Psychiatry Misusing the Political Process

On March 27, the US House of Representatives approved by a voice vote with no debate a Medicare bill, HR 4302, Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. The purpose of the bill is to avoid cutting Medicare payments to physicians, and there was, and is, general agreement on both side of the aisle that the bill needed to pass. However, tacked onto the bill was a rider which authorized $60 million to expand involuntary outpatient commitment (IOC) in states that already have provision for commitments of this sort. ...

March 30, 2014 · PhilHickeyPhD

Involuntary Mental Health Commitments

The recent publicity surrounding the Justina Pelletier case has focused attention, not only on the spurious and arbitrary nature of psychiatric diagnoses, but also on the legitimacy and appropriateness of mental health commitments. It is being widely asserted that these archaic statutes are fundamentally incompatible with current civil rights standards, and the question “should mental health commitments be abolished?” is being raised in a variety of contexts. CRITERIA ...

March 20, 2014 · PhilHickeyPhD

Going Against the Stream

AN INTERESTING STORY Yesterday I came across the following on Twitter from Mental Health @Sectioned_. "I just met someone who told me their remarkable story about falling down the rabbit hole into psychiatric sectioning and forced medication. I listened with fascination to their intricate story in all its twists and turns, looping backwards and forwards with incredible details. The longer we spoke the more was revealed, the crazier and more believable it sounded. I was listening, probing for clarification, trying to grasp what happened and why. First the overview, then the highlights, then more details, expanding out, backing round, drawing me in. There were many parallels in our stories, and many contrasts. It reminded me why I don't really talk in detail about what happened to me: because, if you've not experienced it, it sounds unbelievable. Unless you've experienced the scorching reality of forced drugging, seclusion, assault by nurses and patients, it sounds like a mad fantasy. It's too far outside most people's realities for them to contemplate it being true, and so quietly assume you're deluded. So it smooths life's path to make light, to skirt over the details, to change the topic. And sometimes, sometimes, when I meet someone who's been through something similar, I listen to their story and realize I'm not the only one." ...

June 7, 2013 · PhilHickeyPhD

More on Involuntary Commitment

In recent times a good deal of criticism has been directed towards the practice of involuntarily committing individuals to state and private mental hospitals. Most of this criticism focuses on the lack of effective due process; conflicts of interest in the case of private facilities; and failure to adequately explore alternatives. In my view, all of these criticisms are valid, and warrant attention. But there is another side to the story that is seldom aired outside the mental health centers. A great many clients like going to the mental hospital; they plan their trips in advance and “freak out” at the appointed time, knowing that the knee-jerk response of the mental health center will be a court-ordered admission. ...

March 1, 2013 · PhilHickeyPhD

Involuntary Commitment – A Case Study

Years ago I was director of a county mental health center in an Eastern state. Shortly after taking the position, I became concerned that clients were being involuntarily committed too readily and without exploration of other options. I issued an instruction that all such activity had to be approved by a middle manager before it could proceed. This measure aroused enormous resistance from the front-line staff. There was one client – let’s call him Charlie – who was committed to the State Hospital every year, usually in July. Every July, he would become “agitated,” would scream profanities at his elderly mother, and break things around the house. He carried a “diagnosis” of schizophrenia. ...

February 28, 2013 · PhilHickeyPhD