The MHC produces a range of guidance and resources for staff in approved centres
Guidance Documents
We have produced the following guidance documents:
The Judgement Support Framework (JSF) 2026 has been revised and updated in advance of the 2026 inspection programme. The MHC produces the JSF to assist service providers to prepare for inspection by transparently demonstrating how the Inspector of Mental Health Services uses information, gathered on inspection, to inform judgements about compliance.
This guide is applicable to all approved centres, as defined by the Mental Health Acts 2001-2018. It provides guidance on the requirements for submitting quality and safety notifications to the MHC. The guidance applies to independent, private, and HSE-run services.
This Reference Guide is written to provide mental health professionals, and all those whose work may bring them into contact with persons suffering from a mental illness or a mental disorder, with a clear and practical understanding of the major objectives and requirements of the Mental Health Act 2001.
This Reference Guide – Part Two (Children) is written to provide mental health professionals, and all those whose work may bring them into contact with children with mental disorders with a clear and practical understanding of the major objectives and requirements of the Mental Health Act 2001.
Revised guidelines for mental health services and staff on working with people from ethnic minority communities. These guidelines are intended to be instructive to mental health services at a strategic level and to provide practical advice to mental health professionals in their work.
This guide was developed jointly by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and the Mental Health Commission (MHC) to support staff in health, mental health and social care services to implement national standards. HIQA and the MHC developed this guide as a practical and interactive resource to support service providers to understand what national standards are, what they mean for their service and how to put national standards into practice in their own service setting using a collaborative approach.
This guidance and training resource is designed to support staff working across all mental health services - ranging from inpatient units to community-based settings - in delivering inclusive, respectful, and equitable care to LGBTQIA+ service users.
The purpose of this guidance is to raise awareness of a human rights-based approach to care and treatment in Irish mental health services. Implementing this approach is essential for improving the standard of mental health care in Ireland. This guidance aims to support mental health service providers in embedding human rights-based principles into everyday practice. It outlines clear and practical actions to help professionals uphold the highest standards while complying with national and international human rights frameworks.
The purpose of this guidance is to support staff in delivering care and treatment to individuals with co-occurring mental ill-health and intellectual disabilities across all mental health service settings for adults and children, including inpatient units, community residences and community-based services. It promotes a person-centred approach that upholds and protects human rights, ensuring that care is inclusive, responsive and respectful of individual needs. In doing so, the guidance supports services to continually build their capability, enhance professional confidence, and embed practices that lead to better outcomes for individuals and families.
