Respect for self-determination and use of coercion in the treatment of mentally ill persons: an ethical position statement of the DGPPN

Abstract

Respect for patient self-determination is a central ethical principle of medical care. Every person has the right to make decisions regarding his or her health autonomously, even if these decisions appear irrational to third parties. Free and informed consent is the necessary prerequisite for every diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. A patient's ability for self-determination is one requirement for valid consent. In illness, the ability for self-determination may be limited or absent in individual cases. An ethical dilemma arises if severely ill patients who are unable to make autonomous decisions put their health at significant risk and refuse medical procedures in this situation. While non-treatment can be severely detrimental to health, forced procedures can result in traumatization and can damage the relationship of trust between the doctor and patient. The dilemma is intensified in cases of danger to others. In these difficult situations doctors, therapists and nursing staff require ethical guidance for the professional conduct. The primary objective thereby is to avoid coercion. For this purpose recommendations for medical practice are formulated that can reduce the use of forced procedures (e.g. de-escalation procedures, communication competency, clinical ethics counseling, treatment agreements and patient living wills) or if they are unavoidable, that allow them to be conducted in an ethically and legally appropriate way. Further and continued education must pay greater attention to this ethical objective; therefore, for ethical reasons adequate personnel, spatial and structural are vital in hospitals.