Mental Health Cases
In emergency situations, a law enforcement officer or mental health professional can ask the court for a warrant to have a person taken to a hospital to be examined to determine if they are a person in need of treatment.
In non-emergency situations, an interested party may ask for a court order to involuntarily treat or medicate a person who has a mental illness if certain requirements are met.
Definitions
Interested party means a guardian, spouse, parent, adult child, close adult relative, responsible adult friend, or person who has the person in their charge or care. It also means a mental health professional, a law enforcement officer, a licensed physician, or a head of a hospital. 18 V.S.A. § 7101(9).
Mental illness means a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory which grossly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life. It does not include intellectual disability. 18 V.S.A. § 7101(14).
A person in need of treatment means a person who has a mental illness and, because of that mental illness, their capacity to exercise self-control, judgment, or discretion in the conduct of their affairs and social relations is so lessened that they pose a danger of harm to themself or others. See 18 V.S.A. § 7101(17) for the complete definition.
Right to an Attorney
A person who is the subject of an involuntary mental health treatment or medication case has the right to a free attorney. The court will appoint an attorney from the Mental Health Law Project of Vermont Legal Aid to represent them. A person also has the right to hire an attorney of their choosing.
Confidentiality
Records in mental health cases are confidential. Court case information can only be released to the parties and their attorneys, and to authorized state agency employees. Hearings in mental health cases are closed. The court has discretion about whether non-parties will be allowed to attend.
Communicating with Friends and Family
A person involved in a mental health case may not be refused any reasonable means of communication, by telephone or otherwise, to tell people about their situation, unless a physician determines and documents specific restrictions are necessary to prevent harm to themselves or others due to their mental health or other condition.
The hospital must ask a patient whom they want notified of the hospitalization such as friends, family, or advocates, and must notify those people and tell them how to contact and visit them.
A law enforcement officer or mental health professional can ask the court for a warrant to have a person taken to a hospital to be examined to determine if they are a person in need of treatment. 18 V.S.A. § 7504.
If the judge grants the request for the warrant, the person may be taken to a hospital for immediate evaluation by a doctor. 18 V.S.A. § 7505.
If the examining doctor determines the person is a person in need of treatment, they will be held for an examination by a psychiatrist (who must be someone other than the initial evaluating doctor) within 24 hours.
- If the doctor does not determine they are a person in need of treatment, they will be released.
- If the doctor determines they are a person in need of treatment, they may be held for an additional 72 hours. After that time has passed, the person must be discharged or released unless:
- they voluntarily admit themselves for treatment, or
- someone files an application for involuntary treatment.
Preliminary Hearing
Within 5 days of being admitted for emergency examination, the person can ask for a preliminary hearing to determine whether they were a person in need of treatment at the time they were admitted.
An interested party can file an application for involuntary treatment with the Family Division of the Superior Court to have someone treated for a mental illness involuntarily. Interested party is defined at the top of this web page.
This is not an emergency process. If someone is in crisis, interested parties may want to explore other options.
The Department of Mental Health has a form an interested party can use to make the application. A link to the form is provided at the bottom of this web page. The form is titled To Commence Proceedings for the Involuntary Treatment of an Individual – Non Emergency. The form number is MH-9A.
Among other things, the person making the request must explain why involuntary treatment is necessary. The applicant must also provide either:
- a certificate from a licensed physician who has examined the person within 5 days of when the application is filed, or
- a written statement that the proposed patient refused to submit to an examination by a licensed physician.
The court will appoint an attorney to represent the proposed patient unless an attorney has already entered an appearance in the case.
Emergency help
- Get mental health help from Vermont agencies.
- Call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or use their chat service.
- Text VT to 741741, the 24/7 Vermont Crisis Text Line.
Information and Support
- Your Rights in Health Care Settings as a Vermonter Diagnosed as Having a Mental Illness from Disability Rights Vermont.
- Information about the Mental Health Law Project at Vermont Legal Aid.
- Mental Health Services information from the vtlawhelp.org website.
- National Alliance on Mental Health(NAMI)
- Information about Psychiatric Advance Directives from the Vermont Ethics Network.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA)
- US Department of Health and Human Services
- Vermont Care Partners
- Vermont Department of Mental Health – information for individuals and families
- Vermont Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health(VFFCMH)
- Vermont Psychiatric Survivors