(a) A person with mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability is entitled to:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-4-101

  • Chief officer: means the person with overall authority for a public or private hospital or treatment resource, or the person's designee. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Mental illness: means a psychiatric disorder, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence, but does not include intellectual disability or other developmental disabilities as defined in title 52. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Serious emotional disturbance: means a condition in a child who currently or at any time during the past year has had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet psychiatric diagnostic criteria that results in functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits the child's role or functioning in family, school, or community activities and includes any mental disorder, regardless of whether it is of biological etiology. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Service recipient: means a person who is receiving service, has applied for service, or for whom someone has applied for or proposed service because the person has mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
(1) Receive visitors during regular visiting hours; and
(2) Communicate, orally or by sending and receiving uncensored mail, with the service recipient‘s family, attorney, personal physician, minister, and the courts.
(b) All other incoming mail or parcels may be read or opened before being delivered to a service recipient, if the chief officer of the facility believes the action is necessary for the physical or mental health of the service recipient who is the intended recipient. Mail or other communication that is not delivered to the service recipient for whom it is intended shall be returned immediately to the sender.
(c) The chief officer may make reasonable rules regarding visitors, visiting hours, and the use of communication resources.
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