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Mental health patients are denied authority over treatment decisions far more often than patients with other types of disorders. Only psychiatric patients are routinely subjected to clinical interventions that they have specifically refused. Treatment is often forced on these patients for the benefit of others as well as themselves, further complicating ethical consideration. In one survey of patients’ and nurses’ opinions of seclusion, both said that the other patients benefited more than the secluded patient. 1 Coerced treatment for a communal benefit is unique in healthcare outside of certain public health measures. Two issues must be balanced to develop a standard that ensures a sound ethical justification for restricting patients with mental disorders: a respect for the patient’s autonomy and a beneficent concern for the welfare of the individual. Currently, when a patient refuses treatment that a clinician determines is …