Australian Mental Health Tribunals

Australian Mental Health Tribunals PDF

Author: Terry Carney

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 9781921113055

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This monograph provides a comprehensive examination of mental health tribunal hearings in Australia. It deals with a wide and far-reaching landscape of theories and concepts and their practical application to the day-to-day operations of the tribunals in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.The study is extensive and broad in its approach, going beyond a critical assessment of the individual tribunals to an examination of the supporting mental health services, and of the complex area of human rights as they relate to the care and treatment of people with a mental illness.It documents the universal tensions between the 'pragmatic' (what is 'affordable' and 'politically acceptable'), the 'normative' (human rights and common law principles) and the 'evidence based' (what 'works best'). The entire discourse is framed within a concern to uphold the rights of those living with a mental illness and a desire to bring about paradigm-shifting changes to improve mental health processes for all stakeholders.It presents considered views on tribunals' future directions, commending existing 'good practices' and charting possible directions for reform of legislation and operations.

Australian Mental Health Tribunals

Australian Mental Health Tribunals PDF

Author: Terry Carney AO

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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This monograph provides a comprehensive examination of mental health tribunal hearings in Australia. It deals with a wide and far-reaching landscape of theories and concepts and their practical application to the day-to-day operations of the tribunals in the states and territories of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. The study is extensive and broad in its approach, going beyond a critical assessment of the individual tribunals to an examination of the supporting mental health services, and of the complex area of human rights as they relate to the care and treatment of people with a mental illness. It documents the universal tensions between the 'pragmatic' (what is 'affordable' and 'politically acceptable'), the 'normative' (human rights and common law principles) and the 'evidence based' (what 'works best'). The entire discourse is framed within a concern to uphold the rights of those living with a mental illness and a desire to bring about paradigm-shifting changes to improve mental health processes for all stakeholders. It presents considered views on tribunals' future directions, commending existing 'good practices' and charting possible directions for reform of legislation and operations.

Pushing the Boundaries

Pushing the Boundaries PDF

Author: Terry Carney AO

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Mental health jurisprudence traditionally was more concerned to protect negative or 'liberty' rights than to advance positive rights of access to needed mental health care and treatment. North American test case litigation contributed to advances in the quality of mental health and other services in some instances, but the record is patchy. Socio-legal studies of mental health tribunal operations in England and Wales suggest that health paradigms are dominant, and that legal norms and standards may be weak reeds in this setting. This article reviews the diverse legislative models in three main Australian jurisdictions before examining fieldwork data on the extent to which Australian mental health tribunal 'push the boundaries' of the law in order to obtain favourable treatment outcomes. It argues that, contrary to overseas experience, Australian tribunals merely 'nudge', rather than disturb, the legal boundaries.

Rethinking Rights-Based Mental Health Laws

Rethinking Rights-Based Mental Health Laws PDF

Author: Bernadette McSherry

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-08-16

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1847315968

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Mental health laws exist in many countries to regulate the involuntary detention and treatment of individuals with serious mental illnesses. 'Rights-based legalism' is a term used to describe mental health laws that refer to the rights of individuals with mental illnesses somewhere in their provisions. The advent of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities makes it timely to rethink the way in which the rights of individuals to autonomy and liberty are balanced against state interests in protecting individuals from harm to self or others. This collection addresses some of the current issues and problems arising from rights-based mental health laws. The chapters have been grouped in five parts as follows: - Historical Foundations - The International Human Rights Framework and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Gaps Between Law and Practice - Review Processes and the Role of Tribunals - Access to Mental Health Services Many of the chapters in this collection emphasise the importance of moving away from the limitations of a negative rights approach to mental health laws towards more positive rights of social participation. While the law may not always be the best way through which to alleviate social and personal predicaments, legislation is paramount for the functioning of the mental health system. The aim of this collection is to encourage the enactment of legal provisions governing treatment, detention and care that are workable and conform to international human rights documents.

Coercion in Community Mental Health Care

Coercion in Community Mental Health Care PDF

Author: Andrew Molodynski

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-07-21

Total Pages: 402

ISBN-13: 0191034320

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The use of coercion is one of the defining issues of mental health care. Since the earliest attempts to contain and treat the mentally ill, power imbalances have been evident and a cause of controversy. There has always been a delicate balance between respecting autonomy and ensuring that those who most need treatment and support are provided with it. Coercion in Community Mental Health Care: International Perspectives is an essential guide to the current coercive practices worldwide, both those founded in law and those 'informal' processes whose coerciveness remains contested. It does so from a variety of perspectives, drawing on diverse disciplines such as history, law, sociology, anthropology and medicine to provide a comprehensive summary of the current debates in the field. Edited by leading researchers in the field, Coercion in Community Mental Health Care: International Perspectives provides a unique discussion of this prominent issue in mental health. Divided into five sections covering origins and extent, evidence, experiences, context and international perspectives this is ideal for mental health practitioners, social scientists, ethicists and legal professionals wishing to expand their knowledge of the subject area.

WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation

WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation PDF

Author: Melvyn Freeman

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9789241562829

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This publication highlights key issues and principles to be considered in the drafting, adoption and implementation of mental health legislation and best practice in mental health services. It contains examples of diverse experiences and practices, as well as extracts of laws and other legal documents from a range of different countries, and a checklist of key policy components. Three main elements of effective mental health legislation are identified, relating to context, content and process.

Involuntary Detention and Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Involuntary Detention and Therapeutic Jurisprudence PDF

Author: Kate Diesfeld

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-05-08

Total Pages: 638

ISBN-13: 1351926268

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International developments within the last twenty years have demonstrated controversial shifts in treatment for people with mental illnesses and the care of persons with intellectual disabilities. These shifts have been apparent in an emphasis on deinstitutionalization, increased scrutiny of detention and discharge decisions and, in some countries, in enforced treatment and care in the community. As we become increasingly conscious of the political and moral dimensions of civil commitment, these concerns are reflected in the professional literature, but this does not often enough focus on issues of clinical and legal principle, nor is it in a form which encourages comparative analysis. This collection draws on contributors from the UK, the USA, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand, who share a commitment to evaluating whether the civil detention processes protect the liberty, dignity and justice interests of those with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities. The book is written from a therapeutic jurisprudence perspective and poses a number of questions with international application, such as: Are more categories of people being detained? Is involuntary detention serving new purposes? Are different forms of detention gaining credence and being more widely utilized? And, are admission decisions and review of detention decisions transparent, consistent, and just?