Consumer perceptions of pressure and force in psychiatric treatments

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Mental health consumers with serious mental illness were surveyed to obtain information about their experiences with and attitudes toward forced psychiatric treatment. METHODS: A 61-item survey questionnaire developed by the authors was administered by consumer volunteers to 105 persons with serious mental illness who were attending seven rehabilitation centers in Maryland. The questionnaire covered consumers' experiences and attitudes in three areas of forced treatment: medication, outpatient therapy or rehabilitation, and hospitalization. RESULTS: At some time during the course of their illness, 57 percent of the respondents reported having been pressured or forced into hospitalization. In the year before the survey, 30 percent reported being pressured or forced into taking medication and 26 percent into attending a therapy or rehabilitation program. The most common type of pressure or force was verbal persuasion. Generally, respondents reported negative effects from forced treatment, althoug...