Did you know that you have the option to guide mental health professionals in your treatment and care in case you become unwell?

Advance Choice Documents (ACDs) give people living with mental illnesses an opportunity to state their wishes and instructions about their treatment and care during future episodes of illness.

They give you a chance to make your voice heard in future mental healthcare decisions by using your knowledge, gained through past experience of illness and healthcare, to guide a clinical team through future episodes of illness. Recent research has suggested that the use of ACDs could reduce the rate of sectioning by up to 25%. 

We chatted to Professor Tania Gergel about her work to raise awareness of this vital tool for people with severe mental illness.

Tania is the Director of Research at Bipolar UK and a Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London and here at Cardiff University. She’s also the lead for bipolar research at NCMH.

You can read more about ACDs at advancechoice.org

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