Coercion in Contemporary Mental Health Services: Key Concepts, Historical Development and Contextual Factors

In this chapter, we introduce some of the key ideas relating to the use of coercion in mental health services around the world. This introduction focuses upon clarifying the key terms in the area, providing an historical overview of the topic, and considering current evidence on contextual factors which are linked to high and low rates of coercion. We also consider attempts to estimate coercion rates in different countries around the world and start to examine the question of whether coercion can ever be justified on the basis of ‘best interest’. Finally, we note some of the interventions which have shown the most promise in enabling organisations to reduce their reliance on coercive interventions and move towards a fully human rights-based approach to mental health care. This chapter therefore provides a basis for consideration of the many issues raised throughout this volume.