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Legal Rights and Mental Health: An Overview for Patients and Families

Author:
Jemma Strain
Jemma Strain
B.S. Psychology
Editor:
Emma Loker
Emma Loker
B.S.
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If you or someone you care about is experiencing mental health difficulties, you may feel like your life is spiralling out of control. Deciding that you need mental health treatment may even make it seem like your health and well-being is being taken out of your hands. This is not the case. You have a legal right to a voice and a role in your care. 

However, patient rights in mental health care can be complicated. They can vary from state to state, and may depend on factors such as the patient’s age. A mental health professional can talk you through your rights in treatment. However, this article can also help by discussing:

  • What patient rights in mental health care are
  • Understanding your rights in mental health treatment
  • Mental health patient confidentiality rights
  • Understanding the rights of minors in therapy
  • Family rights in mental health treatment
  • How mental health rights can impact treatment
Legal rights in mental health care

What Are Patient Rights in Mental Health Care?

The National Mental Health Act was established to protect patient rights when receiving mental health treatment. Each state in the US has individual mental health laws and regulations, so patient rights in mental health care and the services they’re provided can vary. If you’re wondering what your rights in mental health care are, it’s a good idea to read up on those in the state you’ll be receiving treatment. 

In California and Virginia, people who receive mental health treatment are guaranteed numerous rights under state and federal law. Yet, despite how there are regulations in both states, there is some wriggle room for modification to protect the safety and security of all patients in care. 

In general, under Human Rights Regulations, when receiving treatment for mental health conditions, patients have the right to:1,2

  • Retain the legal rights provided by the state and law in which they’re receiving treatment 
  • Be assessed and evaluated in a timely manner
  • Receive information or training about the treatment they’ll be given in a way they’ll understand
  • Privacy
  • Be treated with respect to protect their dignity
  • Participate in the development and delivery of their personal treatment plan
  • Be free of abuse or neglect in treatment
  • Access to their medical and mental record
  • Be assured of confidentiality in treatment
  • Not receive experimental treatment without their informed, written consent (or that of a parent’s if the patient is a minor)
  • Be treated with the least amount of restriction possible – so no physical restraint or isolation if deemed unnecessary
  • Send and receive sealed letters to friends and family 
  • An impartial review of violations of their rights
  • Access legal counsel 
  • Religious freedom and practice
  • Recreation time and exercise 

Understanding Your Rights in Mental Health Treatment

While it’s good to know that your rights will be protected when receiving treatment, you might be wondering what this means for you. It’s one thing to read a list of rights, but it’s another to understand what these will look like in treatment.

Someone entering into residential mental health treatment may be particularly interested in knowing their legal rights and what these will look like in practice. So, to put it as clearly as possible, if you or someone you care about needs mental health treatment, you are legally entitled to:1-4

Receive a Prompt Assessment:

Mental health conditions can worsen and pose a risk to people’s well-being if they’re not treated in a timely manner. Thus, you have the right to an evaluation to assess your needs.

A Voice and Opinion in Your Care:

Professionals will not just tell you what treatment you’ll be given. They will discuss the options with you and listen to your thoughts and wants. This way you or someone you care about can feel empowered about your own role in what happens.

Information on Your Treatment:

A mental health professional will talk you through the details of the therapy and treatment options that you both decide on. You will likely also reduce written information, such as pamphlets, about the treatments. This means that you’ll go into care with your eyes open, understanding what will happen and when. This can reduce any concerns about the unknown. 

Confidentiality:

Mental health professionals are ethically and legally bound to keep information that’s told to them private. This is particularly important for many teenagers, as worrying about confidentiality is one of their biggest barriers to receiving treatment. The only time a therapist will break confidentiality is if they’re concerned about the person’s safety or that of someone else – or if they’re court ordered.

Family Involvement:

Many people worry that they’ll feel isolated in treatment, but residential mental health treatment is actually more about connection than separation. Therefore, family involvement in treatment – both practical and emotional – is encouraged.

Your Records:

Sometimes, people going into treatment assume that their medical records will be held from them. This isn’t the case, in fact, you may be given a copy of them. However, if you’re not, you can request to see them at any point. 

Connection With Others:

Often, a big part of treatment involves group therapy sessions. This means a teen will be given opportunities to understand that other people their age experience similar issues. These sessions allow teens to connect and bond with others, learn valuable coping skills, and develop their ability to socialize. 

Independence:

Although residential treatment involves 24/7 supervision to protect safety, this doesn’t mean that you won’t have independence and autonomy. There are plenty of opportunities for recreation, such as exercise and religious practice. Plus, you are entitled to a say in how your care is structured and provided. 

Legal Advice:

If, at any time, you or a loved one has concerns about treatment, you are entitled to confidential advice from a lawyer. All documents related to treatment will be shared, and a lawyer can help explain your rights further or make a complaint or recommendation on your behalf. 

Hopefully, these details on your rights in mental health treatment help clarify how they will look in practice. As one of the biggest barriers teens face when thinking about mental health treatment is confidentiality, it may benefit to describe mental health patient confidentiality rights further.5

Mental Health Patient Confidentiality Rights

In a survey of mental health professionals’ attitudes towards confidentiality, it was found that these professionals believe protecting information their patients share to be one of the most important elements in treatment. However, they also recognize the significance of telling patients the circumstances in which information would have to be shared with a third party.6

So, what does this mean for your confidentiality rights? In a nutshell, the law means that a mental health professional has to keep any information you tell them private – it’s part of their code of ethics. Yet, it also means that they want to protect this information as they understand it strengthens the bond in therapy. 

During an initial assessment, a mental health professional will explain confidentiality to you and also give you written information on what it means. However, in practice, confidentiality isn’t always simple. Therefore, they’ll also explain the situations in which they can’t keep information private. These include:7

  • If they believe that your safety or someone else’s is at risk. For example, if someone talks about     taking their own life or hurting someone else. 
  • Suspecting ongoing abuse, including sexual or domestic abuse, or neglect. However, if abuse was in the past and is not ongoing, they may not share this information and instead focus on repairing the emotional harm. 
  • If they’re court ordered to release documents or information. 

If your mental health treatment is covered by insurance, your therapist may ask if it’s OK to share your records with the insurance company. This is standard practice, and insurance companies are also bound by confidentiality laws to protect this information. 

Understanding the Rights of Minors in Therapy

There are some unique issues regarding the rights of minors in therapy in comparison to adults. If you’re considering mental health treatment for a minor, it can be good to understand these specific rights. Mental health rights for minors can vary from state to state, so familiarizing yourself with the law in the state you’ll be receiving treatment is important. 

For instance, some states allow a minor to consent to treatment. However, states generally determine that a youth cannot make an “informed decision” about their treatment and the benefits and risks associated with it. So, typically, a parent or guardian consents to treatment for a minor. This means that parents also would have the right to receive any treatment records and request amendments.8

Even though parents have a right to receive documents related to treatment, they typically wouldn’t receive information on what is said during therapy sessions. The exception to this is, of course, when there’s a risk to a minor’s safety. 

If you have any concerns about a minor’s rights in therapy in your state, a mental health professional can answer any questions you might have. 

Family Rights in Mental Health Treatment

Families play an important role in mental health treatment. In fact, the evidence suggests that when families are involved in treatment, teens feel less stigma, build stronger bonds, and have better treatment outcomes. Aside from family rights in mental health treatment, family involvement in treatment can address any family needs on a whole. This can help a teenager feel more supported and resolve issues that could be contributing to their symptoms.9,10

If parents are significantly concerned about their child’s safety, they have the right to consent to mental health treatment for them. However, treatment tends to be more successful if a teen is willing to accept it. Therefore, if a teen is refusing treatment, it can help to take steps to overcome resistance. Additionally, as discussed, if the patient is a minor, parents have the rights to documents relating to their treatment – but confidentiality about what is shared in therapy is retained.11

How Mental Health Rights Impact Treatment

Mental health rights in treatment ensure that you or a loved one will receive the best form of treatment for your needs. Moreover, you have the right to have a say in how you’re treated and be given any information about the steps that will be taken. 

During an initial assessment, a mental health professional will talk you through these rights in detail and will also explain the therapy options that could work for you, including the following.

Therapy Options for Teen Mental Health:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A professional will likely talk to you or your child about the option of CBT, as it is proven to be effective in treating many teen mental health conditions. It works by targeting thoughts and actions, identifying negative patterns, and helping them build healthy ways of coping.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

A teenager’s previous experiences, such as trauma, could be contributing to their mental health difficulties. EMDR is an effective way of treating trauma as it changes how these memories are stored in the brain, helping a teen move past trauma and form more positive beliefs.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

TMS can be effective in treating treatment-resistant mental health conditions. It’s a non-invasive therapy that uses magnetic fields to activate nerve cells in targeted areas of the brain – improving outlook and mood. 

Interpersonal Therapy

A teen’s relationships with family members or friends can contribute to mental health difficulties. Interpersonal therapy can help them work through these issues and figure out better ways of coping to improve their mental health.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy (MBT)

MBT combines elements of CBT with non-judgmental mindfulness techniques to help teens combat negative emotions and moods. Through MBT, your child can learn how to not fall into a negativity cycle and build more positive self-beliefs.

Each of these therapies is evidence-based. Therefore, they align with your rights in mental health treatment. Additionally, depending on the severity of your symptoms, a mental health professional might talk to you about the option of residential mental health treatment. Your rights in residential mental health treatment are more extensive, so these will also be explained. 

Patient rights in mental health

Mission Prep Can Help You Understand Patient Rights in Mental Health Care

Mission Prep’s team of licensed, empathetic professionals can help you better understand your rights in mental health care. Whether you’re interested in outpatient or residential treatment, we can explain what your rights are and how they will be protected. We consistently endeavor to give teens and parents a voice and role in their care, tailoring treatment to their unique needs. We’re also available 24/7 to answer any concerns – even if you decide that our programs aren’t suitable for your needs. Contact us to learn more.

References

  1. California Department of State Hospitals. (n.d.). Patients’ rights. California Department of State Hospitals. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.dsh.ca.gov/About_Us/Patients_Rights.html
  2. Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. (n.d.). Human rights. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://dbhds.virginia.gov/clinical-and-quality-management/human-rights/
  3. World Health Organization, & United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2023). Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240080737
  4. United Nations. (1991). Principles for the protection of persons with mental illness and the improvement of mental health care. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/principles-protection-persons-mental-illness-and-improvement
  5. Wisdom, J. P., Clarke, G. N., & Green, C. A. (2006). What Teens Want: Barriers to Seeking Care for Depression. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 33(2), 133–145.
  6. Jagim, R. D., Wittman, W. D., & Noll, J. O. (1978). Mental health professionals’ attitudes toward confidentiality, privilege, and third-party disclosure. Professional Psychology, 9(3), 458–466. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.9.3.458
  7. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Confidentiality. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/confidentiality
  8. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Privacy rights of minor patients: A matter of law. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.apaservices.org/practice/business/legal/professional/minor-privacy
  9. Ong, H. S., Fernandez, P. A., & Lim, H. K. (2021). Family engagement as part of managing patients with mental illness in primary care. Singapore Medical Journal, 62(5), 213. https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2021057
  10. Berry, K. R., Gliske, K., Schmidt, C., Ballard, J., Killian, M., & Fenkel, C. (2023). The Impact of Family Therapy Participation on Youths and Young Adult Engagement and Retention in a Telehealth Intensive Outpatient Program: Quality Improvement Analysis. JMIR Formative Research, 7, e45305. https://doi.org/10.2196/45305
  11. Kerwin, M. E., Kirby, K. C., Speziali, D., Duggan, M., Mellitz, C., Versek, B., & McNamara, A. (2015). What Can Parents Do? A Review of State Laws Regarding Decision Making for Adolescent Drug Abuse and Mental Health Treatment. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 24(3), 166. https://doi.org/10.1080/1067828X.2013.777380

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