[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/) › [Somatic treatments and levels of care](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/care/) › Levels of mental health care and involuntary admission

# Levels of mental health care and involuntary admission

- Topic

From outpatient care to day hospital and admission: the least restrictive safe setting, and the strict rules for admitting against a person's will.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

## Key points

- Least restrictive alternative: choose the setting that keeps the person safe with the least limit on freedom.
- Day hospital: care during the day while the person keeps living at home; Colombian law lists day hospitals for adults and for children and adolescents.
- Admission may be needed during severe relapses, and involuntary admission when the person is a danger to self or others.
- Involuntary admission usually requires a mental disorder with danger to self or others (in some systems, grave disability) when less restrictive measures have failed; it lasts only as long as strictly needed and is reviewed.
- WHO and the UN human rights office propose laws to end coercion in mental health services and to make free and informed consent the basis of all interventions.
- In Colombia, Law 1616 of 2013 (the mental health law, amended by Law 2460 of 2025 and Law 2564 of 2026) lists in its article 13 the 11 modalities and services that the integrated mental health network must include.

## What it is

Mental health care is organised in levels of increasing intensity: outpatient care, home and community care, day hospital, admission to a mental health unit, and psychiatric emergency services. The guiding principle is the least restrictive alternative: treat each person in the setting that is safe and effective with the least limit on liberty, and move between levels as needs change. Admission against a person’s will is an exception, limited by law and human rights, and needs clear criteria and safeguards.

## Key facts

- Common safeguards for involuntary admission: prompt information on rights, legal counsel, periodic review, judicial oversight and the right to appeal.
- Some systems, such as Germany’s, strictly separate the decision to detain from the decision to treat.
- Article 1 of Law 1616, as amended by Law 2460 of 2025, guarantees the full exercise of the right to mental health to the Colombian population, prioritising children, adolescents and young people, through health promotion, prevention of mental disorder and comprehensive care, based on primary health care.
- Article 13 lists the 11 modalities and services: outpatient care, home care, prehospital care, drug-dependence care centres, community mental health centres, patient and family support groups, day hospitals for adults and for children and adolescents, community-based rehabilitation, mental health units and psychiatric emergency care.

## Levels and modalities of mental health care

| Level | For whom | Main features |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Outpatient care | People who can be treated while living at home | Diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, integrated with the general health services |
| Home care | People who need the team to come to them | Supervision that ranges from periodic home visits to more intensive support |
| [Community services and support groups](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | People and families in the community | Community mental health centres, patient and family support groups, community-based rehabilitation |
| Day hospital | People who need daily treatment and keep living at home | Separate services for adults and for children and adolescents in Colombian law |
| [Mental health unit](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | Severe relapses, or danger to self or others | Admission; involuntary only under legal criteria, with review |
| [Psychiatric emergency service](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/suicidal-behaviour-and-suicide-risk/) | Crises such as a suicide attempt, agitation or acute psychosis | Urgent psychiatric care and referral to the right level |

## Clinical notes

- Coercive measures must be proportionate and adequately documented; in some systems a clinical report goes to a court.
- In Colombia, the exact procedure follows current regulations and institutional protocols; see the decision-making capacity and legal capacity pages.
- Community support services, from 24-hour supervision to periodic home visits, let many people with schizophrenia live in the community and aim to limit relapse and readmission.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What does the principle of the least restrictive alternative mean?

Choosing the setting and measures that keep the person safe and treated with the least limit on liberty.

## What criteria usually justify an involuntary admission?

A mental disorder with danger to self or others (or, in some systems, grave disability) when less restrictive measures have failed.

## What is a day hospital?

Care during the day while the person keeps living at home; Colombian law lists day hospitals for adults and for children and adolescents.

## Which Colombian law guarantees the right to mental health and lists the services of the mental health network?

Law 1616 of 2013 (the mental health law, amended by Law 2460 of 2025 and Law 2564 of 2026); its article 13 lists 11 modalities and services.

[Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/behavioral-science/levels-of-mental-health-care-and-involuntary-admission/)

## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [Informed consent: elements and how to obtain it](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/informed-consent-elements-and-how-to-obtain-it/)
- [Decision-making capacity (competence) and how to assess it](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/decision-making-capacity-and-how-to-assess-it/)
- [Refusing treatment, including blood transfusion](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/refusing-treatment-including-blood-transfusion/)
- [Law 1996 of 2019: legal capacity of adults with disability](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/law-1996-of-2019-legal-capacity-of-adults-with-disability/)
- [Physical restraints: a last resort and their safe use](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/physical-restraints-a-last-resort-and-their-safe-use/)
- [Ley Estatutaria 1751 de 2015: health as a fundamental right](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/ley-estatutaria-1751-de-2015-health-as-a-fundamental-right/)

## Connections

## Related 4

- [Psychiatric emergencies: agitation, violence risk and the suicidal patient](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-emergencies-agitation-violence-risk-and-the-suicidal-patient/)
- [Psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-rehabilitation-and-recovery/)
- [Community and global mental health](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/community-and-global-mental-health/)
- [Shared decision-making](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/shared-decision-making/)

## Related conditions 4

- [Schizophrenia](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/)
- [Suicidal behaviour and suicide risk](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/suicidal-behaviour-and-suicide-risk/)
- [Bipolar disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/bipolar-disorder/)
- [Major depressive disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/major-depressive-disorder/)

[← All of behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/)

Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Compilación Jurídica del MINTIC - Ley 1616 de 2013](https://normograma.mintic.gov.co/mintic/compilacion/docs/ley_1616_2013.htm) (Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (Colombia), 2026); [Psychiatric Risk Governance Across Jurisdictions: A Comparative Analysis of Involuntary Treatment, Community Treatment Orders, and Forensic Mental Health Services](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12470205/) (Healthcare (Basel), PubMed Central, 2025); [WHO-OHCHR launch new guidance to improve laws addressing human rights abuses in mental health care](https://www.who.int/news/item/09-10-2023-who-ohchr-launch-new-guidance-to-improve-laws-addressing-human-rights-abuses-in-mental-health-care) (World Health Organization, 2023); [Schizophrenia](https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/schizophrenia-and-related-disorders/schizophrenia) (MSD Manual Professional Edition, 2025).

## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake

Representative model, for educational purposes only.

---
Source: https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/levels-of-mental-health-care-and-involuntary-admission/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/levels-of-mental-health-care-and-involuntary-admission/