The Massachusetts Mental Health System - 1371 Words

The Massachusetts’ mental health system is a broad system consisting of public and private institutions, health insurance, laws and public policies. The Department of Mental Health (DMH) is a core part of the Massachusetts’ mental health system. This state run organization was put in place to ensure mental health services to the mentally ill and to fund research aimed at finding the causes of mental health. ( dept mental health info)Due to the deinstitutionalization process beginning in 1955, when many state run hospitals were closed because of the development in antipsychotic medication (p53), the DMH increased its support in community services, such as community mental health centers.( dmh) The DMH still supports the existing state run†¦show more content†¦I chose to write about the mental health system because I suffer from mental illness. I also have several, past and present, friends who are mentally ill. I specifically wanted to explore Section 12: Emergency restraint and hospitalization of persons posing risk of serious harm by reason of mental illness of the Massachusetts General Law. I had a friend who was self-harming. She was convinced she had developed multiple personalities and suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). A group of her friends, including myself, got together and wanted to Section 12 her but we did not meet the qualifications to do so. Section 12 is a policy under the Mental Health Chapter 123 of the Administrative Government of Massachusetts General Laws. This policy details how a mentally ill individual may be restrained or hospitalized due to the serious probability of hurting him/her/themselves or others. Part (a) of Section 12 declares that a licensed professional, such as a physician, nurse, psychiatric nurse mental health clinical specialist, phycologist, or clinical social worker may apply for temporary involuntary hospitalization. The licensed professional must personally examine the individual and deem it necessary in order to prevent harm of the individual or others. The individual who is being hospitalized under section 12 is immediately sent to a licensed facility, such as