Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Who Initiates Emergency Commitments?

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Florida’s Mental Health Act was amended in 2005 and 2006 to include licensed mental health counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists, respectively, to the list of professionals authorized to initiate emergency commitments. The present study evaluates the volume of involuntary emergency commitments by type of initiator for a 5 year period. The results indicate that allowing licensed mental health counselors and licensed marriage and family therapist to initiate emergency commitments has not been related to increased numbers of emergency commitments or a higher proportion of emergency commitments being initiated by mental health professionals. Potential policy and fiscal implications, as well as future directions for research, are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baker Act Workgroup. (2005). The fiscal impact of permitting licensed mental health counselors to initiate Baker Act involuntary examinations: A report by the Baker Act Workgroup based on findings by the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute Study of a Baker Act Pilot Project. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute. Retrieved from http://www.floridamhca.org/bawrkgrp.pdf.

  • FL. Admin. Code, 65E-5. (2008). Mental Health Act Regulation.

  • FL. Stat. Chap. 491.005. (2007). Licensure by examination.

  • FL. Stat. Chap. 394. (2008). Florida Mental Health Act, §§. 394. 451-394.4789.

  • Fixsen, D. L., Naoom, S. F., Blase, K. A., Friedman, R. M., & Wallace, F. (2005). Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network. (FMHI Publication No. 231).

    Google Scholar 

  • McFall, R. M. (2006). Doctoral training in clinical psychology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 2, 21–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2006). Grading the states: A report on America’s health care system for serious mental illness. Accessed on February 12, 2008 from http://www.nami.org/content/navigationmenu/grading_the_states/project_overview/overview.htm.

  • Office of the Attorney General of Florida. (2008). Advisory legal opinion AGO 2008-31 [Baker Act - Physician Assistants]. Accessed on Oct 19, 2008 from http://www.myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/71F977AFC82AE8EC85257459006F292A.

  • Ruel, H. J. M. (2000). Reconsidering our team effectiveness models: A call for an integrative paradigm. In M. M. Beyerlein, D. A. Johnson, & S. T. Beyerlein (Eds.), Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams (7th ed., pp. 173–185). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, C. (1987). Turf issues in CMHCs. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 38, 1225–1226.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL, 33612, USA

    Annette Christy & Ezra Ochshorn

  2. Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Jessica B. Handelsman

  3. de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute Research Library, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Ardis Hanson

Authors
  1. Annette Christy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jessica B. Handelsman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ardis Hanson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ezra Ochshorn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Annette Christy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Christy, A., Handelsman, J.B., Hanson, A. et al. Who Initiates Emergency Commitments?. Community Ment Health J 46, 188–191 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-009-9216-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-009-9216-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation