What is a Community Treatment Order?
If you've been living in a , a (CTO) may allow you to leave the facility and get treated for your mental health while you live at home. While on a CTO you have to follow a specific plan.
Who CTOs are for
CTOs are for people who go back and forth between living at home and being in a psychiatric facility.
For example, you might have been detained in a psychiatric facility to get treated, and once your condition improved you went home. But while you're living at home your condition changes and you have to go back to the facility to get treated again. This cycle can repeat over and over.
A CTO aims to break the cycle so you don't keep going back and forth between home and the facility.
CTOs are mostly used with patients who cannot understand their medical treatment. So it's the patient's (SDM)who agrees to the CTO.
Treatment plan
If you're on a CTO, your doctor gives you a treatment plan to follow while you're living at home. The plan will include things like:
- appointments to go to
- medicines to take
- rules to follow
Your doctor should give you a chance to say what you think should or shouldn't be in the plan. If you have a SDM, the doctor should ask that person what they think.
A CTO lasts for 6 months. Your doctor can renew or re-issue your CTO for another 6 months if they think you still need it.
Cancel the CTO
Your doctor can cancel a CTO if they don't think you should get treated at home anymore.
You or your SDM can also cancel the CTO. If you agreed to the CTO, you can cancel it at any time. But if your SDM agreed to the CTO for you, then only your SDM or your doctor can cancel it.
If you cancel your CTO, your doctor may sign a Form 1 with your name so that you will be detained at a psychiatric facility.
Another option
A CTO may not be the only option that allows you to leave the facility and get treated at home. An Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team may be another option. See Step 5 for more details.
