Crisis Plans and Advance Directives

Alliance requires a crisis plan for individuals who are at risk of inpatient treatment, incarceration or out-of-home placement.

Your treatment team will help you write a crisis plan. You can also have your crisis instructions recorded into a computer database so that anyone treating you can follow your instructions.

A crisis plan is a set of written instructions you want followed if you are experiencing a behavioral health emergency. All of your caregivers will have your plan. Writing a crisis plan requires you to think about what the early signs of trouble are for you, such as:

• Not being able to sleep for several nights.
• Buying alcohol or planning to attend a party where you could obtain drugs or alcohol.

Writing a crisis plan will help you:

• Protect your right to make medical decisions and choices about your health care.
• Help family members make decisions if you cannot make them for yourself.
• Remember allergies to medications or foods.
• Help your doctors by telling them your wishes.
• Stay in recovery longer and decrease the likelihood of recurrences.
• Increase your self‐esteem in dealing with life stressors.

• Psychiatric Advance Directives or the Advance Directive for Mental Health Care
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Living Will

The Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD) or the Advance Directive for Mental Health Care is a legal document that states the instructions for mental health treatment you would want to receive if you are in a crisis and unable to make decisions for yourself. Your service provider or care coordinator should be able to assist you in the development of this document. The instructions give information about:

• What you think helps calm you.
• How you feel about seclusion or electric shock treatments.
• What medicines you do not want to take.
• Which doctor you want to be in charge of your treatment.

A Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to designate someone who can make decisions for you if you are unable to make your own choices about treatment.

A Living Will is a document that tells others what kind of care you want or if you want to die a natural death if you are incurably sick and cannot receive nutrition or breathe on your own.

All three of these documents must be written and signed by you while you are able to understand your condition and treatment choices and are able to make your wishes known. Two qualified people must witness all three types of advance directives. The Living Will and the Health Care Power of Attorney must be notarized.

Be sure to keep a copy in a safe place and give copies to your family, your treatment team, your doctor and the hospital where you are likely to receive treatment. You can also have your advance directive filed in a national database or registered with the North Carolina Advanced Health Care Directive Registry, which is part of the Department of the North Carolina Secretary of State. There is a $10.00 fee to register. This includes the registration, a revocation form, registration card and password. You can use the revocation form at any time if you change your mind and your Directives.

Your Advance Directives are active until you cancel them. You may cancel or change your Advance Directives at any time unless you have been declared incompetent. If you cancel or change your Advance Directives, be sure to communicate the change to anyone who has a copy.