Your rights – for 11-18 year olds
Information to help you understand your legal rights and how they might relate to mental health.
Why is it important to understand our rights?
We all have rights. When we talk about rights, we mean our rights to:
- Do things, like be involved in decisions about ourselves
- Have things, like food, housing and healthcare
- Be treated in a certain way, like to be protected from abuse
Knowing what your rights are is really important, so you can tell someone if you're not getting what you should be.
It's important to understand our rights so we can make sure that we're being treated fairly, and that we have the protection and support we deserve.
When you have a mental health problem, it's especially important to understand what rights you have. Our information pages explain the different rights you have and how they relate to your mental health.
Understanding my rights
Information on what your rights are and how they might relate to mental health.
Your rights at CAMHS
A guide for young people on what fair treatment and your legal rights should look like at CAMHS. It also explains what to do if things aren't going the way they should.
Understanding confidentiality
A guide that explains how and when information about your mental health is kept private.
Advocacy and mental health
A guide that explains advocacy and how advocates can help and how to advocate for yourself
Being an informal patient
A guide that explains what happens when you go into hospital as an informal patient.
Being sectioned
A guide that explains what happens when you're sectioned for your mental health.
My rights in hospital
A guide on what your rights are when you're in hospital as an informal patient or have been sectioned.
Understanding complaints
An intro to what it means to complain about how you've been treated while receiving health or social care.
Making a complaint
A guide explaining what happens when you complain about how you've been treated you or the care you've received.
Tips for the complaint process
Tips for going through the complaint process and how to cope with difficult feelings.
Treatment and support glossary
Explains words and phrases that you may hear when getting treatment and support for your mental health. Includes legal terms.
Useful contacts
If you need more support, there are lots of organisations you can contact.
For more information
Rights
Rights generally exist to protect and help us. If you have a right or the rights to something in everyday life, it means you're entitled to have it or do it.
Our rights are often set out in laws, like the Equality Act 2010. Sometimes, rights might be set out in other policies and guidelines.
Some rights can never lawfully be taken away from us. However, sometimes another law can interfere with or restrict our rights. For example, if we are arrested or sectioned.
For more information, see our page on your rights.
Visit our full treatment and support glossary