Theres a form to help Maine people in crisis [Video]

MAINE, USA — As the daughter of a dad with paranoid schizophrenia, Delaney Ruston, a physician and filmmaker, wanted to find a better way to help her father when he was in crisis.

In a film she made with the National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives, Ruston recalled her dad showing up at her doorstep, suffering from psychosis, hundreds of miles from his home. He would refuse treatment during an episode, but Ruston also knew he didn’t want to stay in a state of paranoia. 

Ruston looked for ways to lay out her father’s wishes in advance, so she and his treatment team could better help him in the moment. She came across the psychiatric advance directive, a legal document that allows a person to outline a preferred treatment plan before a crisis.

“The process of completing a psychiatric advance directive makes people feel better about their …