f Mental Health Law Doctrines on Families: Paternalism and Parens Patritie 209best for their relatives. Currently, psychologists and judges make judgments with
respect to the rights of individuals who are committed. However, these individuals
place a professional standard on civil commitment determinations. Ultimately, these
decisions lack a more personal understanding from those family members who
represent the true needs of the committed patient.
There are aspects of familial relations that are beneficial for determining what is
best for an individual. For example, family members may possess a better awareness
about the type of programs and activities to which an individual could respond. This
is because family members have a personal connection with the individual. Court-
appointed servants, however, lack this subjective knowledge about the committee.
Thus, their decisions often do not embody all of a given situation's dynamics, and
solely reflect documented information.
Despite the obvious advantages, good-intentioned family members, representing
the interests of another individual, have often found it virtually impossible to get
the care they feel would be most effective for their relative. As a result, the voices of
invested family members frequently have been silenced. For these family members,
in order to obtain the care they deem proper, several legal barriers must be hurdled.
Then, too. there is the risk that the courts will not respect the wishes of family
members for a variety of political and economic reasons (e.g., the case of Mrs.
Packard).
Many debates exist which argue over whether the current implementation of
parens patriae and paternalism in the civil commitment arena is any better than it
was decades ago, considering the effect it has had on the family. In the process of
protecting the mentally ill from family members who did not represent the best
interests of the patient, relatives who are genuinely concerned now have to prove
their well-meaning intentions to commit a relation in order for that person to
receive proper care. This practice is far removed from the historical assumption that
tamilv members will look out for the best interest of their relatives.
Forensic Psychology and Policy Implications
It is difficult to balance the views of the individual, family, and the state when dealing
with the issue of mental hospital commitment. First and foremost, the individual
should always have his/her liberties protected, yet, in most instances, the individual
is incapable or too young to fight for such rights. This is why the doctrines of
parens patriae and paternalism were established. However, when the state is given
the power to act as a parent for an individual, the decisions made are going to reflect
the politics and economics of that time. There needs to be some consistency in how
these doctrines are implemented and what foci should be taken. As it stands, we
have come to a point where the interests of the mentally ill are determined by public
defenders and specialists. These specialists need to be appointed by the courts and
not by advocates on either side of the debate. The experts, whether psychologists or