Dear colleagues,
I hope this email finds you well. I am currently in Indonesia conducting research on pasung and efforts to abolish the practice, focusing on its intersections with family violence and coercion in mental health. Pasung refers to the practice of physically restraining individuals with mental health conditions, often through shackling, chaining, or confinement in small spaces. Historically rooted in cultural and economic factors, pasung persists due to the lack of accessible and non-coercive mental health care, stigma surrounding mental illness, and the family’s role as the primary caregiver in settings where state support is inadequate. Despite national policies aimed at eradicating the practice, it remains widespread in Indonesia and other countries with similar socio-political contexts, where families—left with no viable alternatives—resort to extreme measures to manage distressing behaviors.
As part of my ongoing work, I am writing a comparative European - Indonesian historical and policy analysis aimed at understanding and ultimately helping to end these forms of abuse while improving practices. To strengthen this research, I kindly ask for your recommendations on authors and materials addressing similar issues in the European context, particularly on the following:
- Family’s role in executing forced interventions normalized by mental health systems
- How families are placed in the position of enforcing coercive measures, such as forced drugging and seclusion (whether perceived as needed temporarily or maintained permanently).
- How family members are pressured or guided to facilitate further coercive interventions by mental health professionals or institutions.
- The failure of current mental health systems to uncover prior and ongoing family abuses
- How mental health institutions overlook histories of domestic violence and abuse when assessing individuals.
- How these systems inadvertently promote further harm by trapping victims in a cycle of systemic and family-led coercion.
Any literature, studies, or policy analyses that explore these dimensions—whether historical, sociological, legal, or psychiatric—would be greatly appreciated. I hope to build a nuanced comparative framework that highlights systemic patterns across different contexts, ultimately advocating for change. I am also happy to co-author and collaborate with anyone interested.
Thank you in advance for any insights or references you can share. I look forward to hearing your insights.
Best regards,
Henning (né Enric) Garcia Torrents
University professor in training, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spain Medical Anthropology Research Center, Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Laboratory and field open science notebook: https://research.enricgarcia.md Main project links: Gestión colaborativa de la medicación en casos de salud mental - Proyecto de investigación-acción and https://better.health.int.eu.org/ Last publication: Torrents, E.G., Björkdahl, A. (2024). Alternatives to Coercion. In: Hallett, N., Whittington, R., Richter, D., Eneje, E. (eds) Coercion and Violence in Mental Health Settings. Springer-Nature, Cham. Alternatives to Coercion | SpringerLink
[
Alternatives to Coercion
In this chapter, the authors critically examine the historical and contemporary use of restraint in mental health care and advocate for more humane, patient-centred alternatives. The authors consider the detrimental effects of coercive practices on patients…