Can A Registered Psychotherapist Make Involuntary Commitments In Colorado

Updated February 4, 2022

The involuntary civil commitment process in Colorado allows law or medical professionals to detain someone in certain situations. The goal of this emergency detention is to protect someone who is suffering from mental bug.

The detention can last for up to 72 hours. It can plough into a longer treatment after a court hearing. People cannot be held in jail during this time. Instead, they have to exist evaluated and treated for their mental health condition.

Example: Margaret threatens to commit suicide. Police make emergency detention and commit her to the infirmary.

In this article, our Denver Colorado criminal defense attorneys will explain:

A man being restrained.

The Colorado involuntary civil commitment process allows constabulary or medical professionals to detain someone in certain situations.

i. What is the involuntary ceremonious delivery procedure?

The involuntary civil commitment process allows police force and some other people to make a civil arrest. This civil arrest is often chosen an emergency detention. Emergency detentions aim to keep mentally unstable people from causing harm. The law that allows this is CRS 27-65-105.^one

There are but a few circumstances that allow for an emergency detention. If one of these situations exists, you can exist detained against your volition. Police are non the only people who can make an emergency detention. The civil delivery process does not bring you to jail, though. Instead, it brings yous to a mental wellness facility or infirmary.

One time there, you get evaluated by a mental wellness professional person. The detention is only temporary. Once it is over, you are released from the facility. You volition often exist referred to outpatient intendance. If the mental health professional person yet thinks you are a chance, they can asking a court to commit y'all for longer.

2. When can there be an emergency detention?

Under CRS 27-65-105(one), an emergency detention can but happen in two situations:

Someone seems to have a mental wellness disorder and poses an imminent danger, and
A judge signs an affidavit that someone seems to take a mental health disorder and poses an imminent danger.

To put someone in emergency detention, at that place needs to be probable crusade that they need help.ⁱⁱ Requiring likely crusade protects your due procedure rights.³

ii.i. Who can make an emergency detention?

Only sure people tin offset the involuntary civil commitment process. These people are listed in CRS 27-65-105(i)(a)(II). They include:

A certified peace officeholder, including a police officer,
Anyone with a medical license,
A licensed psychologist,
A licensed nurse with experience in psychiatric or mental wellness,
A licensed marriage or family unit therapist with mental health experience,
A professional counselor with mental health experience,
An addiction counselor with experience evaluating mental health disorders, and
A licensed clinical social worker.

2.2. Where can the detained person be held?

The involuntary civil delivery process can bring someone to a medical facility. This facility has to be canonical for emergency detentions.

In some cases, there is no available medical facility canonical for civil commitments. In these cases, the emergency detention has to bring the person to the emergency room.

If you have been involuntary committed, you cannot be brought to jail. CRS 27-65-105(2) makes this very clear. It also prohibits bringing y'all anywhere that is used to hold criminal suspects. This includes a holding prison cell or lockup.

3. What happens during an involuntary civil commitment?

If you lot take been committed against your will, you volition be brought to a treatment facility. Once at that place, you volition go through the admission process. Once you lot are admitted, you will receive a mental wellness evaluation as shortly every bit possible.

Over the form of the next 72 hours, you volition receive care from a mental health professional. During that time, the psychologist will try to decide what kind of care you need. They can practise i of three things:

Decide that you do not demand the full 72 hours of handling. If they decide y'all do non need further intendance, you will exist released.
Provide 72 hours of handling and then release you. Y'all will ofttimes be referred to outpatient services for boosted care. This treatment is voluntary.
Provide 72 hours of treatment and then recommend a short-term commitment. The curt-term commitment involves further inpatient care. This hospital stay can last up to iii months. This determination triggers a court process under CRS 27-65-107.

Before long after your release, yous volition be provided with a re-create of your admission documents. These documents item what happened that led to your delivery. These documents will include information nigh:

Why you were the subject of an emergency detention,
Who fabricated the emergency detention and why they chose to make ane,
When the detention occurred, and
Who, if anyone, called the police about your mental condition.

4. How long does involuntary civil commitment last?

An involuntary civil delivery can simply terminal 72 hours, or three days. That does non include weekends, holidays, or whatever 24-hour interval that handling is not available.

However, the psychologist providing treatment can recommend further care. If they think you are gravely disabled or are a threat to yourself or others, they can certify y'all for more treatment. If you practice not agree to this treatment, it volition trigger a court process under CRS 27-65-107. If you get certified for more care, information technology can last upwardly to 3 months.

Involuntary civil commitment tin also be cut curt. If the psychologist treating y'all thinks you are non a threat, y'all can exist released before 72 hours pass.

v. What happens if the psychologist recommends further handling?

If the treating psychologist thinks you are a chance, they tin recommend farther care. If you exercise not consent to it, they can certify you for curt-term care. They tin also certify you if you consent, but they remember you volition not stay for the full handling.

The recommendation for further intendance has to be filed in court inside 48 hours. It also has to exist filed and signed by the psychologist who made the conclusion. The recommendation has to requite reasonable grounds to believe that:

You are mentally ill, and
You are either gravely disabled or a danger to yourself or others.

Someone is considered gravely disabled if they cannot care for their basic personal needs.⁴ Those daily needs include:

Eating,
Finding clothes to wearable,
Living within, and
Getting medical care.^five

These problems have to exist a nowadays condition, not a potential one.⁶ You can as well be gravely disabled if you lot are unable to make informed decisions about your life without significant supervision.⁷

You have to be provided with this recommendation inside 24 hours. Y'all can appoint someone to be informed of the certification procedure. You also take a correct to a lawyer at the certification hearing.

The certification hearing happens at courtroom. The hearing is required, or else your due procedure rights can be violated.⁸ The psychologist pushing for farther treatment has to evidence that information technology is necessary. The court tin appoint another mental health expert to evidence. The estimate or jury will simply certify you if they think at that place is clear and convincing evidence that farther treatment is needed. Simply then can you exist certified for up to 3 months against your will.

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