Involuntary Commitment as a Psychiatric Technology
- 1 January 1996
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care
- Vol. 12 (4) , 585-603
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266462300010904
Abstract
In the process of involuntary commitment,1the state makes available its coercive power for use as a psychiatric technology. This application of the state's power is based on the idea that mental illness can make a person not only sick but also unaware of the illness, and dangerous or unable to care for his/her basic needs; thus, coercion may have to be used to secure the mentally ill person's and/or the public's safety, and to give treatment until the illness abates.Keywords
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