When people are fully informed about a proposed mental health treatment, they should be familiar with three things:
- What are the likely benefits of the treatment
- What are the risks, and how likely are they to be a problem
- What are the possible alternative treatments, and what are the benefits and risks of those
As part of a Mad in America continuing education course, I recently moderated a panel discussion about informed consent (and too often the lack of) informed consent in mental health care.
Those on the panel had lots of “expertise by experience” as well as experience working within different facets of the mental health system. We were also reflecting on a number of presentations on informed consent that had preceded within the course. It made for some good discussion!
Bob Nikkel, chair of the MIA continuing education project, said “I think it was one of our most powerful presentations.”
The course as a whole does cost a little, but you can watch this panel discussion for free, at this link:
