The Subcommittee on Health, chaired by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, April 3, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
The hearing will focus on the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. Witnesses to be announced. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
The bill rushed through the House of Representatives by voice vote yesterday to patch Medicare regulations includes a highly controversial provision that has nothing to do with Medicare, and that would subject people in crisis to forced treatment. Studies have shown that such force causes trauma and drives people away from treatment, mental health advocates warned. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
As a person who has experienced involuntary commitments, seclusion, restraints, forced medication, and intentional humiliation as part of my “mental health” treatment, I am still working through the severe and persistent effects of force and coercion. Being in relational dynamics in which I had no voice and in which I was not treated as a human being with viable thoughts and legitimate feelings impacted my sense of self in ways that were incredibly destructive.
I didn’t have a word for it when it was happening. Torture was something that happened to prisoners of war in faraway places and in terrible movies.
It was not something that happened to young Americans in modern hospitals. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Conclusion:
In well coordinated mental health services the imposition of compulsory supervision does not reduce the rate of readmission of psychotic patients. We found no support in terms of any reduction in overall hospital admission to justify the significant curtailment of patients’ personal liberty. … [click on title to read the rest]
In America, whether it comes to tackling crime, or the most severe mental illness, there’s a popular sentiment that says the best solution is to “lock ‘em up and throw away the keys.” That’s part of the reason this country has a higher incarceration rate than any other. A knee-jerk response to the Newtown massacre is likely to be a push to reduce legal obstacles to involuntary treatment.
This is happening more and more all over the world — forcing medication on people. I think it’s hard for people who have voluntarily agreed to take psychiatric drugs to understand what an atrocious reality this can be for those people who are forced to take the drugs. Some people may have relatively positive associations with their own experience of psychiatric drugs, but that is simply not everyone’s experience and this phenomena of forced drugging is, indeed, a human rights violation.
John is the ex-partner of a dear friend of mine. She has dedicated much of her life to trying to free him and change the mental health laws in Ireland.
This post is from the website of the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry. Once you’ve read this there is a link at the end where you can go and support this by adding your name to a list of supporters. Click here to go straight to sign your support. Position Paper… Continue Reading →
Midweek reading: Assisted Outpatient Treatment (with a note) — Truly Noodled — “The Doody Man”, E Fuller Torrey, has an op-ed in today’s NY Times, Making Kendra’s Law Permanent. In the article, Torrey cherry picks among the statistics that are available in studies of the laws effectiveness and ignores vital information entirely. On the Verge… Continue Reading →
We have a long way to go but at least it’s reached a mainstream media outlet in the UK. From the BBC News some thoughts on forced medication—it’s important to mention what they do not here, restraints are harmful in the same ways. Also, the US uses forced treatment rampantly. Probably just as much or… Continue Reading →
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