Jargon explained

Advance Choice Documents have been developed by researchers and healthcare professionals, who sometimes use terms which can be confusing for those who don’t have a medical background. They are also in the habit of using acronyms (just the initials), which can lead to even more confusion. We have listed below some of the key terms and acronyms you might hear when people talk about Advance Choice Documents.

ACD: Advance Choice Document, (may also be used to refer to Advance Choice Directive, another name for an Advance Choice Document) 

Advance Directive Another name for Advance Choice Document 

Advance Planning Document Another name for Advance Choice Document 

Advance Statements of Preference Another name for Advance Choice Document 

Capacity the ability to use and understand information to make a decision, and communicate any decision made

Co-production when people with lived experience are involved in directing and shaping healthcare research and interventions

'Expertise through experience' the knowledge which is gained through lived experience of a severe health condition  

Insight refers to the capability of patients to recognise and accept that they are suffering from a mental illness

Lived experience means that you yourself have had direct experience of a severe mental health condition, either through being unwell yourself or through caring for a close relative/friend 

Psychiatric Advance Directives a term in the USA that refers to Advance Choice Documents

Section Being 'sectioned' means that you are kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act

Self Binding Directive (SBDs) are a special type of psychiatric advance directive in which mental health service users can consent in advance to involuntary hospital admission and involuntary treatment during future mental health crises

Service User is someone who has used a service themselves, in the case of this website we mean those living with mental illness

UK Mental Capacity Act The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is the law that tells you what you can do to plan ahead in case you can't make decisions for yourself, how you can ask someone else to make decisions for you and who can make decisions for you if you haven't planned ahead.

UK Mental Health Act The Mental Health Act 1983 is the law in England and Wales which was updated in 2007. It tells people with mental health problems what their rights are regarding: Assessment and treatment in hospital. Treatment in the community. Pathways into hospital, which can be civil or criminal.

Different terms used to describe severe mental health conditions: 

  • Mental disorders 

  • Mental illness 

  • Severe mental illness 

  • Psychiatric illness or disorders 

Different terms used for people who receive healthcare in relation to a mental health condition: 

  • Service users 

  • Consumers 

  • Clients 

  • Patients 

  • Survivors