ABSTRACT
This chapter is written from the vantage point of people who have used mental health services. It argues that there is a need to end all forms of restraint and offers a theoretical model encompassing direct and indirect restraint. Direct restraint refers to restrictions on bodily integrity, such as physical, mechanical and chemical restraint, as well as restraints on freedom of movement and freedom to make one’s own decisions. Indirect, hidden restraint refers to restrictions on people’s senses of self, arising from and interconnecting with, experiences of direct restraint. Examples of indirect restraint include the oppressive, ongoing and cumulative negative impacts on selfhood from restraints on meaning-making, self-expression, hope and trust in oneself. The chapter concludes with an examination of what would be needed to repeal mental health laws that permit restraint, including reforms to health and social policy and measures to support shifts in community and societal attitudes.
