Mental institution

[writer for life]

What would be the procedure for someone to be committed? Would it be believable for them to pick someone up from their home if they're unwilling to go?

[pconsidine]

As far as I know, if the person has done something that can be seen as potentially harmful, to himself or to others, then he can be easily committed against his will. If he's just "acting weird" then it's a little less certain, though still possible. Basically the standard is whether such a person poses a reasonable danger to himself or to other, or will likely do so in the future.

I'm not a professional or anything. That's just what I've gathered from all the nutso friends I have.

[Augie Kestrel]

Around these parts, it's called the "Baker Act". It usually requires someone filling out a form requesting that you be taken in for psychiatric examination, I think. I've heard that anyone can submit a Baker Act request, although I don't know a lot about it. (Honest!) I used to work with a woman who had to have her brother Baker-Act'ed. He had a history of mental illness. I think he went off his medication.

Try a Google search on "Baker Act".

[Proveniebam]

Which country?

For example, in England, there is a situation whereby the police can place someone into a mental institution, indefinitely. In that situation, the victim is not allowed any external access, nor are next of kin informed.

I can't recall the exact conditions, but I do know that it is authorised at ministerial level, and bypasses all court systems.

[charliepanorama]

Depends on the state/country.
Commission usually requires an eval/doctor's signature, sometimes two psychiatrists.
Relatives or anyone can alert the necessary authorities but can't commit without the shrink. Most often: a passer-by calls the police or an ambulance cuz someone's acting weird.
The two official criteria for admission are: "danger to self" or "danger to others."
But in reality there are three "softer" reasons:
neglect of self (usually a non-psychiatric medical condition, even if not life-threatening),
behavior intollerable to the public (my favorite),
and another I can't recall.
There are a good number of psychotic folks out there who don't fit any of those criteria. -Just cuz a person's crazy doesn't mean they get committed.
Most of the larger cities have civil servants who go around investigating and sometimes straight-jacketing folks off -sometimes appropriately, sometimes not. Usually it's landlords calling in elderly folks who are living in squallor. There sometimes are other psych services that go around making sure the more chronic folks take their meds- if not they usually haul them off by order of the courts.
hope this helps

[NikeeGoddess]

I used to be a mental health investigator. Here's what I know.

Like others said the two criteria for being picked up is "danger to oneself" or "danger to others". The mental health institution can pick them up. Or if the police were called about an incident they can decide (depending on the offense) if it's jail or hospital.

The patient is considered "Involuntary" for a period of time (usu 3 days but I'm sure it's diff per jurisdiction) OR until they agree to be a "Voluntary" patient and sign the paperwork.

During their Involuntary status the system is required to give them a public defender and a hearing in front of a judge to determine whether he needs to be committed. Hey, they could have just been having a wacky bad day. :lol

[dclary]

In our case, when our foster daughter became a danger to herself, she was in county hands, and sent to a residential treatment location (a lot like a halfway house). However, her situation worsened by a couple orders of magnitude.

When it was decided that she be committed, she was assigned a conservator, who represented her (and is her guardian pro facto while she's committed) in competency hearings.

Normal rules of adulthood do not apply to conservancy. She can remain committed as a minor until she's 23. At that point she would be reevaluated and either re-commited as an adult, or released.

In California, Ronald Reagan changed the rules regarding adult mental illness dramatically, and so it remains to be seen what will happen then.

[cloud9dreamer]

Up here in Ont, CAN a person can be commited against their will for a 72 hour observation (via police escort if necessary). If the possible patient is considered uncooperative (ie. does not indicate that they wish to harm themselves but refuses to discuss why someone feared they might) they will most likely be held for observation for liability reasons. Hospital psych wards are often overcrowded so patients are not segregated therefore the depressed teen will mingle with the raving lunatic for the duration of their stay.

I think its interesting to note that if a person is/goes nuts and commits a crime they (99% of the time) will be sent to jail pending psych evaluation (only in extreme cases they are Form 1'd and sent out for immediate psych assesment). Also, if a nut charged with a criminal offence goes from jail to a psych hospital and has violent outbursts, the "caring, well-trained" psych staff will have them retunred to the custody of the "mean, ignorant" jail staff. Only once a person is found not criminally responsible do the psych hospitals have to keep them.

(pls excuse my spelling, spellcheck not loading):D