Is This a Return to the Bad Old Days of Nurse Ratchet?

In the uncomfortably recent past, abuses in the treatment of Mental Illnesses were horrific see Psychiatric Treatment or Torture; and who could forget “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? But are monetary incentives driving current psychiatric treatment in the same direction? When ABC-affiliated, Dallas television station, WFAA, aired this documentary, it elicited a plethora of comments from people who had entered MH facilities for help or advice, and were locked up against their wills. Some were persuaded to agree to an overnight stay or two, but when they wanted to leave they were threatened with court orders or CYS. State law states that voluntarily admitted patients must be released within 4 hours if they wish to leave. Most alarmingly, this has been happening to children. As one teenager explained, “To think that criminals have more freedom than I was allowed!” and “It was the most traumatizing thing that ever happened to me!” and “To me, it was just torture.” This is what mental health advocates fought against in prior decades, but monetary incentives seem to be bringing it back.

Is this happening anywhere else? Please leave a comment if you have had this kind of experience.

The video advertises going to their page, WFAA.com/AgainstTheirWill where they provide resources to defend your rights, but as of 9/2/2021, the page comes up as “404 The page you are looking for can’t be Found”