Why does Canada have such high rates of forced psychiatric hospitalizations? |
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Rob Wipond is a journalist and author of Your Consent Is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships, and produces the newsletter PsychForce Report.
New laws to expand involuntary commitment have recently been implemented, or are under discussion in Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and elsewhere. These initiatives are driven by the belief that too few people get committed to psychiatric hospitals, and that this has contributed to rising homelessness, street violence and overdoses across the country. Critics counter by pointing to the housing affordability crisis amid declining community services and supports.
Absent reliable research and data, opinions remain polarized. Some people strongly believe in coercive psychiatric interventions. But the lack of scientific evidence supporting forced treatment for substance use is acknowledged by most clinicians. Meanwhile, there are few studies of effectiveness outcomes for coercive treatment of mental disorders, either, and no evidence civil commitment helps people or protects public safety.
Conversely, the harms of subjecting people to locked wards, restraints, seclusion and forced drugging are well-documented. A forthcoming