Addiction & Alcoholism – Can You Have a Relative Committed for Treatment?

When things get bad, when they won’t listen to reason and when their substance abuse is obviously causing them great harm, can you have them involuntarily committed for their own good?

It depends.

Firstly, the law regarding involuntary commitment varies by state and eligibility equipments will differ, but in general, all states do allow for involuntary treatment under certain extreme and urgent situations.

In most cases, the person in question will need to present with recent behaviors that clearly show that they demonstrate an immediate danger to harm themselves or harm others. If they are neglectful to their basic needs to an extent that puts them in immediate harms way, and these needs cannot be met by family, then the state may also intervene.

It used to be easy…too easy

Historically, it was quite easy to have a relative committed for psychiatric treatment against their will; and for an indefinite period of time as well. A great many people suffered unjust confinement under laws that made it too easy for family to confine anyone on little justification, and in response to many abuses, state and federal laws moved greatly to protect individual civil rights.

Starting in the second half of the last century, laws got progressively tighter, and it became very difficult to mandate treatment for anyone. In retrospect, the laws probably moved too far away from needed involuntary confinement, and too many people who did require immediate intervention were not compelled to get it, and too many tragedies occurred as a direct result.

A couple of decades ago, government started to move back towards making it easier to commit a relative, temporarily, but the burden of proof remains very high, and individual rights to freedom are very respected.

Contact the State or County Court Office

If you have a relative or loved one that you feel is in desperate and immediate need of temporary psychiatric or substance abuse care, and you cannot compel them to receive this care, you may be able to get the state to intervene and compel a limited period of treatment. You must be able to prove that their recent behaviors show a pattern that indicate a danger to self or others and you must be able to show that you cannot protect them.

If you feel that you have a legitimate case for an involuntary commitment, you should contact the local state or county court office mental health department to find out how to proceed with the initial request for an assessment.

You love them, you just want to see them get better and keep them safe, but their rights are considered paramount to your concern, and in most cases, you will not be able to have someone committed.

Get educated! Learn what you can do to make things better:

http://www.choosehelp.com/topics-a-to-z

Read the daily blog entry at http://www.troubleblog.com/category/alcohol-family/

Article Source:
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