Consumer perceptions of involuntary outpatient commitment.

This study examined beliefs about the provisions of outpatient commitment and their effects among 306 people with severe and persistent mental illness who were awaiting a period of outpatient commitment. More than 80 percent of the respondents perceived that the court order for outpatient commitment required them to keep their appointments at the mental health center and to take medication as prescribed. More than three-quarters believed that the outpatient commitment order made it more likely that people would keep their mental health appointments, take their medication, and stay out of the hospital.