Mind the Gap: Researching ‘Alternatives to Coercion’ in Mental Health Care

doi:10.1017/9781108979016.021

18 - Mind the Gap: Researching ‘Alternatives to Coercion’ in Mental Health Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 August 2021

Piers Gooding

Edited by

Michael Ashley Stein ,

Faraaz Mahomed ,

Vikram Patel and

Charlene Sunkel

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Michael Ashley Stein: Affiliation:
Harvard Law School
Faraaz Mahomed: Affiliation:
Wits University
Vikram Patel: Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
Charlene Sunkel: Affiliation:
Global Mental Health Peer Network

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Summary

Globally, there is a surprisingly small amount of empirical research into efforts to reduce and prevent ‘coercion’ in mental health settings. Indeed, there is a paucity of empirical evaluation of coercion in mental healthcare more generally. These gaps hamper efforts to create rights-based models of support. This chapter considers the evidential issues around coercion in relation to major debates about legal capacity, mental health and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It examines the prevalent norms of knowledge concerning coercion, including underlying traditions and assumptions, and what is considered ethically desirable. The chapter concludes by recommending more research on reduction and prevention of coercion as a practical and unifying step, but with careful consideration of the epistemic and evidentiary cultures guiding the research.

Type: Chapter
Information: Mental Health, Legal Capacity, and Human Rights , pp. 273 - 287

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108979016.021 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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