Abstract
This paper examines the historical and legal evolution of the right to treatment, the complexity of creating standards, and problems of enforcing this right. During the last decade, several court cases have challenged the adequacy of the care and treatment received in mental hospitals by patients involuntarily institutionalized. Within the last 3 years, the courts have heard cases arguing the right to adequate treatment for all, voluntary and involuntary, residents of mental institutions and institutions for the retarded. The issue of the right to treatment is potentially the most significant in the mental health field today.
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