Coercion in Forensic Healthcare: A North American Perspective

The debate concerning non-consensual, or coerced, forensic mental healthcare continues to engage clinicians, scholars, lawyers, decision makers, bio-ethicists, and the judiciary across Canada and the United States. This chapter reviews and discusses the theoretical, clinical, legal, and ethical aspects of seclusion and restraint practices in forensic psychiatric hospital settings and reports the results from empirical studies. The chapter also discusses the provisions for involuntary treatment in mental health legislation, specialty courts, and compulsory community based treatment and supervision models.