A charge nurse on a mental health unit is preparing an in-service about client rights for staff members. Which of the following information should the nurse include?

Introduction: Client rights in a psychiatric setting center on autonomy, the principle of the least restrictive environment, and the right to refuse specific treatments or activities that are not essential for immediate stabilization or safety. A. Clients in a mental health facility retain the right to refuse to attend group therapy sessions. Participation in therapeutic activities should be encouraged but cannot be mandated. Forcing attendance violates the client's right to autonomy and may be counterproductive to the therapeutic process if the client is not ready to engage. B. Withdrawal of consent does not necessarily have to be provided in writing to be valid. A client can verbally rescind their consent for a procedure or treatment at any time. The nurse must respect the verbal withdrawal of consent immediately and document the interaction and the client's stated reasons in the medical record. C. Clients who are actively violent do not have the right to refuse chemical restraint if it is deemed necessary to prevent immediate harm to themselves or others. Emergency medication administration is a legal and ethical exception to the right to refuse treatment when all other less restrictive de-escalation measures have failed. D. Clients with severe mental illness are encouraged to create psychiatric advance directives (PADs). A PAD allows a client to state their preferences for treatment before they experience a crisis or are deemed legally incompetent. This tool empowers the client to maintain control over their healthcare decisions even during periods of acute illness.