I will examine a range of ‘treatment pressures’ in mental health care exerted on patients who are reluctant to accept treatment. Conceptual distinctions of moral relevance can be drawn between a number of interventions commonly termed 'coercive'. These include ‘compulsion’, ‘coercion’ (narrowly defined), ‘exploitation’, ‘deception’, ‘inducements’ (or offers), and ‘interpersonal leverage’. These pressures may be placed on a rough hierarchy of moral seriousness.

Justifications for coercive interventions will be briefly discussed and I will recommend a ‘capacity-best interests’ framework as applicable across the whole range of interventions.

Measures that may reduce the need for ‘coercion’ will be briefly discussed, the most promising being certain types of ‘advance statement’ which, among other effects, enhance patients' involvement in their treatment.