How to Commit an Individual to a Mental Health Facility

Few things can be more heartbreaking or stressful for friends and family than to watch a loved one suffer from mental illness. For sufferers of extreme mental illness, sometimes the only method of treatment involves in-patient care at a mental health facility, but sometimes patients are too sick to realize they need help. Using legal methods to have a person committed to a mental health facility is called "involuntary commitment," and is an extreme measure that may violate their constitutional rights. Learn more about involuntary commitment, what it involves, and what you can do.

Things You'll Need

• Medical professionals
• Local health department

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Instructions

Steps to involuntary commitment

• 1

  The most important thing you should do before considering involuntary commitment is talk to the person who is suffering. Involuntary commitment can be a major violation of a person's rights, and while it may be appropriate in a very few cases, most of the time it is not necessary. Ask them to seek help voluntarily first. It's likely they know they need help and just weren't sure who to turn to.

• 2

  Evaluate the situation. The biggest question you must answer here is: Does this person constitute an immediate danger to himself or others? Unless a person meets this qualification, he likely cannot and should not be hospitalized or treated against his will.

• 3

  Seek outside help. Often, involuntary commitment proceedings begin when there is an acute incident, for example, when police intervene and detain a person who they believe is a danger to themselves or others. In most states, only mental health professionals can begin the process of involuntary commitment, not family members or friends. Contact the health department in your county for a referral.

• 4

  Wait during the evaluation. In most cases, a person cannot be held for more than 72 hours for the purposes of evaluation by medical professionals.

• 5

  Attend a hearing. If you have had direct experience with the person and their mental state (and if you have not, you have no business beginning proceedings in the first place), you may be asked to testify about those experiences.

• 6

  Beyond the steps of initiating a referral and testifying about direct experience, there is nothing you can do to have a person committed. It is a legal decision that depends on the evaluation of medical professionals and a court's decision. This is to protect the civil rights of the person. If you still believe the person is in danger because of their mental state, the only thing you can do is try to convince the person to seek help of their own free will.