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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!tektronix!tekid!tekig1!barbaral
From: barbaral@tekig1.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Psych hosp. "voluntary" committment
Message-ID: <1329@tekig1.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 13-Sep-83 14:17:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekig1.1329
Posted: Tue Sep 13 14:17:58 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Sep-83 04:23:19 EDT
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 13

What can happen is that a person voluntarily commits himself to the
psych hospital.  Once he is in the hospital, the hospital psychiatrist
can determine that the person cannot leave the hospital for a certain
length of time.  The only channel for the person to get out is to
get a court hearing on about it, or convince the psychiatrist that he
is in such a state of mind to leave the hospital.  At least that's
how it worked in California.  So true, the person voluntarily commits
himself, but that doesn't mean he can get out as easily as he got in.
Usually the criterion the psychiatrist uses is if the person is a
danger to himelf or a danger to others (there might be one more criterion
I'm forgetting).  Police officers and ministers I think can also make
this judgement, and decide to commit the person.