Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhen Hospitalization Is NecessaryWho Can Be Committed?Types of CommitmentInitiating the Process

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

When Hospitalization Is Necessary

Who Can Be Committed?

Types of Commitment

Initiating the Process

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Are you considering involuntary hospitalization for depression for someone you care about? You may be wondering what you can do. You may not even be sure if hospitalization is really necessary. The following is meant to answer some of the questions that you may have when making the difficult decision to commit someone to amental hospitalagainst their will.

When Involuntary Hospitalization Becomes Necessary

If your loved one is experiencing symptoms such assevere depression,suicidal urges,mania, orpsychosis, it can have adevastating impacton them and the people around them.

Possible consequences can include:

If you believe that your loved one is having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you believe that your loved one is having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Unfortunately,mental illnessoften makes a person unable to think clearly about their situation. It may be up to the people around them—such as family members, police, emergency responders, or mental health providers—to take the initiative to get help in order to prevent a tragic outcome.

How to Admit Yourself to a Psychiatric Hospital

Who Can Be Involuntarily Committed?

The laws vary widely from state to state, but a personmust beliving with a mental illness to be involuntarily committed.

Criteria that states may consider include:

While most states require that the person presents a clear and present danger to themselves or others in order to be committed, this is not true for all states. In some, involuntary hospitalization may occur if a person is refusing needed treatment, whether or not they are considered to be dangerous.

Terms to UnderstandMentally ill:The term is not as clearly defined for legal purposes as it is in the treatment of mental illness. Except for Utah, no state in the U.S. uses a list of recognized mental disorders to define mental illness. Instead, the definition varies from state to state and is usually defined in rather vague terms, describing how mental illness affects thinking and behavior.Grave disability:The definition for this term also varies from state to state. In general, it refers to a person’s inability to care for themselves.

Terms to Understand

Mentally ill:The term is not as clearly defined for legal purposes as it is in the treatment of mental illness. Except for Utah, no state in the U.S. uses a list of recognized mental disorders to define mental illness. Instead, the definition varies from state to state and is usually defined in rather vague terms, describing how mental illness affects thinking and behavior.Grave disability:The definition for this term also varies from state to state. In general, it refers to a person’s inability to care for themselves.

Types of Involuntary Commitment

Three main types of involuntary commitment exist: emergency detention, observational institutionalization, and extended commitment.

Emergency Detentions

Observational Institutionalization

Patients may also be admitted for what is known as observational institutionalization, in which hospital staff may observe the person to determine a diagnosis and administer limited treatment.

In the states that allow for observational commitment, the length of hospitalization can vary considerably, ranging from 48 hours in Alaska to six months in West Virginia.

Extended Commitment

The third type of hospitalization, extended commitment, is a bit more difficult to obtain. Generally, it requires one or more people from a specific group—such as friends, relatives, guardians, public officials, and hospital personnel—to apply for one.

Often, a certificate or affidavit from one or more physicians or mental health professionals describing the patient’s diagnosis and treatment must accompany the application.

In virtually all states a hearing must be held, with a judge or jury making the final decision about whether the person can be held.

A typical length for extended commitment is up to six months. At the end of the initial period, an application can be made for the time to be extended, generally one to two times longer than the original commitment. Requests for further commitment can be made when each period expires as long as the patient continues to meet the legal criteria.

Can You Commit Someone to a Mental Hospital Against Their Will?

How to Initiate the Process of Committing Someone

In most states, you will need a qualified civil official, crisis team member, or medical staff to deem a person a danger to themselves or others and enact a “psychiatric hold” or “pick up.”

Can a Patient Be Forced to Receive Treatment?

Patients cannot be forced to receive treatment unless there has been a hearing declaring them legally incompetent to make their own decisions. Even though the person has been hospitalized involuntarily, most states will treat them as capable of making their own medical decisions unless otherwise determined.

Patients in immediate danger may be given medications on an emergency basis. However, these medications are directed at calming the person and stabilizing their medical condition rather than treating their mental illness.

For example, a sedative might be administered to prevent the person from harming themselves. Still, they could not be forced to take an antidepressant, as this is considered to be treatment.

The Best Online Resources for Depression

4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Treatment Advocacy Center.Grading the states: An analysis of the involuntary psychiatric treatment laws in 2020.Saya A, Brugnoli C, Piazzi G, et al.Criteria, procedures, and future prospects of involuntary treatment in psychiatry around the world: A narrative review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:271. doi:10.3389%2Ffpsyt.2019.00271Johnson JM, Stern TA.Involuntary hospitalization of primary care patients.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2014;16(3). doi:10.4088/PCC.13f01613Testa M, West SG.Civil commitment in the United States.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010;7(10):30-40.Additional ReadingJacobson JL, Jacobson AM, eds.Psychiatric Secrets,2nd ed. Hanley & Belfus; 2001.

4 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Treatment Advocacy Center.Grading the states: An analysis of the involuntary psychiatric treatment laws in 2020.Saya A, Brugnoli C, Piazzi G, et al.Criteria, procedures, and future prospects of involuntary treatment in psychiatry around the world: A narrative review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:271. doi:10.3389%2Ffpsyt.2019.00271Johnson JM, Stern TA.Involuntary hospitalization of primary care patients.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2014;16(3). doi:10.4088/PCC.13f01613Testa M, West SG.Civil commitment in the United States.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010;7(10):30-40.Additional ReadingJacobson JL, Jacobson AM, eds.Psychiatric Secrets,2nd ed. Hanley & Belfus; 2001.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Treatment Advocacy Center.Grading the states: An analysis of the involuntary psychiatric treatment laws in 2020.Saya A, Brugnoli C, Piazzi G, et al.Criteria, procedures, and future prospects of involuntary treatment in psychiatry around the world: A narrative review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:271. doi:10.3389%2Ffpsyt.2019.00271Johnson JM, Stern TA.Involuntary hospitalization of primary care patients.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2014;16(3). doi:10.4088/PCC.13f01613Testa M, West SG.Civil commitment in the United States.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010;7(10):30-40.

Treatment Advocacy Center.Grading the states: An analysis of the involuntary psychiatric treatment laws in 2020.

Saya A, Brugnoli C, Piazzi G, et al.Criteria, procedures, and future prospects of involuntary treatment in psychiatry around the world: A narrative review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:271. doi:10.3389%2Ffpsyt.2019.00271

Johnson JM, Stern TA.Involuntary hospitalization of primary care patients.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2014;16(3). doi:10.4088/PCC.13f01613

Testa M, West SG.Civil commitment in the United States.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010;7(10):30-40.

Jacobson JL, Jacobson AM, eds.Psychiatric Secrets,2nd ed. Hanley & Belfus; 2001.

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