the whole intent of PADs is to give me a chance to say what i want for once so why would i have my doctor do my PAD. thats like saying my kids should write my will. ridiculous blog question.

I'd be ok with my case manager helping me with this.

The question will always remain will our peers actually be allowed to have such transparancy from the treatment our clinicians, ect. decides to provide throughout our bounce back period when encountered with the effects of being overwhelmed?
Peers need to be at the front line of our recovery process at all levels of therapy, not just assisting in documenting PADs.

The idea or need to pass this type of legislation and pose this blog question only convinces me all the more that the medical, mental health and the legal communities are clueless in the proper treatment of mental illness. As someone with mania, I speak from personal experience. The experts are coming at mental illness from the wrong direction. The current protocol of simply dispensing medication and/or hospitalizing MI’s has been a disaster.

On two occasions, I have walked out of a psyche ward and a state hospital without the first professional addressing my denial of the illness for one second. That's must! According to my probate judge, in the handling of commitment cases, he says, "it’s a revolving door in his courtroom." There are too many bad experiences for the few good ones where patients gain some insight into their illness and the events that triggered their episode.

The treatment modality bore out by the statistics don’t work. It has been my experience that the “professionals” don’t understand these illnesses because they don’t have "one." There are no experts in Alcoholics Anonymous and for good reason. After six years with my bipolar disorder, I now know why. They can’t speak the language.

Unless you have it, you can’t possibly understand the complexity of issues involved for the suffering patient/client/consumer in the hospital, the mental health center or the counselor’s office. No doctor, nurse, counselor or therapist truly wants to see them being just as sick or insane as their clients – either an alcoholic/addict or the mentally ill. The inflated Ego just won't allow the mind “to go there.” The truth about our world is its flat-out crazy. The only difference between us – the mentally ill and “normal” people is that we know it and they don’t.

now that #4 ted has gotten off of his soapbox, the answer to the question should be that persons support system, whatever that may be. whether it is a peer advocate, family member, significant other or just a friend,that hopefully trusted person is the best candidate. the only time a clinician should do it ,is if the person with the pad chooses that person to do it.

George,

I speak from personal experience. The mental healthcare has been a systemic failure and more legislation, more procedures like this one --PADs are merely the latest solve-all to dealing with the mentally ill. It looks like a double-edged sword ready to be turned against the patient someday and it will. Mark my words. Your comments give the appearance of being neither mentally ill nor compotent to share. Just more foolish logic in this high stakes game of life and death.

Ted