Involuntary Commitment: The Ethical Problem towards Involuntary Psychiatric Care
Introduction
Many people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness often has a distorted perception of reality and have lost their ability to make a decision towards their best interest. This perceptual distortion can interfere with an individual’s function so severely to an extent where medical intervention is necessary and because of this distortion, a centralized idea developed that those with a mental disorder can be considered a threat and should be separated from society. There are laws and statutes in place that sets criteria’s however for commitments. When a psychiatric patient is institutionalized against his will, it affects the nurse-patient relationship …show more content…
Background and Significance The ethical problem begins the moment someone is involuntarily admitted. Some of the ethical issues fall under many different mental health diagnoses such as those with schizophrenia, those who have eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, substance abuse ranging from hallucinogenic drugs to marijuana, and those with personality disorders such as bipolar to name a few. A review in regards to those who were involuntarily committed for substance abuse stated that “involuntary treatment for alcohol and drug abuse is controversial because this action may be perceived as a mechanism for social control of deviance rather than a medical procedure (Rustard et al., 2012).” It continues to distinguish between the difference of a substance abuse disorder and a mental disorder. An example given was how an addicted individual may commit crimes such as theft in order to get drugs, but they or less likely to do it in front of law enforcement. However, those with schizophrenia may perform a crime seemingly simply because they are unable to control their behavior. In contrast, another study goes to show a positive benefit in regards to involuntary commitment with addicted users. The study shows that …show more content…
It showed that “personal values were the most important factor that affected the ethical behavior (Trobec et al., 2009).” After personal values, the second most important factor in regards to coercion decision was a code of ethic and the third were an organizational regulation and legislation. It also differentiated between how a nurse who has a bachelor degree and a nurse without a degree approached a situation. Findings showed that those with a bachelor degree were better able to find different measures of care that did not conflict with the law but was still able to carry out a given order and care for a patient’s
Introduction
Many people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness often has a distorted perception of reality and have lost their ability to make a decision towards their best interest. This perceptual distortion can interfere with an individual’s function so severely to an extent where medical intervention is necessary and because of this distortion, a centralized idea developed that those with a mental disorder can be considered a threat and should be separated from society. There are laws and statutes in place that sets criteria’s however for commitments. When a psychiatric patient is institutionalized against his will, it affects the nurse-patient relationship …show more content…
Background and Significance The ethical problem begins the moment someone is involuntarily admitted. Some of the ethical issues fall under many different mental health diagnoses such as those with schizophrenia, those who have eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, substance abuse ranging from hallucinogenic drugs to marijuana, and those with personality disorders such as bipolar to name a few. A review in regards to those who were involuntarily committed for substance abuse stated that “involuntary treatment for alcohol and drug abuse is controversial because this action may be perceived as a mechanism for social control of deviance rather than a medical procedure (Rustard et al., 2012).” It continues to distinguish between the difference of a substance abuse disorder and a mental disorder. An example given was how an addicted individual may commit crimes such as theft in order to get drugs, but they or less likely to do it in front of law enforcement. However, those with schizophrenia may perform a crime seemingly simply because they are unable to control their behavior. In contrast, another study goes to show a positive benefit in regards to involuntary commitment with addicted users. The study shows that …show more content…
It showed that “personal values were the most important factor that affected the ethical behavior (Trobec et al., 2009).” After personal values, the second most important factor in regards to coercion decision was a code of ethic and the third were an organizational regulation and legislation. It also differentiated between how a nurse who has a bachelor degree and a nurse without a degree approached a situation. Findings showed that those with a bachelor degree were better able to find different measures of care that did not conflict with the law but was still able to carry out a given order and care for a patient’s