Compulsory community treatment: ethical considerations.

Compulsory community treatment (CCT) of people with serious mental health problems is analysed using the bioethical principles of autonomy and beneficence. Feminist ethical theory is then used to clarify these principles as they relate to community commitment of the severely and persistently mentally ill. Finally, a model of practice is proposed as an alternative to CCT in which both autonomy and beneficence are better served.