PsychRights: Outpatient Commitment

OutPatient Commitment

International experiences of using community treatment orders, by the Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley (UK), March 2007. This study, which says it is the most comprehensive and thorough review of outpatient commitment, concluded "it is not possible to state whether community treatments orders (CTOs) are beneficial or harmful to patients."
Does compulsory or supervised community treatment reduce 'revolving door' care? Legislation is inconsistent with recent evidence, by Stephen Kisely and Leslie Anne Campbell, British Journal of Psychiatry, 197, 373-374 (2007)
Kisely S, Campbell LA, Preston N. Compulsory community and involuntary outpatient treatment for people with severe mental disorders. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD004408.pub2. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004408.pub2. This study found little beneficial effect: "In terms of numbers needed to treat, it would take 85 OPC orders to prevent one readmission, 27 to prevent one episode of homelessness and 238 to prevent one arrest."