Written by two leading specialists in mental health law, this book provides a detailed overview of the law and the socio-legal, historical, sociological, and cultural issues that surround it. Mental health law, at its heart, involves the forcible confinement and medication of some of society's most vulnerable people. With reference to recent cases and new legislation, Peter Bartlett and Ralph Sandland analyze the legal structure and functions of the mental health system, the problems inherent in characterizing mental health law, and the social and human rights issues of those who suffer from mental illness The legal issues described contain implied premises as to what it is to be a citizen, what the role of the state is for the vulnerable, and what the relative roles of law and medicine are in the regulation of control and deviance. Mental health law is an area of considerable legal and social complexity, and the authors challenge readers to question the system and the policies that have been developed.
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Bartlett, Peter, Sandland, Ralph

Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press

IRL Press at Oxford University Press

Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

German Historical Institute London

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

April 20, 2007

Volume 3, 2007

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Conceptualising mental health law
Problems of definition
An overview of the contemporary mental health system
Admission to hospital
The process of civil confinement
Mental disorder and criminal justice
Treatment in hospital
Leaving hospital
Control, care and community
Mental capacity: broad issues and basic concepts
The Mental Capacity Act 2005
Legal responses and advocacy for clients.

This text provides a detailed overview of the laws surrounding mental health and the socio-legal, historical, sociological, and cultural issues related to them. The role of the law and medical treatments in regulating and controlling deviance, are explored alongside the fundamental rights and liberties of some of society's most vulnerable people.

Examining the legal structure of the mental health system, this book explains the legal principles. It places them in the context of their practical application, the realities of patient life, and the complexities of organising care. This edition gives an analysis of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and the Draft Mental Health Bill

xlvi, 687 p. ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references (p. [609]-646) and index

2023-06-28