After witnessing a few recent incidents, the Washington State legislature is voting to change its involuntary treatment law. At present, unless a person poses danger either to himself or to others, the involuntary treatment is avoided. So, this law needs an amendment, which will surely help many patients.

Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT), is followed in Washington, which is one of the 43 states doing the same. AOT permits mentally ill patients to stay in treatment as a condition to live in the community. The patients are provided with protections, treatment plans, etc., to suffice their living amidst the society.

One can call it a not so costly, less restrictive and more humane substitute to inpatient commitment. Since 1980, the kith and kin of such patients have been requesting for the use of AOT, but in vain.

A study of Kendra's Law, in which mentally ill individuals receiving AOT and a control group were compared, was released on February by Columbia University. It says, "Individuals given mandatory outpatient treatment--who were more violent to begin with--were nevertheless four times less likely than members of the control group to perpetrate serious violence after undergoing treatment".

According to the study published in the journal Psychiatric Services, researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health have firmly decided that the out-patient treatment for mentally ill people should be stopped and they should be treated as in-patients in case they exhibit any criminal behavior or tendency.