Voluntary and Involuntary Commitment

Scenario for Week 7 Case:
You are a PMHNP working in a large intercity hospital. You receive a call from the answering service informing you that a “stat” consult has been ordered by one of the hospitalists in the ICU. Upon arriving in the ICU, you learn that your consult is a 14 year old male who overdosed on approximately 50 Benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride) tablets in an apparent suicide attempt. At the scene, a suicide note was found indicating that he wanted to die because his girlfriend’s parents felt that their daughter was too young to be “dating.” The client stated in the suicide note that he could not “live without her” and decided to take his own life. Although he has been medically stabilized and admitted to the ICU, he has been refusing to talk with the doctors or nurses. The hospital staff was finally able to get in touch with the clients parents (using contact information retrieved from the 14 year old’s cell phone). Unbeknown to the hospital staff, the parents are divorced, and both showed up at the hospital at approximately the same time, each offering their own perspectives on what ought to be done. The client’s father is demanding that the client be hospitalized because of the suicide, but his mother points out that he does not have “physical custody” of the child. The client’s mother demands that the client be discharged to home with her stating that her son’s actions were nothing more than a “stunt” and “an attempt at manipulating the situation that he didn’t like.” The client’s mother then becomes “nasty” and informs you that she works as a member of the clerical staff for the state board of nursing, and if you fail to discharge her child “right now” she will make you “sorry.” How would you proceed?

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The Assignment (2–3 pages):
Based on the scenario, would you recommend that the client be voluntarily committed? Why or why not?
Based on the laws in your state, would the client be eligible for involuntary commitment? Explain why or why not.
Did understanding the state laws confirm or challenge your initial recommendation regarding involuntarily committing the client? Explain.
If the client were not eligible for involuntary commitment, explain what actions you may be able to take to support the parents for or against voluntary commitment.
If the client were not eligible for involuntary commitment, explain what initial actions you may be able to take to begin treating the client.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Voluntary and Involuntary Commitment
The client should be involuntarily committed because he may repeat the same act when left alone because of the environment he is exposed to at home. It is based on the fact that he is still young and cannot make the correct judgment of what he wants. Another issue contributing to my support of involuntary treatment is the state of his parents. They are currently divorced and do not seem to agree on anything (Smith et al., 2014). They, therefore, cannot offer proper guidance and care to the boy if …