Pros And Cons Of Involuntary Hospitalization

Involuntary Hospitalization: A Behavioral Perspective When it comes to the amount of violence and crime today, a lot of this gets contributed to the idea that these people are mentally ill and should be hospitalized to keep society safe from them. However, should they still be hospitalized against their will? Based on a behavioral psychology perspective, there has been no circumstance that has clearly indicated that involuntary hospitalization or compulsory medication would be appropriate based on the idea that behavior is impacted based on our surroundings, and if our surroundings are not accepted by these mentally ill people, it will negatively impact their behavior. First, we can look at how involuntary hospitalization impacts those that are directly affected by it. In a …show more content…
In the past, it had been thought that mentally ill people were completely incapable of making these sorts of decisions. However, today “we know otherwise that persons with mental health conditions are not only capable of making their own decisions regarding their care, but that mental health treatment and services can only be effective when the consumer embraces it, not when it is coercive and involuntary” (Mental Health America, 2012). This applies to the behavioral perspective because, if this person is not given the right to choose and they are forced into treatment, they will feel as though they are incapable of doing these things and ultimately become discouraged and feel others do not have respect for them, or possible even lose respect for themselves. This would negatively impact behavior, leading to less effective treatment when compared to treatment that the participant chooses to be a part