by Leah Ida Harris | Sep 25, 2026 | Assisted Outpatient Treatment, Interview, Mental Health, New York, Psychiatric Confinement
Involuntary psychiatric treatment is a cornerstone of Donald Trump’s mental health policy, and liberal governors like Gavin Newsom, Kathy Hochul, and Wes Moore have also increasingly embraced coercive approaches to mental health care. Yet a central question often goes unaddressed by the lawmakers putting forth these policies: What happens when we force people to accept psychiatric care via court…
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by Leah Ida Harris | Nov 26, 2025 | Disability Justice, disability rights, involuntary hospitalization, Massachusetts, Mental Health, News, Psychiatric Confinement, psychiatric facilities, Psychiatry, racial bias, Racism
On November 18, 2025, Massachusetts advocates gathered for hours at the State House as they have, year after year, to beat back yet another legislative proposal for involuntary outpatient commitment, or IOC. Involuntary outpatient commitment laws create a layer of specialized courts that use the so-called “Black Robe Effect,” which uses a judge’s authority to compel people with diagnoses of…
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