If your loved one, or even a stranger, is in a serious mental health crisis, you want to know there’s someone who will take the person and help them feel better. But it’s almost never that simple.
Episode 2 of “Lost Patients,” the new six-part podcast from The Seattle Times and KUOW, looks at involuntary commitment in Washington state — the system that allows someone who is so ill they’re a danger to themselves or others, or so unable to care for themselves that their life is in danger, to be confined and given treatment against their will.
As host Will James put it, this is one of the most delicate questions our society faces.
“When does our own belief that we know what’s best for someone override their rights to decide what happens to their own bodies and minds?” he asks. “What is the right balance between those two things?”
This episode follows a mother named Kathleen who is trying to get her son, who has schizoaffective disorder and is in crisis, into a psychiatric hospital. James also explores how the involuntary treatment laws in Washington were developed, and talks with people who work in the field about the incredibly complex ethics around this unique area of the law.
New episodes of “Lost Patients” are released on Tuesdays on all major podcast platforms.
After you listen, dive deeper
A long wait for help: In Washington, designated crisis responders are the people with the legal authority to involuntarily commit someone to psychiatric care. Recently, they faced overwhelming demand that led to enormous wait times. They were tasked first with responding to calls from jails and hospitals, and at one point, if community members called for a DCR, it was taking an average of more than 11 days to respond. (Wait times have come down since, to about three days.)
Inside the courtroom: The Involuntary Treatment Act court looks a lot like any other courtroom. There’s a judge, prosecutor and defense attorney. But the person whose future is being debated was never accused of violating the law.
“It’s somebody whose only crime is being mentally ill,” Guin Raikes, a public defense attorney in ITA court in Skagit County, told The Times in a recent article that explored the complex ethics faced in these courtrooms where a judge decides when someone should be committed.
Political shifts on involuntary treatment: In late 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would change the city’s policies to make it easier to involuntarily commit people to treatment. The Seattle Times compared New York’s proposal to Washington’s policies, and asked local officials whether Washington might take a similar approach. Neither Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell nor Gov. Jay Inslee were ready to follow New York: They emphasized the need for building overall capacity for mental health care, through voluntary support like building walk-in crisis care centers.
How to help: The Times created a printable brochure on how to help people in a mental health crisis.
Additional tips, including information about how to talk to dispatchers and when to seek help at a hospital, are available below.
