Open access. Comment. Few topics in psychiatry are more controversial than compulsory community treatment (CCT) and the research into its effectiveness, which have been subjects of ongoing debate among clinicians and academics.1,  2,  3,  4 Critics of CCT raise concerns about the potential infringement of patients' civil rights and damage to the therapeutic alliance, and the lack of substantial empirical evidence for its effectiveness.1 Others, however, argue that CCT is a less restrictive alternative to compulsory admission to hospital, highlighting its perceived usefulness in clinical practice2 and emphasising the limitations of randomised3,  4 and non-randomised5 controlled studies in evaluating CCT and, in particular, the inability of randomised trials to recruit representative patients.