Written with the help of sufferers and carers to provide an accurate "consumer"s perspective" of how the mental health services react when a person becomes mentally ill, this text focuses upon the problems that can arise when someone undergoes a formal assessment for compulsory admission to hospital. Using case studies drawn from real life and selected by the sufferers and carers, the book examines what can go wrong with the assessment process. The author argues that the system can be slow to respond, and that in some cases the law fails to protect both the patient and their families.