Dilemmas in the case manager’s role: Implementing involuntary treatment in the community

Abstract

Frontline non-medical practitioners in mental health services are frequently working as case managers with involuntary clients in the community who are subject to community treatment orders (CTOs). In this work they often experience tensions between the various legal and organisational expectations of their role, their professional orientation and wider understandings of social justice and consumer rights. This paper reviews literature on the purpose and efficacy of CTOs before discussing the current, limited role of the case manager within the Mental Health Review Board (MHRB) process in Victoria. In the concluding sections, it is argued that a more involved function for the case manager ma..