AOT: A Failed Paradigm of Care

This article uses Andrew’s story to illustrate how miserably the mental health treatment and legal system failed him. It’s an analysis of the failed paradigm that is euphemistically called “Assisted Outpatient Treatment.” It sounds so helpful, doesn’t it? We’re providing assistance to people who need it because, the theory goes, their brains are too broken to allow them to make their own treatment decisions. What it really means is forced drugging of people alleged to be mentally ill. Forced injections of psychotropic medications known to have debilitating, permanent side effects. People are placed on involuntary civil commitments that get renewed year after year with no meaningful judicial review and no end in sight for the person subjected to the commitment. The authors take on the myths surrounding mental illness (such as the supposed danger unmedicated people pose to society) and debunk them with strong scientific evidence. https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/07/twenty-years-kendras-law-case-aot/?fbclid=IwAR1RJktQnXwVMwmPSNGBttRt0XjL2MbEC4rYaMYkxib6BxsZSCpVI-27MfA