Getting Sectioned

What does it take to be forcibly detained under the mental health act?

If you’re a fan of Tennessee Williams, getting institutionalised seems to be a pretty routine occurence for any number of mental health issues. Whether that’s the delusional Blanch Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire or the traumatised Catherine Holly in Suddenly Last Summer, there’s always an unreal almost romanticised element to it in some ways. But what is it in the real world? What circumstances would that happen and what do we need to know?

First of all, what the heck do we mean by “sectioned”? Well ultimately it’s a shorthand for being forcibly detained under a particular section of the Mental Health Act 1983, and potentially receive treatment without needing your consent.

Broadly this is only used in circumstances when someone feels that your mental health makes you an urgent threat to your own safety or the safety of other people.

In an emergency, the police can be called, enter your property be force if need be, and detain you under a Section 135 Warrant. You’d then be taken to and kept at a place of safety for a formal assessment by a approved mental health professional. They have the right to keep you detained until the mental assessment is complete, which can be up to 36 hrs if it needs to be extended.

If you’re in a public place and you are acting unsafe and the police suspect you are having a mental health crisis you can be detained under Section 136. You would be taken somewhere or kept somewhere safe until an assessment can be made, and similarly this can be up to 36 hours if it needs to be extended.

In you are in hospital you can be prevented from leaving by a nurse under Section 5(4) for up to 6 hours until a Doctor in charge of your treatment (or someone they nominate) can make a decision as to whether you need to be detained under Section 5(2). This gives Doctors the right to detain you for up to 72 hours so that a formal mental health assessment can be made and a judgement on whether you need to be detained further.

In a non emergency situation, it might be your doctor or family members who raise concerns about your mental health. Your nearest relative has the right to request that your mental health be assessed by your local community mental health team under the Mental Health Act.

After a formal mental health assessment, if you are judged to be a risk to yourself or others, you can be detained for up to 28 days under Section 2. The rationale behind that is to allow further assessment as to what is going on, what specific mental health issue is involved, and what treatment might be required. Two doctors and a recognised mental health professional need to be in agreement. That can then naturally lead to detention under Section 3 where you would receive the treatment. This can be for up to 6 months, but will be subject to regular review and can be renewed if need be. Legally you need to be told exactly what you are being detained for (for example, section 2 for assessment, or section 3 for treatment post assessment).

I’ll leave that for just now, but it’s important to remember that people who have had to be detained for reasons of safety can go on to make a full recovery. Mental health support in the UK is far from ideal but these important protections can be very useful for keeping someone safe when they’re not themselves.

If you’re having problems with your mental health, get in touch to talk about how counselling can help you move forward. You can drop me a message via the website or contact me directly at mckellarCBT@gmail.com.