A traumatic experience "With sectioning, it's so disempowering that you're terrified of alienating the staff, so you just shut up, you don't ask, you don't say anything," she explains.
If you are sectioned, you can be kept in hospital, stopped from leaving the ward and given treatment for your mental health problems, possibly without your consent. If you are sectioned, you normally have the right to get help from someone called an independent mental health advocate (IMHA).
You may be sectioned if you or someone has raised concerns about your mental health. You should only be sectioned if: you need to be assessed or treated for your mental health problem. your health would be at risk of getting worse if you did not get treatment.
Being sectioned means being admitted to hospital whether or not you agree to it. The legal authority for your admission to hospital comes from the Mental Health Act rather than from your consent. This is usually because you are unable or unwilling to consent.
You still have the right to visit. Visiting arrangements depend on the hospital, so check visiting hours with staff or on the hospital website. In some cases the patient may refuse visitors, and hospital staff will respect the patient's wishes. If you're unable to see your loved one, staff should explain why.
This means that you can be discharged from the section and leave hospital, but you might have to meet certain conditions such as living in a certain place, or going somewhere for medical treatment. Sometimes, if you don't follow the conditions or you become unwell, you can be returned to hospital.
If someone has very severe psychosis, they can be compulsorily detained at hospital for assessment and treatment under the Mental Health Act (1983).
Psychosis may be a symptom of a mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression. However, a person can experience psychosis and never be diagnosed with schizophrenia or any other disorder.
Get help and support from an Independent Mental Health Advocate (sometimes call d an IMHA – this is someone who can help them understand the effects of their sectioning, or complain about anything that has happened to them while in hospital. Get leaflets with information when they arrive on the ward.
Being detained under the Mental Health Act is sometimes called being 'sectioned', because the law has different sections. Your rights under the Mental Health Act depend on which section you are detained under.
Unfortunately, epidemiological research has demonstrated that following hospitalization, individuals are far more likely to face adverse outcomes such as suicide and self-harm (1,2).
If they are unwilling to go to the hospital, call 911. Calling 911 can feel hard. You can explain to the 911 operator that you think your family member is experiencing mental health symptoms, in case a mental health crisis response team is available.
While you're in a psychiatric ward, you'll receive an individualized treatment plan according to your condition. Because there are so many different types of psychiatric disorders, patients often receive treatments ranging from medication management to family therapy or group therapy sessions.
The short answer is yes. Like many other mental health conditions, it is entirely possible to lead a completely functional life after psychosis. Psychosis is treatable. Many people recover from a first psychotic episode and never experience another.
The typical course of a psychotic episode can be thought of as having three phases: Prodrome Phase, Acute Phase, and Recovery Phase.
Such changes may include a stronger sense of self, a greater appre- ciation for life, greater spirituality, and better relationships (8–10). There have also been reports of positive changes among individuals who have had psychosis for many years and their families or caregivers (11,12).
In the military's scheme of things, serious disorders such as major depression, anxiety or schizophrenia may be grounds for medical discharge or retirement, usually depending on their severity and amenability to treatment.
You can be legally sectioned if you need to be treated for a mental health condition, and you aren't well enough to make decisions about your treatment at that time. Without treatment, your safety or someone else's safety would be at risk, or your health would decline.
Unfortunately, your story is all too common. We now know that many people develop post-traumatic stress disorder from their experiences in the hospital.
Untreated mental health conditions can result in unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, and suicide, and poor quality of life.
The lifetime risk for any psychiatric disorder was 37.66% for a female and 32.05% for a male (Table 2).
Least restrictive option and maximising independence. Empowerment and involvement. Respect and dignity. Purpose and effectiveness.