Kelly:
quote:
In the US (or at least my state) any medical doctor may order any person confined against his or her will for up to 72 hours, whenever the doctor believes that that person presents an imminent threat to himself or others. (The police can also confine people for up to 72 hours, but for suspected criminal activity, and that's outside the mental health system.) Only a court can order someone confined for more than 72 hours
Not quite true. If you commit YOURSELF, voluntarily, and then change your mind, they can only hold you 72 hours after you officially notify them that you'd like to go home instead of taking the pretty pills and watching the TV behind the wire cage. If, within that 72 hour period, the supervising shrink opts to go for a commitment hearing, it does not have to occur within the 72 hours, but only within the month to follow. If the shrink doesn't opt for it and 72 hours go by after your 72-hour-letter, they have to let you go.
But if the police choose to bring you in for observation, or you are directly committed by psychiatrists against your will at some point, a hearing is automatically scheduled which must occur within a month, and 72 hours do not come into play at all.
Original SDMB thread - How can you be committed against your will?
See my previous post on this same thread