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Originally Posted by Photonate
I've done a little searching but haven't really found anything 'solid', pertaining to the criteria of/when the government will/can take over and permanently admit and hold you in a hospital or facility, against your will or with consent.
Just wondering if something like attempting to end your life enough times or checking into a hospital enough times will cause this to happen, or if it's usually more only when someone poses an immediate threat to others or becomes in a vegatative/incoherent etc. like state.
This is one thing that worries and causes a fair amount of stress, because I can think of ~5 different times I've been hospitalized, and at least another 5 checking into a Community Mental Health clinic, and the thought of ever being permanently held, is just...
Thank you, and hopefully this is the right section to post this in.
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here in america there is no permanent psychiatric holds. not even for the criminally insane (those that have committed a crime and take the insanity plea)
here we have a mental health system where a person can be committed for only up to the point where the inpatient treatment providers state that person is no longer a danger to their self or others.
example a treatment provider can have a person escorted to the er if they are suicidal, homicidal or self injuring, making threats of harm to one self or others. then at the ER they are evaluated by two hospital psychiatrists who both must agree that the person is a real, honest to goodness threat to their self and others, if so they are placed on the hospitals mental health unit for 72 hours (3 days) for observation and treatment, at or close to the 72 hours the whole team of psychiatrists, therapists, psychiatric nurses that have had any kind of contact with the patient have a meeting, compare notes and decide whether the patient needs to stay for another 2 weeks. the same thing happens after two weeks but with a change. if the patent still needs inpatient they must meet a new set of criteria that includes they have been dangerous to their self and others on the unit (extremely aggressive making threats and behaviors of suicide attempts, self injury attempts, escape attempts, the whole nine years worth of negative behaviors, thoughts and actions against their self and others) in this situation a court hearing is held to charge the person with what ever assaults and such they committed on the unit or to show the court that the person can not be trusted on their own. most times the court just takes away that persons rights to make their own decisions and appoints a guardian and then the guardian decides whether to take them home or have them continue with inpatient treatment at a longer term facility.
in either case court or guardian a person is remanded to a longer term facility where they receive more intensive inpatient treatment. and every two weeks their case is reviews by the inpatient team to decide whether this person is still a danger to their self or others.
with those that have chosen the insanity plea for a reason for committing a crime or the court has decided that they were too mentally ill to take part in their defense the court remands them to a state mental hospital and their case is reviewed every so much time usually monthly and every 6 months by a special panel of psychiatrists and nurses called the Psychiatric Review board. in order to stay inpatient still a person must be showing on the unit that they are extremely aggressive, will continue to harm someone if released and inpatient treatment options are not doing any good.
most do not want this avenue of inpatent life....they dont have any say at all in their lives... they get up when told they are forced to take their meds, everything right now to their bathroom routines are documented, watched and decided. if they refuse their meals, feeding tubes are ordered, if they refuse their meds, restraints and injections are done. Some if resistant to more conventional treatments, the likes of ECT and other stricter treatments are done. all against the mentally ill persons permission and court ordered if needed.
finally when the Review board states the mentally ill person has been treated/ rehabilitated they either stand trial for their crime, or their guardian picks an outpatent half way house, group home or residential treatment program for them to continue with their treatment and progress, with the hope that they earn back their decision making rights ( right to live their life with out someone telling them when to get up, when to take meds, when to get dressed, go tot he bathroom, watching everything and documenting everything, planning their day for them, having to have someone with them at all times making sure they are behaving and doing what they should be doing deciding what doctors they see and when... all these decision making rights ) and can take care of their selves once again.
my suggestion is continue to work with your treatment provider and not worry about permanent inpatient care, here in america you will never be in places permanently, america did away with "warehousing the criminally insane, mentally ill and the disabled" long ago way back in the 1960's and 1970's. here in america our system is more making sure people are able to function out patient status..