Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:1264-1269
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Treatment of the mentally ill: legal advocacy enters the second generation
LS Rubenstein
In the past, the legal and medical perspectives on issues relating to
compulsory treatment focused on the individual's interest in liberty on the
one hand and the physician's authority to treat on the other. Neither of
these perspectives addresses the contemporary realities of treatment of
chronically mentally ill people in the United States. The author suggests
an emerging advocacy perspective that focuses on the quality of treatment.
