Abstract
Sitting at my kitchen table were two GPs, one psychiatrist, one approved social worker, one member of the local mental health crisis team and one very depressed person. Me. I felt much more depressed about being assessed for compulsory admission to a psychiatric hospital than I did about the ‘real’ cause of my illness. My gloom at the prospect of being sectioned was compounded when, in the middle of the proceedings and before the professionals discussed my fate with each other, an ambulance turned up to collect me! A psychiatrist friend to whom I subsequently moaned about this order of events was unsympathetic: “At least you didn't have the police as well.” Indeed. The issue of violence in mental health services is a major concern for patients and staff and this article takes a quick look at some current approaches to tackling the problem and at some of the similarities between psychiatric and prison experiences.