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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Virginia Aldige-Hiday, PhD¹, John F. Crilly, PhD, MPH, MSW², and Glenn Currier, MD, MPH². (1) Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University, Dept. of Sociology, Raleigh, NC 27695, 919-515-9007, Ginny_Hiday@ncsu.edu, (2) Psychiatry, University of Rochester, 300 Crittenden Boulevard, Box PSYCH, Rochester, NY 14642

Mental health program interventions with close links to the justice system have shown success in communities across the country. Two such programs which mandate consumers to become involved in treatment have received increasing amounts of study and research. The first is outpatient commitment, by which clients with mental disorders who typically refuse community based treatment and consequently place themselves and others at risk, are court-ordered to participate in treatment. The second approach is the mandated treatment compliance conditions set by mental health courts, the violation of which could mean a jail sentence. Both outpatient commitment programs and mental health courts have been shown to be effective in obtaining treatment, compliance with that treatment, and positive outcomes from treatment. However, because mandated treatment is the central intervention in these programs, they may also be described as coercive techniques. In fact, research has found that clients in these settings actually do perceive coercion as part of the process. However, more focused research indicates that although the perception may exist, clients feel better helped by the programs that actually insist on and track their participation in treatment. Mandated treatment, therefore, is an important intervention for consumers who are treatment recalcitrant and who pose risks to themselves or others in the community. This session will examine both the simultaneous perception of coercion and program satisfaction among this difficult-to-treat group of consumers.

Learning Objectives:

• This overall symposium will provide the attendee with a discussion around different perspectives of coercion, specifically those consumer feelings of perceived coercion co-occurring with feelings of satisfaction.

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Criminal Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation