TOWARD A THERAPEUTIC JURISPRUDENCE ANALYSIS OF MEDICATION REFUSAL IN THE COURT REVIEW MODEL

A therapeutic jurisprudence analysis attempts to discern the role of l egal proceedings, lawyers and judges in producing therapeutic or anti- therapeutic consequences. This paper will attempt to use the therapeut ic jurisprudence framework to analyze the legal and administrative asp ects of court review as it was reported during a one year epidemiologi c study of drug refusal. Characteristics of the review process, the ef fect on patient refusal, and the attitudes of treating psychiatrists a re presented. To broaden the clinical context of the administrative fi ndings, selected clinical characteristics of refusing patients, their attitudes toward mental illness, reasons for refusing medication and s atisfaction with court review will be described. The discussion attemp ts to show how the initial administrative study findings may be interp reted in the broader context of their relationship to the achievement of therapeutic outcomes.