Background: A theoretical model of individuals' experiences before, during and after involuntary admission has not yet been established.
Aims: To develop an understanding of individuals' experiences over the course of the involuntary admission process.
Method: Fifty individuals were recruited through purposive and theoretical sampling and interviewed 3 months after their involuntary admission. Analyses were conducted using a Straussian grounded theory approach.
Results: The 'theory of preserving control' (ToPC) emerged from individuals' accounts of how they adapted to the experience of involuntary admission. The ToPC explains how individuals manage to reclaim control over their emotional, personal and social lives and consists of three categories: 'losing control', 'regaining control' and 'maintaining control', and a number of related subcategories.
Conclusions: Involuntary admission triggers a multifaceted process of control preservation. Clinicians need to develop therapeutic approaches that enable individuals to regain and maintain control over the course of their involuntary admission.
Declaration of interest: None.
Keywords: Control; Mental Health Act; detention; grounded theory; involuntary admission.