Answer:
Of course! Oh my goodness, that is why the mental health community tries to reduce STIGMA in our communities. We are not idiots. We are smart, talented, creative and hold jobs and college degrees just like what people call "normal". I am normal, I just have a disease, just like someone who has cancer.
Also, "you" are in control of who you hire on as your health care professional. You are in charge, if they aren't acting responsible fire their butt.
Everyone has the same rights and mental health patients have the right to tell their doctor that they are not taking their crap and to move on to another doctor if necessary.
Just because an individual may have a mental issue, doesn't give the right for a doctor or anyone else to treat them like crap. Ive seen this over and over, and i don't think it's fair. Having an M.D on the side of your name doesn't make you God.
Of course! Look at Ross Perot. He even ran for president once...
Seriously though, a person's rights can be limited if he/she is deemed to be a danger to him/herself and/or others. In that case, a person with mental health problems can be legally committed to a mental institution and not be allowed to leave until such time as his/her mental state has improved to the point that he/she no longer poses a danger. But even in that case, it does not give a doctor the right to behave in a rude or abusive manner toward a patient. People with mental health problems deserve the same respect as any other human being.
I don't like the way some doctors talk to their patients in any specialty, not just psychiatry. In fact, I doubt that the mental illness itself is much of a factor, since psychiatrists know the truths about mental illness. I think it's more impatience and arrogance, both of which are character flaws that appear to some degree in most people, but that doctors seem to receive a disproportionate amount of complains about.
I'm going to start with some defense of the doctors. They worked very hard to get that M.D., they have higher average I.Q.'s than people in most other professions, and they know way more about medicine than the average patient. Particularly for a doctors in a specialized practice, they probably hear the same questions everyday and get tired of repeating themselves to everybody. So I understand why doctors might be tempted to talk down to their patients.
That being said, they chose their job and they have to be polite while performing it, the same way anyone who works with clients or customers must be polite while performing their job. Talking down to a patient is disrespectful in the extreme, and a smart patient won't take it. I have my own example.
A couple years ago I was in the hospital for an intestinal condition. My attending physician was the chairman of the board at the hospital. I know quite a bit about my illness because it's a chronic condition, and I definitely knew enough to tell that this doctor was doing a terrible job. I called him on it, and because I was 19 years old, he didn't take my criticism seriously. He thought I couldn't possibly be educated enough to know what was best for my treatment.
So I fired him. I told the new doctor that he was to answer my questions and then follow my instructions. I told him what medications to prescribe and what tests to do. And here's the punch line: I got out of that hospital feeling better 2 days faster than the original doctor estimated I could.
DEAR SIR ARE MISS
I SAY WE ALL HAVE RIGHTS AND IF A DOCTOR IS NOT
TREATING YOU WITH THE RESPECT THAT YOU GIVE HE
ARE SHE AND THEY DO NOT GIVE IT BACK FIND
ANOTHER DOCTOR I HAD TO DO IT 3 TIMES NOW I
HAVE SOME GREAT ONES OK
TAKE CARE
Yes, they have the same rights like anybody.