What is it about?
People experiencing a mental health crisis need timely, compassionate, and clinically appropriate care. This article describes my personal experience of being arrested during a psychiatric hospitalization after staff relied on law enforcement instead of therapeutic intervention. I discuss how unclear crisis protocols and poor coordination between healthcare providers and police can negatively affect patient safety and recovery. By sharing my experience, I hope to encourage mental health professionals, healthcare organizations, and policymakers to strengthen crisis response practices and ensure that treatment not punishment is the priority during psychiatric emergency
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Why is it important?
It gives a voice to individuals whose mental health crises are often misunderstood or treated as criminal matters rather than medical emergencies. By sharing my experience, I hope to encourage mental health professionals to strengthen crisis protocols and provide more trauma-informed care. The article also emphasizes the importance of protecting patient dignity, safety, and human rights during times of vulnerability. Personal stories like mine can influence education, policy, and clinical practice. Most importantly, this work transforms a painful experience into an opportunity to advocate for positive change and better outcomes for others.
Perspectives
From my perspective it validates that my experiences as a psychiatric patient, veteran, and future counselor have meaning beyond my own story. It allows me to advocate for people who may not have the opportunity or ability to share their experiences. By bringing attention to gaps in crisis care and the impact of trauma-informed treatment, I hope to contribute to meaningful changes in mental health practice. Most importantly, this publication represents resilience transforming one of the most difficult moments of my life into an opportunity to educate, inspire, and improve care for others.
Davian Torrence
Grand Canyon University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: When Care Defers to Custody: A Failure of Clinical Preparedness, Psychiatric Services, June 2026, American Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20260289.
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