As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) CONSUMER. A person who receives or uses mental health services.
(2) DEPARTMENT. The Alabama Department of Mental Health.
(3) FAMILY MEMBER. A person within the immediate family or a legal guardian of a mental health consumer.
(4) MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. Services designed to treat or deal with persons with mental illness.
(5) MENTAL ILLNESS. A psychiatric disorder of thought or mood, or both, which significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life. "Mental illness" as used herein specifically excludes the primary diagnoses of epilepsy, intellectual disability, substance abuse including alcoholism, or a developmental disability, or any combination thereof.
(6) PROGRAM. A program for providing mental health services.
(7) PROVIDER. Any agency, corporation, or individual who provides inpatient, residential or outpatient mental health services to a consumer or consumers, provided that this chapter shall only apply to physicians licensed to practice medicine to the extent that medical services to individuals covered by the chapter must be provided in accordance with established standards of medical care.
Structure Code of Alabama
Title 22 - Health, Mental Health, and Environmental Control.
Chapter 56 - Mental Health Consumers' Rights Act.
Section 22-56-1 - Short Title.
Section 22-56-2 - Definitions.
Section 22-56-3 - Legislative Declarations.
Section 22-56-5 - Department to Establish Official Standards for Certification.
Section 22-56-6 - Abuse, Exploitation, Neglect - Penalties; Reporting to Agencies.
Section 22-56-9 - Construction With Other Law.
Section 22-56-10 - No Reduction or Expansion of Rights Beyond Rights Guaranteed Other Persons.