This is not true in the case of people under 18. In many states (presuming you're in the US), parents have the ability to commit underage children without any kind of judicial proceedings. They do not have to display self-harming or violent behavior in order to be institutionalized-- they just need the word of someone who says they should be locked up. In the case of adolescents, this is done far more often than most people think on the basis of family disputes-- the parents find the child troublesome to have around, and simply arrange with the authorities to have him/her 'taken off their hands.' This happened to a family member of ours; I suspect the only reason it didn't happen to us was because we expended a lot of energy trying deliberately to cover anything that might be seen as 'crazy behavior.'
Some doctors have also been known to press institutionalization on children and adolescents (and adults) due to the insurance benefits-- for instance, diagnosing people with schizophrenia because their insurance company will pay more for a diagnosis of schizophrenia than for depression or anxiety. (A certain amount of MPD diagnoses a few decades ago, when it was considered a diagnostic 'fad,' were due to insurance fraud.)
Additionally, even in many adult cases, sometimes just the act of *talking* about sometimes wanting to harm yourself or hurt others is considered a sufficient pretext. You don't have to *demonstrate* the behavior-- you just have to have someone *believe* that you might harm yourselves or others, or to claim you might; for instance, "he might be dangerous" has been used as a way of getting homeless people "off the street" by putting them in psychiatric wards.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-03-28 04:08 am (UTC)Some doctors have also been known to press institutionalization on children and adolescents (and adults) due to the insurance benefits-- for instance, diagnosing people with schizophrenia because their insurance company will pay more for a diagnosis of schizophrenia than for depression or anxiety. (A certain amount of MPD diagnoses a few decades ago, when it was considered a diagnostic 'fad,' were due to insurance fraud.)
Additionally, even in many adult cases, sometimes just the act of *talking* about sometimes wanting to harm yourself or hurt others is considered a sufficient pretext. You don't have to *demonstrate* the behavior-- you just have to have someone *believe* that you might harm yourselves or others, or to claim you might; for instance, "he might be dangerous" has been used as a way of getting homeless people "off the street" by putting them in psychiatric wards.