Involuntarily Committed

[angelite]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone knows what rights does a person have once they have been committed. 

Karen

[kitkatsoppy]

hi - i have committed so many times that i lost count... basically your family sort of controls what you want to say and stuff. i am not sure that that is correct though.  all you can do is get well, and the quicker you get, the quicker you will be voluntary again...sorry that im not full of useful info lol

[Doolhof]

Hi Karen,

I don't have the answer here for you either, I would just like to know if you are finding yourself in that situation right now? Have you been committed involuntarily or has it been your decision? Or are you thinking you might benefit from being committed somewhere and want to know what happens once you are placed somewhere? It would be difficult for anyone to give you an accurate answer, as I am sure every place a person is sent to is different from anywhere else, plus we are all different as individuals, so the same facility will be different for each person.

When I had my break down a few years ago, I ended up having the choice of going under police custody or entering into the mental health ward of my own free will. As I went under my own free will, I was able to leave the facility after a couple of days of assessment on short outings, and was requested to stay there for two weeks. It all depends on your circumstances as to how things work out.

I hope this has been of some help to you Karen. If you have any other questions I will try to answer them for you.

Thinking of you, from Mrs. Dools

[angelite]

Hi 

Thank you for your help. My psychologist and gp both agree that I need to be committed. I can't go voluntary, I defently don't want my family to make medical decisions on my behalf. But for safety reasons and the fact that I am unable to take the medication the psychologist see's it as the only option now. So I would end up in the public health system in Melbourne. I'm really scared and have gone bush so they won't find me. I've got an appointment with the psychologist Tuesday.  I'm sure that's when they will do it. Don't know what I'm going to do. I feel really threatened by this. I thought if I knew what they would do it would make it easier.

I just don't want to be forced. The thought of anyone being near me, makes me really anxious.

Thanks

Karen

[Doolhof]

Hi Karen'

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you. I have just noticed from your news that you were seeing your psychologist on Tuesday, that is today! I really am so very sorry I have not been able to get back to you before this.

I am not sure if you will have access to a device to keep in touch while you are in the centre or not. I am not at all familiar with the services they have in Melbourne, nor how they are run and operated.

I found it very strange the first couple of days I was in the mental health unit. It was mixed, guys and ladies. There were people in there with all different levels of depression and related illnesses. I actually found my fellow patients to be very knowledgeable of the system and were able to give me advice on how the unit was run, what to expect and so on. The staff seemed to be run off their feet a little, some of the nurses were great, very sympathetic and understanding.

In the end I made the most of my time there. All my meals were provided for, we had a bit of fun in the laundry while doing our washing, and some of the ladies washed the guys clothes for them. It was a great caring community.

There was an area outside where you could sit in a garden, exercise, use the gym equipment, watch t.v. a lady came in with craft activities, and the psychologists tried to sort out my medication so I would go home feeling a lot better.

As I mentioned, I went in voluntarily. The only difference I could see is that some people were not allowed out of the main doors while they were there. I had my own room and could retreat there any time I liked or needed to.

I really don't know if you will receive this while you are in the MH unit. I do so hope you don't find it as daunting as you think you will. I treated it as an opportunity to rest, to get the help I needed and to allow other people to take control for a while so I could just chill out.

I would love to hear back from you, from Mrs. Dools

[geoff]

dear Karen, if you go into any hospital by yourself that is involuntary, then you can leave when you want to, but if the police, doctor or psychologist commit you then you can't leave until the medical doctors say that you are OK. L Geoff. x

[CherryOnTop]

The systems probably change with each state but I had a family member committed a few years ago. It was done together with the police and a doctor. But the patient doesn't remember the experience. It was very scary for our family but it was the right thing. As a general rule all decisions about your release and immediate treatment will be made for you. And they won't let you go unless you have a treatment plan in place and someone to care for you.  But they can also do that in some circumstances if you commit voluntarily if they believe you are not capable of good judgement. 

In our case it was a severe flight risk and severe danger so leaving was not allowed although attempts were made. The more you fight it the longer you will stay. One nurse per patient at all hours, though it may be different for you. Visitors were allowed on good days. I ended up bringing a lot of movies down and he made friends my sharing them. They were very strict on bringing in food and things. Generally there is a shortage of beds so they will let you go as soon as they think you're ready. You're not going to be there forever unless you're an extremely dangerous person to the community.

But the main purpose is to keep you safe. See it as a break from everything. No life stressing you out, all your cooking and laundry done and someone to talk to whenever you feel up to it. You deserve it. 

[Doolhof]

Hi Cheeryontop,

Just read your post. "one nurse per patient 24 hours a day" wow! Where on earth can you receive that kind of assistance? My experience was 2 nurses for 20 patients and you were allowed a 5 minute chat with the head nurse each morning!

The only way I saw that you received extra attention was if you showed any signs of anger, then you were spoken to harshly and if it continued, for one patient especially, she was mobbed by about 4 or 5 hefty blokes, dragged down to her room yelling out and screaming and was given a sedative injection that turned her into a zombie for the rest of the day.

I decided to behave myself in the centre and not show any anger at all. I did appreciate the rest, not having to plan, organise, prepare, or stress out over anything that I thought needed doing. That side of it was good.

I don't want to put any one off from entering a mental health joint for assistance. Just realise the staff are human too and I guess they are a bit burnt out at times.

Cheers from Mrs. Dools

[angelite]

Thank you for your help I appreciate it

Karen

[Doolhof]

Hi Karen,

How are you? Where are you, if you can tell me? I have been thinking of you and hoping you are okay. It is great you have been in touch again. I really would like to know how you are.

Don't read too much into my little rant I left this morning! I am feeling quite ill with a chest infection and a cold, am working again after a wonderful two week holiday and have little energy. It seems like someone fed our weeds steroids while we were away, some are a metre high! The wild grasses have gone berserk, we have a whole crop of them happening!

If you have been committed, then I hope it is going well for you and you receive all the help you need. I am not really all that good at asking for help, so sometimes I don't do myself any favours that way! I act like everything is okay, but under the surface a volcano is about to explode some days or a tsunami is about to be unleashed! If I could express my needs better, then that would help.

I am slowly learning to do that. This morning I was looking up some information on stress so hope to follow that through as well.

I hope you can get back and let me and others know how you are getting on.

Cheers for now, thinking of you and wishing you all the best,

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools xxx