Protection and advocacy: an ethics practice in mental health

This paper reports the findings of investigations into allegations of patient abuse and the implications for policy and practice. These investigations were carried out by a nurse with a background in ethics for the office of Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI), a state agency operating under a United States federal law entitling it to investigate complaints by psychiatric patients. PAIMI uses investigations both to help individuals and to provide an avenue for broader change. There are four steps in the investigation process: (1) definition of the problem; (2) gathering information; (3) synthesis; and (4) addressing the problem. Cases are presented to illustrate the investigation process and identify ethical issues arising in mental health treatment. Among the issues raised are autonomy and forced treatment, deinstitutionalization, bias against the mentally ill, privacy, and surrogate treatment decisions. Resolutions range from providing individual advice to clients or clinicians, to changes in institutional policy and the publication of guidelines for specific situations. The following lessons were learnt from the investigations: (1) tell patients what to expect; (2) pay attention to the process of giving care; (3) allow patients to feel ambivalent about treatment; and (4) work to develop good relationships; underlying every investigation has been a poor relationship.