An Examination of the Use of Coercion by Assertive Outreach and Community Mental Health Teams in Northern Ireland

In mental health services over recent decades, the positive move away from hospital-based care to community-based services has entailed that people with higher levels of need are being supported by community mental health services. This paper begins by reviewing the literature on coercion in the field of community-based mental health care and treatment. It is argued that the lack of a critical understanding of the concept and how it is used by practitioners and agencies can have serious repercussions for the rights of service users. Using a quasi-experimental, longitudinal design, the authors then seek to test some of the ideas about coercion by comparing the activities of assertive outreach and community mental health teams in Northern Ireland, particularly the key ideas of perceived coercion, workers’ strategies and engagement with services. Key findings were that assertive outreach appeared to be more successful at reducing perceived coercion, minimizing the need for coercive strategies, engaging high-risk clients and reducing inpatient bed use. These findings are compared with other studies in this area. The authors also argue that there is a need for greater transparency in the way that practitioners use coercive measures and more explicit guidance is required in this crucial area of mental health practice.

Coercion (linguistics) · Criminology · Library science · Media studies · Mental health · Northern ireland · Outreach · Poison control · Political science · Psychiatry · Queen (butterfly) · Sexual coercion · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Gender Studies · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Work

• Coercion in the Community

  Jim Campbell, Gavin Davidson•Ethics and Social Welfare•2009

  Incluir item

• Positive risk taking

  John P Robertson, Christine Collinson•Health Risk & Society•2011

  Incluir item

• Engaging parents in parenting programs

  Open Access•Nick Axford, Minna Lehtonen et al.•Children and Youth Services Review•2012

  Incluir item

• Recruitment and Retention in a Parenting Intervention

  Lisa Schelbe, Melissa Radey et al.•Journal of Social Service Research•2018

  Incluir item

• Deciding to Detain

  Jim Campbell•The British Journal of Social Work•2010

  Incluir item

• An Audit of Assessment and Reporting by Approved Social Workers (ASWs)

  Gavin Davidson, Jim Campbell•The British Journal of Social Work•2010

  Incluir item

• Outreach Work in ‘Hard-to-Reach’ Communities

  Open Access•Odessa Gonzalez Benson, Ifrah Mahamud Magan et al.•The British Journal of Social Work•2024

  Incluir item

• Street Work and Outreach

  Shmulik Szeintuch•The British Journal of Social Work•2015

  Incluir item

• Navigating Client Deaths in the Community Mental Health Center

  Open Access•A Craig, Adam K Craig et al.•Journal of Humanistic Psychology•2024

  Incluir item

• Are Users Satisfied with Assertive Community Treatment in Spite of Personal Restrictions

  Open Access•Ann‐Mari Lofthus, Ann-Mari Lofthus et al.•Community Mental Health Journal•2016

  Incluir item

• The lived experience of everyday activity for individuals with severe mental illness

  Benjamin Milbourn, Beverley Mcnamara et al.•Health Sociology Review•2015

  Incluir item