil rights and equal treatment, including
people with disabilities or distressing psychiatric symptoms. This is
a list of some of your personal rights. You have the right to—
- ask for what you
want, to say yes or no, to change your mind and to make mistakes
- follow your own
values, standards, and spiritual beliefs
- express all of
your feelings, both positive or negative, in a responsible manner
- be afraid and
uncertain, and to do what you want and need to do for yourself anyway
- have the friends
and interests of your choice
- be uniquely yourself
and to change and grow
- have your own
personal space and time
- be safe
- be treated with
dignity, compassion, and respect at all times
In addition you have,
health care rights which will depend on Federal and State laws.
These health care rights much include—
- know the side-effects
of recommended medications and treatments
- decide for yourself
treatments that are acceptable to you and those that are not and to
refuse medications and treatments that are unacceptable to you
- a second opinion
without being penalized
- change health
care providers - although this right may be limited by some health care
plans
- have the person
or people of your choice be with you when you are seeing your doctor
or other health care worker
If you are in a hospital
setting or residential treatment program, in addition to the rights listed
above, you may have the right to—
- communicate in
person, by sending and receiving mail, and by reasonable access to telephones,
with the people of your choice
- wear your own
clothing
- keep personal
possessions, including toilet articles
- privacy to perform
personal hygiene tasks
- a written treatment
plan that you develop with input from your health care providers that
is updated as your condition or treatment changes
- be represented
by a lawyer whenever your rights may be affected (you may have to pay
a fee to be represented, unless you find a lawyer who will not charge
you.)
- the same civil
rights, respect, dignity, and compassion, and in the same manner and
with the same effects, as a person not in such a facility
The only time your
rights may not be honored is if you are making unsafe requests or indicating
in some other way that you may hurt yourself or someone else.
If you know that
your rights are being violated, the first thing to do, if possible, is
to ask the person, people, organization, agency, or institution that is
violating your rights to stop doing that. If they don't stop, reach out
for help. Depending upon the kind of violation, you could contact a counselor,
mental health agency, law enforcement officials, or your State office
of protection and advocacy. (see Resources at the back of the booklet).
If you are unsure whether your rights have been violated, contact the
agency of protection and advocacy in your State.
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