Issues

Myths and Realities
This article by Harvey Rosenthal, New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (www.nyaprs.org), compares the myths and realities of mental illness.
Click here to read Mr. Rosenthal's comparison.

Rejection of Mandated Outpatient Treatment
"In recent years, state legislatures, struggling with finding the most appropriate and effective means to best engage and serve at risk individuals with serious mental illnesses, have increasingly rejected mandated outpatient measures in favor of more broadly-supported, scientifically-backed approaches that balance effective and cost-effective evidence-based practices with respect for the rights and relationship-based issues that are involved."
Click here to read more.

Kendra's Law
"Kendra’s law establishes a procedure for obtaining court orders for certain individuals with mental illness to receive and accept outpatient treatment."
Click here to read more about Kendra's Law.

Nicola's Law
Nicola's Law is Louisiana's version of Kendra's law.
Click here to view the original version of Nicola's Law.
Click here to view the reengrossed version of Nicola's Law.

Backlashes of Nicola's Law

1.  The process of forced medication and forced treatment puts traumatic emotional damage on persons seeking mental wellness and opens the door to more traumatic processes.

2.  Threatens Advanced Directives in some cases.

3.  Aside from medical professionals and office of mental health professionals like regional managers, relatively untrained case managers and inherently biased family members and friends can unfairly ask for forced commitment.

4.  Law enforcement personnel allowed to break and enter homes, cars, planes, etc. to get a patient to be forced into treatment.

5.  Involuntary treatment in a crisis center and/or hospital setting is counterproductive. Household treatment is more effective.

6.  Persons seeking mental wellness who are uprooted anywhere or at anytime in leg irons and handcuffs by law enforcement suffer deep humiliation and degradation.

7.  Instead of passing an abusive law that is counterproductive to persons seeking mental wellness, we should be focusing on funding education to the general public and professionals about persons seeking mental wellness.

Created by Albert Jimenez in collaboration with Daily Dupré April 08, 2008.