ABSTRACT
Nearly everyone also assumes that patients' psychological afflictions are chronic; they view their lives as ongoing "careers" in mental illness. In most jurisdictions, the legal, psychiatric, and social service personnel routinely work with each other, developing working relationships that transcend any particular case. Nearly everyone also assumes that patients' psychological afflictions are chronic; they view their lives as ongoing "careers" in mental illness. The people whose commitment is under consideration generally come to commitment hearings via the mental health care system, frequently with long histories of both out-and inpatient care in a variety of psychiatric settings. The desire to see that patients received needed treatment was evident in several related ways. In one jurisdiction, Public Defenders (PDs) who felt their clients needed extended treatment would ask that their cases be "continued in order to properly prepare".
