Court-mandated outpatient psychiatric care for a pregnant woman with psychosis: a unique bridge to alliance.

We describe the case of a young pregnant woman with refractory schizoaffective disorder and how we reached a decision to apply for court-mandated outpatient psychiatric treatment (Assisted Outpatient Treatment or AOT). The patient was stable when we made this application as a preventive measure, given her serious prior episodes of illness. While there has been court-mandated outpatient obstetrical treatment, as far as we know this is the first report of mandated outpatient psychiatric treatment in connection with pregnancy.