Mandatory Outpatient Treatment
RESOURCE DOCUMENT

Approved by the Board of Trustees, December 1999

Prepared by the Council on Psychiatry and Law.

Mandatory outpatient treatment refers to court-ordered outpatient treatment for patients who suffer from severe mental illness and who are unlikely to be compliant with such treatment without a court order. Mandatory outpatient treatment is a preventative treatment for those who do not presently meet criteria for inpatient commitment. It should be used for patients who need treatment in order to prevent relapse or deterioration that would predictably lead to their meeting the inpatient commitment criteria in the foreseeable future.