- advance directive
- document that allows a person to make decisions when they are still capable of making them; includes the living will, power of attorney, and health-care proxy
- assisted outpatient treatment (AOT)
- form of civil commitment within the community, not confined to a facility
- behavioral emergency response team (BERT)
- multidisciplinary group trained to respond to emergent behavioral incidents in treatment facilities
- civil commitment
- legal process that keeps involuntary hospitalization from qualifying as false imprisonment
- competency
- ability for self-care with decision-making and communication as essential components
- conditional release/discharge
- person must adhere to prescribed treatment (medication, counseling, follow-up appointments) or be returned to the hospital
- conservatorship
- created through the courts due to the absence of responsible parties, such as for children with absent parents, and may focus more specifically on financial decisions
- debriefing
- focused, purposeful discussion after an incident used to enhance education or make improvements
- emergency admission
- hospital admission for persons reasonably determined to have mental illness and, due to this, are deemed to be dangerous to self or others
- emergency treatment orders (ETO)
- allow medically prescribed treatment to be provided, with or without consent
- ex parte
- a court order where all of the parties are not yet involved
- guardianship
- created through the courts to manage financial, legal, and personal matters for a person who lacks capacity to do so
- health-care power of attorney
- can speak for the person if the person cannot make their own health-care decisions
- health-care proxy
- legal authorization to represent a person in their health-care decisions; the proxy will decide as the person would have decided
- involuntary commitment
- kept in custody without consent after a waiting period
- living will
- document that identifies acceptable medical treatment, especially at end of life
- power of attorney (POA)
- written designation of authority to act for another person in specified matters
- PRN
- medical abbreviation for the Latin pro re nata meaning, “as it is needed”
- psychiatric advance directives (PAD)
- legal document, variable by state, created by the person for use if the person becomes unable to make their own mental health-care decisions
- psychiatric hold
- persons received under emergency situations remain in the facility for a waiting period of twenty-four to seventy-two hours for a psychiatric assessment and crisis treatment
- time-out
- temporary, unconfined, and brief removal from adverse stimulation to reduce stressors