Understanding Treatment Without Consent An Analysis of the Work of the Mental Health Act Commission

In Understanding Treatment Without Consent, key contributors examine the work of the UK Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC), which was established to ensure the care and rights of people subjected to the various sections of the 1983 Mental Health Act. Based on a research project funded by the Department of Health, the book also offers a broader exploration of mental health provision in both historical and contemporary contexts, discussing whether mental health reforms have learned the lessons of history. The book builds on earlier work on treatment without consent by providing a more policy-oriented account of mental health law and regulation in the context of health service modernization, discussing contemporary issues facing the MHAC and looking at its future role.

Contents: Introduction, Ian Shaw; A short history of mental health, Ian Shaw; Tracing the development of the Mental Health Act Commission and its predecessors, Jeffrey Cohen; Exploring visiting activities of the Commission, Ian Shaw, Hugh Middleton and Martin Chamberlain; The reform of the Mental Health Act, Jeffrey Cohen; Socially determined perceptions of risk are reflected in the decision to request a 2nd opinion appointed doctor's visit, Hugh Middleton and Ian Shaw; To treat or not to treat? Should the treatability criterion for those with psychopathic disorder be abandoned? Conor Duggan; Law, regulation and the Mental Health Act Commission, Simon Boys and Michael J. Gunn; Reforming the Mental Health Act: a successor to the Mental Health Act Commission, Jeffrey Cohen; Index.

Ian Shaw is Professor of Social Work and Head of Social Work at the University of Nottingham, UK. Hugh Middleton is Associate Professor in the School of Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham, UK. Jeffrey Cohen is former Head of Policy of the Mental Health Act Commission, and freelance researcher on mental health services.