A Mental Health Advance Directive is a document that allows you to make your choices known regarding mental health treatment in the event that your mental illness makes you unable to make decisions. In effect, you are making decisions about treatment before the time that you may need it. A law was passed in Pennsylvania, effective January 28, 2005, that makes it possible for you to use a Mental Health Advance Directive.

Many decisions may need to be made for you if you have a mental health crisis or are involuntarily committed and become unable to make treatment decisions. For example, the choice of hospital, types of treatment, and who should be notified are types of decisions that may be made for you. At the time of crisis, you may not be able to make your wishes known, and therefore you may end up with others making decisions that you would not make. One way to be sure that your doctor, relatives, and friends understand your feelings is to prepare a Mental Health Advance Directive before you become unable to make decisions. A Mental Health Advance Directive can help to ensure better treatment faster because you can include valuable information about what has worked for you in the past, as well as what has not worked well for you in the past.

Pennsylvania law allows you to make a Mental Health Advance Directive that is a declaration, a power of attorney, or a combination of both.

At Mental Health America-Allegheny County, we have staff available to answer your questions, connect you with workshops on Mental Health Advance Directives, provide you with one-on-one assistance, and mail you the Mental Health Advance Directive forms. Call the Mental Health Advance Directive Hotline at 1-877-868-2159 for more information.

View a Mental Health Advance Directives Power Point to learn more about Mental Health Advance Directives.

Click for a checklist to help you or someone else make a Mental Health Advance Directive.

If you want to make all of your own mental health treatment decisions without having anyone else involved or you do not have anyone that you trust to make the same decisions for you that you would make, then you should complete the Declaration Form.

If you want someone else to make mental health treatment decisions on your behalf AND you have someone you trust to make the same decisions for you that you would make for yourself AND that person is willing to serve as your agent, then you should complete a Power of Attorney form.

If you want to make some decisions AND you want someone else to make other decisions about new treatments that may come up AND you have someone you trust to make the same decisions for you that you would make for yourself AND you have someone willing to serve as your agent, then your should complete a Combination Declaration and Power of Attorney Form.

Be sure to discuss your mental health care treatment decisions with your agent, if you have one. Click for the Guide for Agents.

Click for  instructions on how to make changes to your Mental Health Advance Directive.

Click for a Glossary of Terms for Mental Health Advance Directives.