Treatment Advocacy Center

The Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) is a U.S. non-profit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, originally announced as the NAMI Treatment Advocacy Center in 1997. TAC was subsequently directed by psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey and identifies its mission as "dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness," which is an umbrella term that includes the most serious of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders, severe bipolar disorder, and major depression with psychotic features. The organization is most well-known for proposed laws, policies, and practices regarding legally compelled outpatient services or outpatient commitment (also known as assisted outpatient treatment, AOT) for people diagnosed with mental illness. The organization identifies its other key issues as "anosognosia, consequences of non-treatment, criminalization of severe mental illness, psychiatric bed shortages, public service costs, violence and severe mental illness".