Experience of being detained under Section 136 of the MHA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do people arrive at and make sense of their experience of being detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act? (1983, 2007)
IRAS ID
165306
Contact name
Thomas Goodall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
The Mental Health Act (1983, 2007) is an act of the United Kingdom Parliament providing legislation around caring for those who are suspected to be mentally disordered. The act covers the detention, assessment and ‘treatment’ of someone with a mental health disorder who is unable to seek or consent to treatment themselves. Section 136 allows a police officer to detain anybody suspected of suffering from a ‘mental disorder’ in a public place to be detained for the purposes of a mental health assessment. This detention can be made without the individuals consent in order to protect the individual themselves from any potential harm, or to remove the risk of harm to other people around them.
Research to date has focused on the use of the act and demographics associated with those detained Hampson, 2011, Apakama, 2012). Despite the distressing nature of being detained, there is relatively little research into the experience. Research to date has reported how those detained often feel criminalised, and a lack of communication of information between the police and detainees. Understanding the experience of being detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (1983, 2007) could provide a unique opportunity to explore what help the individual sought prior to being detained. Further understanding this might add to evidence for how caring organisations could help prevent somebody reaching a point of crisis. This study therefore aims to understand what help that was sought prior to an individual being detained, and explore the experience of being detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (1983, 2007). The proposed research will be a qualitative study. Participants will be asked to undertake an initial interview exploring the help they sought prior to detention, and an optional second interview exploring their experience of detention under Section 136.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0122
Date of REC Opinion
7 May 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion