“The mission of the Mental Health Division is to promote recovery and safety.”
Mental Illness and the Law
This is the second article in a series of five written by Jann Hoppler, past Director of the State of Washington Mental Health Division between 1996 - 1999. The Division operates the state mental hospitals and contracts for and monitors community based programming for people with mental and emotional problems all across Washington State.
The neighbors reported that he told them stories that didn't make any sense and that he believed the government was spying on him. He thought his wrist watch was bugged. Two years ago, he drove to the CIA office in Virginia to report that he was the son of JFK and that everyone was cloned. Later, he reported to them that he had invented a time machine. He danced in front of one man's satellite dish crying "here I am." In the end, it appears that he drove to Washington D.C. and shot two guards in Congress.
Is it against the law to be mentally ill? Can you be arrested or "taken away" for being mentally ill. You may be surprised to learn that the answer is clearly "no" both here in Washington and throughout America. Mental illness - being "crazy" - is not against the law.
State law defines the circumstances under which a person can be involuntarily detained - essentially arrested and forced into treatment for mental illness. In some countries in our world, you could be sent - against your will - to a psychiatric hospital for nearly any reason including your politics. A frightening thought.
Essentially, our law states that involuntary treatment can occur only when a mental illness exists and danger to life exists. The most important word in that definition is the word "and." Only when both situations exist - the mental illness and the danger - can freedom be taken away. "Danger" includes attempts, threats, or fear of suicide, violent acts, or such poor self-care that life is at risk. The law also allows for detention if a person with mental illness destroys property of substantial value.
Here in Washington State, local counties provide involuntary treatment services. If you are concerned about someone and believe involuntary treatment may be necessary, you need to locate the local office that provides these services. Your county government social services office, the local mental health Regional Support Network, any local mental health center, a local crisis telephone line, or the local operator will be able to guide you to the help you need.
Across the nation - and certainly here in Washington State - the laws of the state and the values of all of us in the system seek to balance the civil rights of the individual with mental illness and the safety of the general public. We believe in good care when it's needed, full respect for the rights of people with mental illness, and maximum safety for all the citizens of the state.
Our efforts to get the right balance include input from the individual, family, friends, lawyers, judges, physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff in the involuntary detention process. Furthermore, many efforts are made to find home-based alternatives to hospitalization - so many that some families and friends become frustrated and angry. In addition, many communities have developed systems to locate people who need care or haven't followed through on care.
As another example of the effort to balance needs and rights, last year the Legislature passed two bills that require closer coordination between the courts, prisons, and the mental health system. Under this legislation, people who have committed crimes or who are being released from prison may be ordered into mental health treatment. The intent of the law is to require treatment for people who have demonstrated dangerous or criminal behavior and appear to be mentally ill. The law intends to increase public safety.
The laws on involuntary psychiatric treatment are a delicate balance in a country founded on freedom. Here in Washington, our laws prepare us to force treatment on the unwilling but restrict that invasion of civil rights until danger to a life exists. While there are clear cases in which we would all wish for more force and fewer rights, through our laws, we assert freedom as paramount here in America.
