In the Netherlands, involuntary as well as voluntary psychiatric patients have a right to individual support of a patient advocate. Since 1982, the support of patient advocates has been organized and facilitated by the Dutch National Foundation of Patient Advocates in Mental Health Care. The way in which patient advocates have to perform their statutory tasks has been elaborated in rules of conduct formulated by the above-mentioned Foundation. Some cornerstones in the Dutch model are independence from the psychiatric hospital, easy accessibility, confidentiality, receptivity to a patient’s questions and complaints, an orientation to the individual patient’s legal position, partiality, promotion of the patient’s health care-related interests as the patient perceives them, and the requirement of patient assent for actions of the patient advocate. The combination of these cornerstones results in a very specific role for the patient advocate. Presupposed by the Dutch model is both a good fit of this role with the roles of other actors in the health care system, and just health laws. The value of such patient advocacy depends on the degree to which these two presuppositions are fulfilled. Critical questions can be raised in relation to the fit at issue and to the quality of positive law. ; En los Países Bajos, tanto los pacientes psiquiátricos involuntarios como los voluntarios tienen derecho a recibir apoyo individual de un abogado del paciente. Desde 1982, el apoyo de los defensores de los pacientes ha sido organizado y facilitado por la Fundación Nacional Holandesa para los Defensores de los Pacientes en la Atención de la Salud Mental. La forma en que los defensores tienen que llevar a cabo sus tareas jurídicas se ha traducido en normas de conducta elaboradas por la mencionada Fundación. Algunas piedras angulares del modelo holandés son la independencia del hospital psiquiátrico, la buena accesibilidad, la confidencialidad, la receptividad a las preguntas y quejas del paciente, la orientación sobre la posición ...