Georgia Suicide Prevention: Evaluating Involuntary Commitment's Effectiveness - Essay Sample

Introduction

Georgia laws accept both involuntary and involuntary commitment. This is after the realization that involuntary commitment might reduce the patient likelihood of seeking voluntarily medical care in the future by the Georgia suicide prevention plan (GSPP). The plan has been effective due to the practice of the public health approach that gives opportunities for methodology, intervention, and awareness to improve suicide prevention. Therefore the goal of the study is to discuss involuntary and voluntary mental health admission based on the laws on health.

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I will recommend the patient to be voluntarily committed. This is because, according to the Georgia code 2010 on mental health. If the voluntary minor patient admission has been sought by her parents or guardian, legal guardian, or next of kin, they have right in a request for the patient discharge (Klomek & Gould, 2010).

According to the Mental Health American (MHA), adequate human protection, and the best hope for recovery from mental illness comes from the health treatment voluntarily (Wand & Wand, 2013). Treatment by MHA states that involuntary commitment should only be in practice as a last resort, and it is limited to instances where a person may pose severe risk instances of physical harm to himself or others. Therefore, the United States laws allow the patient to be involuntarily committed due to its state being controlled by her parents, and also, the patient is not in a position of inflicting injury to the public.

Did Understanding the State Laws Confirm or Challenge Your Initial Recommendation Regarding Involuntarily Committing the Client? Explain.

According to the involuntary commitment law, during an emergency case, a person can be involuntarily committed without a prior hearing (Scurich & John, 2011). The hearing need be signed by a physician or psychologist, a form which is termed to be an emergency certificate stating the health of the patient and immediate action needed. Therefore, as PMHNP and an advanced nurse specialist, my plan of care will be to allow the patient to be involuntarily committed. This is because since the patients are in a disagreement, they may not be able to handle the condition of the patient correctly. The parent's argument may also act as another catalyst that will extend the boy attempted suicide.

If the Client Were Not Eligible For Involuntary Commitment, Explain What Actions You May Be Able to Take to Support the Parents For or Against Voluntary Commitment

According to Georgia assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) laws, involuntary treatment is considered for patients with severe mental illness who voluntarily cannot seek care (Cook, 2012). Therefore, the action I will be able to take is to assist the parents are; The conflicts between the civil liberties and the medical laws should be resolved. It will help the minority patients to be treated, especially for the once whose illness interferes with the capacity to be voluntary treated. According to Appelbaum (1997), a legal framework mostly has given the need for treatment based on involuntary commitment. But today, the law allows the patients to decide either to be involuntary or voluntary committed. The law bias allows the patient a chance to decide for themselves. Moreover, upon acceptance, they must be able to meet the age limit of eighteen years and above for the patients to decide for themselves.

If the Client Were Not Eligible For Involuntary Commitment, Explain What Initial Actions You May Be Able to Take to Begin Treating the Client.

The action I will take is that, Since patients are under eighteen years, their approval for an involuntary and voluntary commitment should be decided by their parents after negotiating with them to solve their differences. The patient can also be helped through an Emergency custody order, which is under Georgia laws to find for the temporary detention of the patient. The temporary detention will help find a solution to the problem that initiated the suicide attempt.

References

Appelbaum, M. (1997). Design, Measurement, and Statistical Approaches. Developing Brain Behavior, 511-516. doi:10.1016/b978-012218870-1/50014-2

Cook, K. B. (2012). Revising Assisted Outpatient Treatment Statutes in Indiana: Providing Mental Health Treatment for Those in Need. Indiana Health Law Review, 9(2). doi:10.18060/16624

Davidson, J. R. (2010). Major Depressive Disorder Treatment Guidelines in America and Europe. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 71(suppl E1). doi: 10.4088/jcp.9058se1c.04gry

Klimek, A. B., Sourander, A., & Gould, M. (2010). The Association of Suicide and Bullying in Childhood to Young Adulthood: A Review of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Research Findings. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(5), 282-288. doi:10.1177/070674371005500503

Scurich, N., & John, R. S. (2011). The effect of framing actuarial risk probabilities on involuntary civil commitment decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 35(2), 83-91. doi:10.1007/s10979-010-9218-4

Wand, A., & Wand, T. (2013). 'Admit voluntary, schedule if tries to leave': placing Mental Health Acts in the context of mental health law and human rights. Australasian Psychiatry, 21(2), 137-140. doi:10.1177/1039856212466923