Moving Away from Coercion in Mental Health Care: Second Edition
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 256
Special Issue Editors
Interests: trauma-informed care; BVC; safewards; recovery; violence prevention strategies; human rights in mental health care; user participation; coercion in mental health care; recovery-oriented mental health services
Interests: aggression management training; alternatives to coercion; attitudes towards coercion
2. Institute of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Interests: trauma informed care; safewards; recovery; violence prevention strategies; human rights in mental health care; user-participation; coercion in mental health care; recovery-oriented mental health services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Invitation to contribute to the Special Issue: Moving Away from Coercion in Mental Health Care: Second Edition.
This Special Issue focuses on advancing mental health care systems that move away from coercive measures, prioritizing patient dignity, autonomy, and culturally inclusive care. Coercive practices, such as forced treatment or restraint, can have severe psychological and emotional impacts on both patients and health care professionals, undermining trust and recovery. Developing sustainable alternatives to coercion is essential for creating ethical, patient-centered mental health systems.
Despite growing knowledge about the risks of coercion and interventions to reduce its use, embedding these practices in clinical care remains a challenge. Implementation science offers vital tools to bridge the gap between research and practice, fostering the adoption of evidence-based approaches in diverse mental health settings.
This Special Issue welcomes original research and reviews on key topics, including the following:
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of coercion research.
- Cross-cultural studies on reducing coercion.
- Implementation models for non-coercive interventions.
- Research addressing the needs of vulnerable populations (e.g., traumatized, older adults, individuals with disabilities).
By contributing to this Special Issue, you can help shape a future where coercive measures are replaced by compassionate, integrated care practices that prioritize the well-being and rights of individuals in mental health systems.
Kind regards,
Dr. Jacob Hvidhjelm
Dr. Jakub Lickiewicz
Dr. Lene Lauge Berring
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- coercion
- coercion prevention
- coercion alternatives
- implementation science
- attitudes towards coercion
- cultural diversity
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Related Special Issue
- Moving Away from Coercion in Mental Health Care in Healthcare (13 articles)
