Can my therapist have me commited for self harm?
Basically what it says. Can my therapist have me put away if I tell him about my self harm without suicidal intent?
Posted Apr 6, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC
46
Depends on where you're from, your history, and your doctor.
In the UK, unless you are considered to be severely psychotic or are literally on the brink of killing yourself, it is unlikely you would be admitted to an inpatient ward. You would likely be referred to an outpatient crisis team who would be there for you while the feelings calm down.
In the USA, as far as I have seen, doctors are much more likely to prescribe inpatient treatment/sectioning.
The most important thing to do is to be honest with your therapist and trust that they (and your doctors) have your best interests at heart. They will do what it takes to keep you alive and well.
2
I've told doctors about self harm before and they've never committed me, I think they can but it's very unlikely. The patient has to be a serious danger to themselves or others.
1
No. Involuntary commitment is a last resort only used when the client clearly demonstrates that they are an imminent threat to themselves or someone else. You will not be committed if you make it clear, through both words and behavior, that you are not suicidal and have no intention of killing yourself. It will help if you say that you understand that SIB is dangerous, but you want to stop and you do everything you can to stay safe. Of course, don't say that if it isn't true.
You sometimes hear about people getting committed for SIB. Honestly, I have no idea where those stories come from because as far as I know nobody has ever been committed for having done what I mentioned above. Most likely, the people who were committed were hurting themselves severely (cutting extremely deeply to the point where you could feasibly kill yourself if you wanted to) and were so emotionally upset that the therapist couldn't let them walk out the door and think "Yeah, they're safe." People hear about those cases and think that they can't talk about their much more superficial self-injury because they're under the impression that ANY self-injury is cause for commitment when it isn't.
1
It's fairly unlikely. Don't worry about asking though, this comes up a lot.
Actually, is there anyway we could get this added to the FAQ thing in the sidebar? I feel like this is asked a few times a month.
1
Mine didn't initially but it had been escalating for a few months so when I went into the ER for stitches, the psych area they call crisis contacted mine and he told them it was best to keep me inpatient and they wouldn't let me leave and it was over 5 measly stitches. That however is just my anecdotal experience but I just got out last week.
1
In short... No.
To be sectioned you need to be a danger to yourself or others. They don't class self harm as life threatening danger.