An Advance Directive for Mental Health assures that your wishes about mental health treatment will be carried out if you lose your mental capacity. Under such a directive, if you become mentally incompetent, the person you appoint makes decisions about treatment for mental issues as if he or she were you.

For an Advance Directive for Mental Health to be valid, you must be "competent" (mentally okay) at the time you execute the document.

Advance Directives for Mental Health are controlled by state law. For example, state law determines what is to be included in the document, how it is executed, and how it can be revoked. In many states, mental health directives can be included in advance directives which relate to your physical health care so there is no need for a separate document.

Before executing an Advance Directive for Mental Health, choose a proxy you can trust to carry out your wishes even if there is push back from other family members or the medical establishment. Tell your Proxy your general thoughts, as well as your thoughts about specific treatments and facilities if you have them.

Like other advance directives, forms are free. There is no need to engage a lawyer to create an Advance Directive for Mental Health or to oversee its execution.

For more information about these subjects, including a link to the law in your state, see the other sections of this document.

NOTE: When considering executing an Advance Directive for Mental Health, also consider executing one or more of the various types of advance directives that relate to health care, and a Durable Power Of Attorney which governs your finances. 

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