BACKGROUND: Compulsory admission procedures of patients with mental disorders vary between countries in Europe. The Ethics Committee of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) launched a survey on involuntary admission procedures of patients with mental disorders in 40 countries to gather information from all National Psychiatric Associations that are members of the EPA to develop recommendations for improving involuntary admission processes and promote voluntary care. METHODS: The survey focused on legislation of involuntary admissions and key actors involved in the admission procedure as well as most common reasons for involuntary admissions. RESULTS: We analyzed the survey categorical data in themes, which highlight that both medical and legal actors are involved in involuntary admission procedures. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that legal reasons for compulsory admission should be reworded in order to remove stigmatization of the patient, that raising awareness about involuntary admission procedures and patient rights with both patients and family advocacy groups is paramount, that communication about procedures should be widely available in lay-language for the general population, and that training sessions and guidance should be available for legal and medical practitioners. Finally, people working in the field need to be constantly aware about the ethical challenges surrounding compulsory admissions.

1st Pavlov State Medical University of St Petersburg Saint Petersburg Russian Federation

3rd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Adult Psychiatry Stockholm County Medical Area Stockholm Sweden

Armenian Psychiatric Association Yerevan Armenia

Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes Geneva Switzerland

Association of Neurologists Psychiatrists and Narcologists of Ukraine Kharkiv Ukraine

Association of Psychiatrists of Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry Madrid Spain

Austrian Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Vienna Austria

Azerbaijan Psychiatric Association Baku Azerbaijan

Belarusian Psychiatric Association Minsk Belarus

Belgium Professional Association of Medical Specialists in Psychiatry Brussel Belgium

Casa de Saúde da Idanha and San José Psychiatric Clinic Instituto das Irmãs Hospitaleiras do Sagrado Coração de Jesus Belas Portugal

Center of Psychosocial Recovery Yerevan State Medical University Yerevan Armenia

Children Mental Health Centre of Tallinn Children Hospital Tallinn Estonia

Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Germany

Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Ludwig Maximilians University Munich Munich Germany

Clinic for Psychiatry University of Kragujevac Kragujevac Serbia

Clinical Division of Social Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust London United Kingdom

College of Psychiatrists of Ireland Dublin Ireland

College Private Psychiatry of Bulgaria Sofia Bulgaria

Croatian Psychiatric Association Zagreb Croatia

Czech Psychiatric Association Prague Czech Republic

Danish Psychiatric Association Copenhagen Denmark

Department of Adult Psychiatry Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Dublin Ireland

Department of Developmental and Clinical Child Psychology at the Institute Psychology Eotvos Lorand University Budapest Hungary

Department of Emergency Psychiatry and Acute Care Lapeyronie Hospital Montpellier France

Department of Medical Sciences Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Belgrade Serbia

Department of Mental Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Norweigan University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway

Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Kharkiv Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education Kharkiv Ukraine

Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychiatry Ghent University Gent Belgium

Department of Psychiatry and Narcology Rīga Stradiņš University Riga Latvia

Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Teaching Department of Semmelweis University Budapest Hungary

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine Villach State Hospital Villach Austria

Department of Psychiatry Antwerp University Antwerpen Belgium

Department of Psychiatry Azerbaijan Medical University Baku Azerbaijan

Department of Psychiatry Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest Romania

Department of Psychiatry Clinical Psychology and Mental Health La Paz University Hospital Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid Spain

Department of Psychiatry Ege University School of Medicine Izmir Turkey

Department of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine Comenius University and University Hospital Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland

Department of Psychiatry Narcology and Medical Psychology State University of Medicine and Pharmacy Chișinău Republic of Moldova

Department of Psychiatry Pomeranian Medical University Szczecin Poland

Department of Psychiatry Psychiatric Hospital of Athens Athens Greece

Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine University of Oviedo Oviedo Spain

Department of Psychiatry Tbilisi State Medical University Tbilisi Georgia

Department of Psychiatry Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel Belgium

Department of Psychiatry University Clinical Center Tuzla Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

Department of Psychiatry University of Ljubljana Ljubljana Slovenia

Department of Psychiatry Warsaw Medical University Warsaw Poland

Department of Public Health Clinical and Molecular Medicine Università degli studi di Cagliari Sardinia Italy

Department of State Medical and Pharmaceutical University Nicolae Testemitanu Chișinău Republic of Moldova

Estonian Psychiatric Association Tartu Estonia

European Psychiatric Association Committee on Ethical Issues Strasbourg France

European Psychiatric Association Council of National Psychiatric Associations Strasbourg France

Faculty of Medicine Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway

Finnish Psychiatric Association Helsinki Finland

Flemish Association of Psychiatry Kortenberg Belgium

Fondation Bon Sauveur Bégard France

Forensic Psychiatry Department Bakirkoy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry Neurology and Neurosurgery Istanbul Turkey

Forensic Psychiatry Helsinki University and Helsinki University Hospital Helsinski Finland

French Congress of Psychiatry Paris France

French Federation of Psychiatry Paris France

German Association for Psychiatry Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics Berlin Germany

Groupe Hospitalier du Havre Université de Rouen Rouen France

Hungarian Psychiatric Association Budapest Hungary

Icelandic Psychiatric Association Kopavogur Iceland

Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia Moscow Russian Federation

Institute for Social Aesthetics and Mental Health Vienna Austria

Institute of Environmental Health Lisbon Portugal

Institute of Neurology Psychiatry and Narcology of the NAMS of Ukraine State Insitution Kharkiv Ukraine

Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris University of ParisParis France

Institute of regional Health Research University of Southern Denmark Odense Denmark

Israel Psychiatric Association Ramat Gan Israel

Italian Psychiatric Association Roma Italy

Latvian Psychiatric Association Riga Latvia

Lithuanian Psychiatric Association Vilnius Lithuania

Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Psychiatric Clinic Kaunas Lithuania

Ljubljana University Medical Centre Ljubljana Slovenia

Maltese Association of Psychiatry Attard Malta

Medical Psychology Department Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj NapocaRomania

Medical Psychology Department Yerevan State Mkhitar Herats Medical University Yerevan Armenia

Mental Health Centre Horta Guinardó Barcelona Spain

National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill Health Karolinska Institute Stockholm Sweden

National Mental Health Centre Baku Azerbaijan

Netherlands Psychiatric Association Utrecht Netherlands

Nikola Shipkovenski Mental Health Centre Sofia Bulgaria

North Stockholm Psychiatry Stockholm County Medical Area Stockholm Sweden

Norwegian Psychiatric Association Oslo Norway

Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Samsun Turkey

Polish Psychiatric Association Warsaw Poland

Portuguese Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health Lisbon Portugal

Psychiatric Association of Bosnia Herzegovina Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

Psychiatric Association of Eastern Europe and the Balkans Athens Greece

Psychiatric Association of Turkey Ankara Turkey

Psychiatric Centre of the Tallinn West Central Hospital Tallinn Estonia

Psychiatric Department Landspitali University Hospital of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland

Psychiatry and Medical Psychology Department Belarusian State Medical University Minsk Belarus

Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy Stradina Department University of Riga Riga Latvia

Regional Resource Center of old age Psychiatry AP HP Centre Université de Paris Corentin Celton Hospital Paris France

Romanian Association of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bucharest Romania

Royal College of Psychiatrists London United Kingdom

Russian Society of Psychiatrists Moscow Russian Federation

Serbian Psychiatric Association Belgrade Serbia

Sigmund Freud University Vienna Austria

Slovak Psychiatric Association Bratislava Slovakia

Slovenian Psychiatric Association Ljubljana Slovenia

Society of Georgian Psychiatrists Tbilisi Georgia

Society of Psychiatrists Narcologists Psychotherapists and Clinical Psychologists from the Republic of Moldova Chișinău Moldova

Spanish Society of Psychiatry Madrid Spain

St Loman's Hospital Mullingar Ireland

St Petersburg 5 M Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute St Petersburg Russian Federation

Swedish Psychiatry Association Sundsvall Sweden

Swiss Society of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern Switzerland

University of Central Lancashire Preston United Kingdom

University of Malta Msida Malta

University of Montpellier CHRU Montpellier Montpellier France

Zagreb School of Medicine and Zagreb University Hospital Centre Zagreb Croatia

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