Psychotherapy and Advocacy: Four Freedoms as Fundamental Patient Rights.

This column differentiates the role of psychotherapist from the role of advocate for our patients. It introduces and provides an overview of areas worthy of advocacy efforts that are encapsulated as Four Freedoms that are inalienable rights of those struggling with the burden of mental disorders: freedom from stigma, freedom from dehumanizing treatment, freedom to pursue recovery, and freedom of access to effective, medically necessary treatment.