APA's Model Law: Protecting the Patient's Ultimate Interests
Ashton C. Dunham B.S.1
1 The Public and Government Affairs Committee of ADMIT (Advocates for the Mentally Ill in Transition, Inc.), The Special Advisory Committee on Public Policy for United Mental Health, Inc., Pittsburgh, The Chartiers Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center, Pittsburgh
16 Sunnyhill Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15228
As a mental health advocate and the parent of a chronic mentally ill son, the author argues for adoption of the provisions in APA's model law on civil commitment, He believes that a shift in mental health law from absolute protection of civil liberty to an emphasis on the ultimate good for an individual will dramatically improve the lives of the seriously mentally ill by ending the deterioration that they currently must experience to receive treatment. The author also discusses the merits of a proposal that would expedite treatment for patients who repeatedly require emergency care.
