Nigel Turner's HyperGUIDE to the Mental Health Act

It's for your own good

"This is for your own good" and "we know better than you" might be mantras of a totalitarian state, but they are also themes of the Mental Health Act.

There is a great deal of law which attempts to make sure that one citizen does nothing seriously to harm another. Examples include:

the Health and Safety at Work regulations
laws to control pollution
inspection and safe maintenance of road vehicles.

However, where the state might have role in protecting people from their own actions, the picture is much less consistent and more controversial. It is worth remembering this when considering whether it reasonable for a particular individual to be dealt with under the Mental Health Act with a view to their own health and safety. People do not always avoid risky, harmful or dangerous activities; and the state rarely steps in to prevent such activities when they represent a risk for the participant him/herself only. The introduction and maintenance of "for your own good" laws has been controversial, for example laws relating to:

motorcyclists having to wear helmets
car drivers / passengers having to wear seat belts
the use of certain "recreational" soft drugs.

Just because a person takes certain risks does not in itself mean that they are acting irrationally. For example, the following are deemed to be the actions of someone acting rationally - or at least the state does not step in to prevent them:

smoking tobacco
bungee jumping.

It is the author's view that an informed decision to cease taking medication for a mental health problem, even though this may increase the risk of a relapse, can be viewed as considerably more rational than jumping from a great height with only a piece of elastic tied round your ankles.

An informed decision not to accept psychiatric treatment, does not itself indicate a lack of insight, but a lack of insight can mean that such a decision is not properly informed.

These are important factors to keep in mind in respect of the Scope of the Mental Health Act, compared with the extent of state intervention in our lives generally.

Overview page. Contents page. Introduction page.

This page last revised 28 March 1996
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of information in these pages, they are not intended to be relied upon as an authoritative statement of the law. The author cannot accept liability for errors or omissions.