[Denial of addiction as a mental disorder in the Dutch Compulsory Care Act].

Abstract

Background: It is difficult to qualify patients with substance-related and addictive disorders for the Dutch Compulsory Care Act (Wvggz) AIM: Investigating factors that influence rejections of substance-related and addictive disorders as mental disorders in the Wvggz RESULTS: Substance-related and addictive disorders are assessed differently as mental disorder than other psychiatric disorders under both the old Dutch Special Admissions Act (Bopz) and the Wvggz. It is often not made clear whether the assessment is made from the medical-psychiatric or legal domain.

Conclusion: To qualify patients with substance-related and addictive disorders for the Wvggz, a medical-psychiatric classification and/or diagnosis must be converted into the required legal terms in as structured a manner as possible. It is also undesirable for a law and therefore the court to determine whether there is a mental disorder. This belongs to the medical-psychiatric domain.