Bruce Winick kicks Therapeutuc Jurisprudence up several notches in this remarkable new book. With uncommon erudition and in precise, elegant prose, he demonstrates how coercion to mental health treatment — in both its institutional and community forms — can be seen more clearly through the lens of a theory that takes seriously the therapeutic potential of law.” John Monahan , Ph.D., Doherty Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Bruce Winick ’s work on therapeutic jurisprudence has long been a beacon for anyone involved or interested in mental health law. This newest effort on his part will be another crucial reference point for mental health professionals, scholars, lawyers, judges and consumers of psychiatric treatment. Winick masterfully weaves together legal doctrine and empirical research into a practical guide for dealing with a wide range of issues concerning civil commitment, including the use of coercion by the state, the doctor-patient relationship, the definition of competency to make treatment decisions, and outpatient interventions. Winick deftly demonstrates that, through the prism of therapeutic jurisprudence, civil commitment can be viewed as a cooperative health-enhancing process, rather than a zero-sum battle between autonomy principles and treatment goals. — Christopher Slobogin, Stephen C. O’Connell Professor of Law, University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law

Bruce Winick ‘s new volume on civil commitment is the most important book-length work on that topic that has been published in my 35 years as a lawyer. It examines virtually every question raised by the commitment process, and rigorously analyzes each issue through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence. By way of one example, his chapter on international human rights law will immediately restructure how we think about the relationship between that body of law and all of mental disability law. This book is, to be concise, superb. — Michael L. Perlin, Professor of Law, New York Law School

Bruce Winick has done it again. ‘Civil Commitment: A Therapeutic Jurisprudence Model’ uses TJ comprehensively to challenge and provoke those who wish to do mental health law business as usual. It is required reading for mental health lawyers, advocates, and anyone interested in the intersection of mental health, law and social policy. — Stephen J. Morse, J.D., Ph.D., Ferdinand Wakeman Hubbell Professor of Law & Professor of Psychology and Law in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

Why be concerned about involuntary civil commitment in an era when it is difficult to get approval to admit even very disturbed psychiatric patients? In the first few pages of this important book, Winick makes the point that many patients continue to confront the reality of involuntary commitment. Then, using clear and graceful prose, he launches into an encyclopedic analysis of the historical, legal, clinical, and ethical issues surrounding involuntary commitment. Combining legal scholarship with clinical insights, Winick establishes a roster of challenging questions that provides a valuable guide for the theoretical and empirical work of those interested in mental health law and the treatment of the mentally ill. — J. Richard Ciccone, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Director, Psychiatry and Law Program, University of Rochester School of Medicine