Community treatment orders could save lives

Proposal offers reasonable restraint to those who may endanger themselves

By AUSTIN MARDON
Special to the WCR

Currently the province is debating revisions of the mental health act that would include the implementation of something called community treatment orders (CTOs).

These orders are the use of a legal procedure to force designated mentally ill patients, who are not currently competent to make their own treatment decisions, to receive treatment and/or medications for their illness while remaining in the community.

In many cases the public push behind the implementation of CTOs in other jurisdictions has come only after a mentally ill patient, who is off their medication, goes berserk and someone is injured or killed.

Even though the mentally ill are much more likely statistically to be violent towards themselves or to actually be a victim of a crime, the public spotlight only shines on their acts of violence. CTOs, if implemented in Alberta, could save many bipolar and schizophrenic lives, ease the public burden of repeated hospitalizations and heal families torn apart by the mental illness of a loved one.

Self-mutilation

The Church teaches us that we should not engage in self-mutilation. Anything that we consciously choose to do or not to do that injures our health can be considered a form of self-mutilation. Not cooperating with medical professionals and taking required medications, whatever your illness, is not taking proper care of the gift of life that God has given us.

It should be understood that the medications that are administered for schizophrenia, depression and bipolar have serious side effects. This is often why individuals choose to go against medical advice to their own detriment.

Medicine in the area of mental illness does not offer perfect treatments but they are the best that are available. When in the cloud of mental illness, a person often isn't capable of understanding the importance of taking medication because the illness often attacks that part of ourselves that would allow us to have the insight that there is something wrong.

I have seen many of my mentally ill friends' lives become derailed when they have stopped taking their medications. CTOs, as I understand they are going to be enacted, will be reserved for people who have had several admissions to hospital for psychiatric reasons.

Stringent criteria

The government is putting stringent criteria around the implementation of these orders, and they will be limited to only the most ill of patients.

An analogue to this situation is in how older people with Alzheimer's or dementia are not allowed to wander the streets in a fog and be a danger to themselves. We don't pick up people with brain injuries and throw them into jail for nuisance crimes committed because of their disability.

As a society we have decided to take care of the elderly when they lose their faculties. What is so different with people with schizophrenia and bipolar?

I have accepted my illness, and take my medications zealously. This has allowed me to retain a modicum of sanity, and to lead a fairly healthy life, even if it is not what most of society would consider "normal."

Many mentally ill get on a roller coaster because they lack the insight to know they are ill, and that going on and off medications will disrupt their lives over and over.

I have, through the grace of God, been given the insight to know that I have a serious illness, and will for the rest of my life have to take medication for it. CTOs are a drastic step that will only be used as a last resort, but hopefully will save the lives of the seriously mentally ill.

(Austin Mardon has had schizophrenia for the last 14 years and was just awarded the Order of Canada for his work on behalf of schizophrenics. His email is aamardon@yahoo.ca.)

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