Treatment of Involuntary Psychiatric Patients

The past thirty years have seen great changes in the treatments available for people with mental illness. Advances in neuroleptic medications, better understanding of the neurobiological aspects of mental illness and more effective styles of psychosocial intervention have all improved the services available for the mentally ill. However, the last three decades have also been a period in which several obstacles to the access of care have made the treatment of persons with mental illness …

…What is needed and can assist in almost all cases is a general flexibility as well as creativity and tolerance, all of which are at times lacking in our system. Not only must health and social services be less rigid but also the legal system. If all players can adopt a mentality suited to this population, treatment might be better provided to more people without threatening the protections of human rights as they presently exist.