The Mental health court session that I observed was focused on issues regarding commitment issues. There were seven cases on the docket on the day that I attended. The cases ranged from individuals dealing with bipolar disorder to paranoid schizophrenia. Some of the individuals had been brought in because they had made threats to their families and to members of their communities, while others had reported to having hallucinations and delusions of people trying to harm them. One of the cases that stood out the most, was an individual suffering with paranoid schizophrenia had been in and out of institutions for most of his life, and the main reason for the individuals return was due to being noncompliant with medications. . This court had …show more content…
Some even made outburst during the proceedings, voicing how they did not agree with the doctor’s recommendation for them to stay a little while longer in the facilities. Some would slump down in their chair quietly and not say a word, while others came into the courtroom loud and boisterous. The judge had to ask several of the individuals to be quiet and to allow the doctors to say what they needed to say. Some of them would just start rabbling about things that were not pertaining to the hearing and would seem to become visibly upset while listening to the doctor give their report. Overall they all seemed to accept the ruling, even if they didn’t agree with it. The judge was very patient with them and offered words of encouragement while handing down her ruling.
I agreed with the judge’s decision to keep all of the client a little while longer so the doctor could keep monitoring their drugs for therapeutic effectiveness and to get some of them set up with a case manager. I think overall, it was a great experience to see firsthand what goes into trying to commit an individual for mental evaluation. The judge seemed to be concerned with the public’s safety and with connecting the individual with resources in the community to aid in their