This paper describes the prevalence of coercive and non-coercive effor
ts to influence patients' admission decisions in a psychiatric emergen
cy room. The findings are based on previously collected transcripts of
the interaction between patients and families and emergency room staf
f in 405 cases. Although a significant percentage of the patients were
involuntarily admitted, otherwise the most prominent pressures were e
fforts by attending physicians to persuade patients about what would b
e the most appropriate disposition. However, a detailed qualitative an
alysis of the interaction suggest that the clinical staffs power to co
mmit patients against their will affects the way all parties interpret
the staffs ''persuasion'' in such a way that it may be understood as
quite coercive.