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Policies

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Disclaimer

General

Thank you for visiting the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Web site and reviewing our policies. NIMH does not endorse or recommend any commercial products or services. Inclusion of an author's views or opinions on our Web sites does not mean they state or reflect those of NIMH or the U.S. Government, and private parties may not use them for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Medical Information

NIMH does not intend to provide specific medical advice on our Web sites, but rather to help visitors better understand mental health and disorders. NIMH will not provide specific medical advice and urges you to consult with a qualified mental health or health care provider for diagnosis and for answers to your personal questions.

  • This graphic notice () next to a link on the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH’s) Web site indicates that the link leads to another site that is not an National Institutes of Health (NIH) Web site.
  • NIMH links to external Web sites to supplement the information found on NIMH’s Web site. However, NIMH cannot guarantee the accuracy of information provided on external Web sites.
  • Linking to a non-NIH Web site does not indicate an endorsement by NIMH of the sponsors or of the information and products presented on the Web site.
  • You will be subject to the external Web site’s privacy policy when you leave NIMH’s Web site.
  • NIMH complies with 508 accessibility regulations, but cannot be responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private Web sites.

Pop-Up Advertisements

When visiting our sites, your Web browser may produce "pop-up" advertisements (advertisements that spontaneously appear on your computer screen). The most likely source of such an advertisement is another Web site you visited or third-party software on your computer. NIMH does not endorse or recommend products or services featured in advertisements that "pop up" during your visit to our sites.

The public may reproduce without permission information from the National Institute of Mental Health Web site, except for documents that state another copyright policy applies to them. Restrictions on the reproduction of a document may arise if a private party has sponsored it. The NIMH, however, is the sole sponsor of most of the information on this site. Some images on the NIMH site may be restricted and protected by U.S. and foreign copyright laws and may not be copied or used for other purposes. Please contact NIMH for information and to request permission to use an image.

Information and Publications

NIMH information and publications are in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission. NIMH encourages you to reproduce them and use them in your efforts to improve public health. Citation of the National Institute of Mental Health as a source is appreciated.

Using government materials inappropriately, however, can raise legal or ethical concerns, so we ask you to follow these guidelines:

  • NIMH does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or services. You may not use NIMH publications for advertising or endorsement purposes.
  • NIMH does not provide specific medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals. You may not use NIMH publications in a manner that has the appearance of such information.
  • NIMH requests non-Federal organizations to not alter publications in a way that will jeopardize the integrity and NIMH "brand."
  • Addition of non-Federal Government logos and Web site links should not imply an NIMH endorsement of any specific commercial products or services and/or medical treatments or services.
  • Images used in publications are of models and are used for illustrative purposes only. Use of some images is restricted.

If you have questions regarding these guidelines and use of NIMH publications, please contact the NIMH Information Center at 1-866-615-6464 or at nimhinfo@nih.gov.

Comment Policy

Where commenting is supported on this or any other Web sites owned or administered by the NIMH, we encourage you to share your thoughts as they relate to the topic being discussed. We review and post comments according to the policy below. We reserve the right not to post comments, or to remove comments, that are inconsistent with our policy, at our complete discretion.

The views expressed in comments reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or the Federal Government.

Comments that include the following are prohibited:

  • Vulgar, profane, or abusive language; personal attacks of any kind; inappropriate religious, sexual, political, or racial references; unsupported accusations.
  • Endorsements of commercial products, services, organizations, or other entities.
  • Endorsements of political parties, candidates, or groups.
  • Content that infringes on copyrights.
  • Solicitation of funds.
  • Comments on any ongoing investigation of any sort.
  • Procurement-sensitive information related to any current/future NIMH acquisitions.
  • Surveys, polls, questionnaires, etc., subject to OMB Paperwork Reduction Act clearance.
  • Reporters' questions - all media inquiries must be directed to the NIMH Science Writing, Press and Dissemination Branch (nimhpress@mail.nih.gov).

In posting your comments or other work to Web sites owned or administered by NIMH, you irrevocably grant NIMH permission to copy, distribute, make derivatives, display or perform your work publicly and free-of-charge.

Remember that your posts are public. When posting, please do not include information (e.g., name, email, social security numbers) in the text of your comment that personally identifies you in a way you do not intend. Additional guidance as to how NIMH regards privacy issues can be found at our Privacy and Security Notice.

We welcome your comments at any time. However, given the need to responsibly manage federal resources, reviewing and posting of comments will generally occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted at other times will be reviewed and posted as soon as possible.