Drawing on literature from law, philosophy and psychiatry, this book interrogates whether the law adequately addresses how disorder affects decision-making.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Second in a series of publications from the Institute of Medicine's Quality of Health Care in America project Today's health care providers have more research findings and more technology available to them than ever before. Yet recent reports have raised serious doubts about the quality of health care in America. Crossing the Quality Chasm makes an urgent call for fundamental change to close the quality gap. This book recommends a sweeping redesign of the American health care system and provides overarching principles for specific direction for policymakers, health care leaders, clinicians, regulators, purchasers, and others. In this comprehensive volume the committee offers: A set of performance expectations for the 21st century health care system. A set of 10 new rules to guide patient-clinician relationships. A suggested organizing framework to better align the incentives inherent in payment and accountability with improvements in quality. Key steps to promote evidence-based practice and strengthen clinical information systems. Analyzing health care organizations as complex systems, Crossing the Quality Chasm also documents the causes of the quality gap, identifies current practices that impede quality care, and explores how systems approaches can be used to implement change.

The Mental capacity Act 2005 provides a statutory framework for people who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves, or for people who want to make provision for a time when they will be unable to make their own decisions. This code of practice, which has statutory force, provides information and guidance about how the Act should work in practice. It explains the principles behind the Act, defines when someone is incapable of making their own decisions and explains what is meant by acting in someone's best interests. It describes the role of the new Court of Protection and the role of Independent Mental Capacity Advocates and sets out the role of the Public Guardian. It also covers medical treatment and the way disputes can be resolved.

Each year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second highest for all men. Effective treatments exist, but services are frequently fragmented and, as with general health care, there are barriers that prevent many from receiving these treatments as designed or at all. The consequences of this are seriousâ€"for these individuals and their families; their employers and the workforce; for the nation's economy; as well as the education, welfare, and justice systems. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions examines the distinctive characteristics of health care for mental and substance-use conditions, including payment, benefit coverage, and regulatory issues, as well as health care organization and delivery issues. This new volume in the Quality Chasm series puts forth an agenda for improving the quality of this care based on this analysis. Patients and their families, primary health care providers, specialty mental health and substance-use treatment providers, health care organizations, health plans, purchasers of group health care, and all involved in health care for mental and substanceâ€"use conditions will benefit from this guide to achieving better care.

With contributions from an international team of experts, this collection provides a much-needed international, comparative approach to mental capacity law. The book focuses particularly on exploring substantive commonalities and divergences in normative orientation and practical application embedded in different legal frameworks. It draws together contributions from eleven different jurisdictions across Europe, Asia and the UK and explores what productive or unproductive values and practices currently exist. By providing a detailed comparison of how legal and ethical commitments to persons with disabilities are framed in capacity law across different national systems, the book highlights the values and practices that could lead to changes that better respect persons with disabilities in mental capacity regimes.

This Code of Practice is a reference tool for those dealing with, and caring for people admitted to hospital and care homes with mental health problems. Authored by the Department of Health and produced following wide consultation with those who provide and receive services under the Mental Health Act, this publication will come into force on 3 November 2008. Through the Mental Health Act 2007, the Government has updated the 1983 Act to ensure it keeps pace with the changes in the way that mental health services are - and need to be - delivered. This publication provides guidance and advice to registered medical practitioners, approved clinicians, managers and staff of hospitals, and approved mental health professionals on how they should proceed when undertaking duties under the Act. It also gives guidance to doctors and other professionals about certain aspects of medical treatment for mental disorder more generally. The Mental Health Act Code of Practice is also aimed at all of those working in primary care, Mental Health Trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts as well as solicitors and attorneys who advise on mental health law. The Code should also be beneficial to the police and ambulance services and others in health and social services (including the independent and voluntary sectors) involved in providing services to people who are, or may become, subject to compulsory measures under the Act. It will also be a guide for those working with people with specific mental health needs such as those in nursing and care homes, and those in prison.

Consideration of ethics has established a firm place in the affairs of psychiatrists. An increased professional commitment to accountability, together with a growing "consumer" movement has paved the way for a creative engagement with the ethical movement. Psychiatric Ethics has carved out a niche for itself as a major comprehensive text and core reference covering the many complex ethical dilemmas which face clinicians and researchers in their everyday practice. This new edition takes a fresh look at recent trends and developments at the interface between ethics and psychiatric practice.For this edition, Sydney Bloch and Paul Chodoff are joined by Stephen Green, a clinical professor in ethics and psychiatry at Georgetown University, in leading 29 of the finest scholars in the field from around the world. Eleven new contributors join the team of authors. They include Drs. Beauchamp, Gutheils, Sabin, McGuffin, Szmulter, Gabbard and Holmes. Since the second edition, the editors have observed several emerging aspects of psychiatric practice requiring coverage. As a result, six new chapters have been added covering the ethical aspects of community psychiatry, managed care, psychiatric genetics, resource allocation, codes of ethics and boundary violations. All others chapters have been fully revised and updated.The book will continue to be essential reading for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, as well as of interest to ethicists, policy makers, managers and lawyers.

This theoretical and practical guide to Mental Capacity Statute considers recent case law, medico-legal challenges and future legislation.