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The end of May marked the end of Mental Health Awareness month, but that doesn’t mean the work stops. We’re highlighting a couple articles on the resurgence of involuntary treatment: From our own Sean Fogler, MD: “Involuntary commitment for substance use challenges not only lacks strong evidence of effectiveness but also poses significant health risks, including a threefold increase in mortality immediately after release and higher rates of non-fatal overdose. This approach diverts resources from proven, voluntary, community-based solutions and reflects a troubling history of institutionalization with poor outcomes. As we face an ongoing overdose crisis, it is crucial to prioritize evidence-based, voluntary treatment options that respect individual autonomy and promote better long-term recovery.”
From our own Jessica Hessler, MPH, MSW, CHES “As a public health social worker, I find myself returning to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, specifically the principles of social justice (“... Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people.”) and dignity and worth of the person (“... Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs.”) When we strip people of their autonomy and self-determination as a response to broader social problems, we dehumanize them and set them up for failure. Instead, we should be asking, ‘What resources can we add to better support people in need?’ By locking people away against their will, we only continue to ignore the bigger problems at hand - and that harms us all.”
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