ABSTRACT
A wide variety of legal issues are involved in the psychiatric treatment of adolescents in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Key legal issues that will be discussed in this section include the legal status of adolescents and the legal rights of minors, particularly with respect to consent for treatment, refusal of treatment, and confidentiality. It is critically important for practitioners to know and understand requirements that are drawn both from state and federal law, and a detailed discussion of all the relevant laws is beyond the scope of this chapter.
