Know Your Rights When You’re Hospitalized

When you’re hospitalized for a mental illness, it can feel like you have no rights. For your own safety, your belongings and even your clothes may be taken from you when you enter a psychiatric facility. You might also be in a locked ward. This can also make you feel like you’ve given your rights away.

I remember when I checked into a psychiatric ward. I was terrified. I had no idea what would happen next. I suddenly felt like I had no control over my life, which is scary, indeed. But the thing is, that's why I was there. I was there because I needed help with control over my life. Left to me, I might not continue to have a life.

The thing is, though, I still had a lot of rights as a psychiatric patient. There is a bill of rights afforded to everyone being treated for a mental illness. I didn’t know what my rights were when I was in a psychiatric ward, but you can.

Mental Health Inpatient Rights

Unlike me, you should be informed of your rights when you access psychiatric care and periodically thereafter. Additionally, your rights should be posted in any inpatient mental health facility. I don't remember seeing anything like that when I was hospitalized, and if you don't see it either, you can file a grievance to get them posted.

While each state can create its own patient’s bill of rights, many of the commonly recognized rights align with principles advocated for by various commissions and organizations, including the President's Commission on Mental Health.

1. Right to appropriate treatment – You are entitled to a personalized, written treatment plan developed shortly after admission that supports your personal freedom and only restricts it as much as necessary for your treatment needs. I think having it written down is really important because remembering what someone tells you can be very challenging, especially if you're in crisis.
2. Right to participation – You have the right to participate in treatment planning. This includes understanding your mental and physical condition, treatment goals, potential side effects, reasons for treatment, visitor restrictions, and alternative available treatments. I know this can be complicated if you are experiencing a psychotic episode when you're admitted, but you can assert this right once you have been stabilized.
3. Right to consent – You have the right to provide informed, voluntary, written consent, except in emergencies or if legally committed by a court. This right makes many patients (like me) feel better. No, treatment can't be forced on you (again, except in very limited cases).
4. Right to freedom from restraint and seclusion – You have the right not to be restrained or secluded unless absolutely necessary and documented by a responsible mental health professional. I'm thankful that I never saw any restraint or seclusion being used when I was in the hospital.
5. Right to a humane environment – You have the right to a safe and humane treatment environment that protects your privacy. Unfortunately, this is one right that I didn't get. The environment was humane, certainly, but treatment wasn't always private. I remember having to meet with my psychiatrist in a hallway because no rooms were available. I wasn't thrilled with this at the time, that is for sure.
6. Right to confidentiality – You have the right to confidential records only to be released to authorized people. You have the right to access your records unless it would harm you, as determined in writing by a healthcare professional.
7. Right to communication – You have the right to private conversations, access to phones and mail, and visiting hours, except when access restrictions are necessary for treatment.
8. Right to referral – You have the right to be referred to other appropriate mental health professionals upon discharge. I think this one is so critical. Care for when you leave a psychiatric facility can make or break your treatment. You should always demand a care plan that you are on board with when you're leaving.

What to Do If Your Patient Rights Are Violated

These guidelines aim to ensure mental health patients receive respectful, dignified, and effective care while maintaining their personal rights and freedoms as much as possible. And while every mental health facility within the United States should abide by these rights, sometimes mistakes happen.

If you feel your rights as a mental health patient have been violated, remember you also have the following rights:

1. Right to file grievances – You have the right to file complaints regarding any infringement of your rights through a fair and impartial procedure.
2. Rights to advocacy services – You have the right to access rights protection services and advocates to help you understand and exercise your rights.
3. Right against retaliation – You have the right not to be retaliated against for exercising your rights.

So, while it can feel like you’re powerless in a mental health facility, you absolutely are not. Mental Health America (MHA), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), or a lawyer may be able to help you if you feel you can’t handle a rights violation yourself.

Hold Psychiatric Facilities to Account

At the time, I never felt my rights were violated in the psychiatric ward, however, I now understand they didn’t do everything to the letter, either. For example, I was never informed of my rights upon admission. That’s a glaring oversight and one that could have had great repercussions had something awful happened.

The good news is that by reading this article, you are informing yourself of your rights as a mental health patient. Hopefully, you will never need to exert them through a grievance process, but it’s helpful to know that process is there if you need it.

For more details on the legal rights of psychiatric patients, see here.