An examination of the use of coercion by assertive outreach and community mental health teams in Northern Ireland
Abstract
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.
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“The preliminary results of the larger study are presented elsewhere ( Davidson & Campbell, 2007 ).”
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“and more autonomous, and they illustrated that the perception of coercion may change over time [53].”
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- Authors
- Davidson, G., & Campbell, J.
- Affiliations
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Davidson, G.
- Venue
- British Journal of Social Work
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2007-03-17
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 537-555
- ISSN
- 0045-3102 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-263X
- OpenAlex
- W2052893999
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The British Journal of Social Work (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Keywords
- assertive outreach, community mental health teams, community mental health services, perceived coercion, service user rights, high-risk clients, Northern Ireland
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