Editing Outpatient commitment (section)

{{short description|Legal power to control behavior of mental health patients while in the community}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Globalize|article|North America|Western Europe|date=October 2017}}
{{Primary sources|date=October 2017}}
{{POV|date=March 2022}}
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{{Involuntary treatment sidebar}}
'''Outpatient commitment'''—also called '''assisted outpatient treatment''' ('''AOT''') or '''community treatment orders''' ('''CTO''')—refers to a civil court procedure wherein a legal process orders an individual diagnosed with a severe [[mental disorder]] to adhere to an outpatient treatment plan designed to prevent further deterioration or recurrence that is harmful to themselves or others.

This form of [[involuntary treatment]] is distinct from [[involuntary commitment]] in that the individual subject to the order continues to live in their home community rather than being detained in hospital or incarcerated. The individual may be subject to rapid recall to hospital, including medication over objections, if the conditions of the order are broken, and the person's mental health deteriorates.  This generally means taking [[psychiatric medication]] as directed and may also include attending appointments with a [[mental health professional]], and sometimes even not to take non-prescribed illicit drugs and not associate with certain people or in certain places deemed to have been linked to a deterioration in [[mental health]] in that individual.

The criteria and process for outpatient commitment are established by law, which vary among nations and, in the U.S. and Canada, among states or provinces. Some jurisdictions require court hearings, where a judge will make a court order, and others require that treating [[psychiatrists]] comply with a set of requirements before compulsory treatment is instituted. When a court process is not required, there is usually a form of appeal to the courts or appeal to or scrutiny by tribunals set up for that purpose. Community treatment laws have generally followed the worldwide trend of [[psychiatric hospital|community treatment]]. See [[mental health law]] for details of countries which do not have laws that regulate compulsory treatment.