Understanding Canada's High Rates of Forced Psychiatric Hospitalizations

From PsychForce Report by Rob Wipond. “New laws to expand involuntary commitment have recently been implemented, or are under discussion in Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and elsewhere. These initiatives are driven by beliefs that too few people get committed to psychiatric hospitals, and that this has contributed to rising homelessness, street violence, and overdoses across the country. Critics counter by pointing to the housing affordability crisis amid declining community services and supports. Absent reliable research and data, opinions remain polarized. Some people strongly believe in coercive psychiatric interventions. But the lack of scientific evidence supporting forced treatment for substance use is acknowledged by most clinicians. Meanwhile, there are few studies of effectiveness outcomes for coercive treatment of mental disorders, either, and no evidence civil commitment helps people or protects public safety. Conversely, harms of subjecting people to locked wards, restraints, seclusion, or forced drugging are well-documented. A forthcoming study from British Columbia, for example, was led by researchers at the inter-institutional Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes, and notably involved interviews with dozens of former patients and current medical staff at the researchers’ own hospitals. They found involuntary commitment “is a stressful experience for both people receiving and providing treatment and can lead to harm, trauma, and distrust.”