Background: Mental health policies emphasise that caregivers' views of involuntary psychiatric treatment should be taken into account. However, there is little evidence on how caregivers view such treatment.
Aims: To explore caregivers' satisfaction with the involuntary hospital treatment of patients and what factors are associated with caregivers' appraisals of treatment.
Method: A multicentre prospective study was carried out in eight European countries. Involuntarily admitted patients and their caregivers rated their appraisal of treatment using the Client Assessment of Treatment Scale 1 month after admission.
Results: A total of 336 patients and their caregivers participated. Caregivers' appraisals of treatment were positive (mean of 8.5 on a scale from 0 to 10) and moderately correlated with patients' views. More positive caregivers' views were associated with greater patients' symptom improvement.
Conclusions: Caregivers' appraisals of involuntary in-patient treatment are rather favourable. Their correlation with patients' symptom improvement may underline their relevance in clinical practice.