PSY 3171 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Mental Disorder, Mental Health Professional, Involuntary Treatment
6 Jan 2015
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Document Summary
Mental health can be involved in both aspects. Also known as civil commitment, occurs only when the following criteria are met: must suffer from a severe, but treatable mental disorder. E. g. : end-stage alzheimer"s is not treatable: must be either unwilling or incapable of consenting to hospitalization on a voluntary basis. If you are clinically depressed, attempt suicide, and end up in the er in a comatose state, you are not capable: must be at risk of causing harm to self or others due to the mental disorder. Often, we can break confidentiality when a patient expresses interest in harming themselves / others. If deemed incapable of making a decision for themselves, a temporary substitute decision maker is used. E. g. : power of attorney, next of kin, etc. They make decisions regarding treatment for the patient. They must act in accordance with the best interests principle of the patient. The patient"s wishes should be given the greatest weight.
