A study of enforced treatment in relation to Stone's “thank you” theory

Abstract

The authors investigated the attitudes of 104

Psychiatric patients’ views on why their involuntary hospitalisation was right or wrong: a qualitative study

“…weighing capacity, risk and clinical benefits, versus potentially negative experiences due to the use of coercion [24]. This finding might be considered reassuring for clinicians and is in line with earlier assumptions that patients are appreciative of having been treated against their will when they recover [2]. For these patients, the intervention might not have a negative impact on their future engagement with services.…”

“…for treatment when acutely ill, but are grateful for having been involuntarily treated when they recover [2]. This assumption has been partly supported by empirical research indicating that between 39 and 75% of involuntary patients retrospectively believe that their treatment was justified [3][4][5].…”

Why do some voluntary patients feel coerced into hospitalisation? A mixed-methods study

“…This study adds to previous evidence by demonstrating that half of those patients initially feeling coerced into admission continue to feel coerced into treatment a month later. Patients' initial negative attitudes towards their hospital treatment have often been interpreted as a manifestation of acute mental illness and lack of insight into their problems during a crisis situation (Beck and Golowka, 1988). Findings from this study, however, suggest that even a month later, when the acute phase of the illness is usually overcome, a significant proportion of patients continue to feel coerced.…”

Ethics, Psychology, and Public Policy

“…Though well intentioned, paternalistic practices become morally problematic where they are or are construed as invasions of privacy and affronts to the dignity of those on the receiving end of assistance. Though mental health intervention is premised upon a perceived need for treatment (derived, in turn, from the presumed expertise of the mental health professional), such perceptions are not always consistent with the expressed needs or desires of the client-patient (e.g., Stone, 1975;Beck & Golowka, 1988).…”