Mental
Health Association in New York State, Inc. |
Community Connections, Fall 2003Elimination
of Seclusion and Restraint Championed More than 150 people die each year as a result of being placed in restraints. To address this horrific problem, a historic meeting was held May 5 in Washington, D.C., titled "A National Call to Action: Eliminating the Use of Seclusion and Restraint." The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors sponsored the meeting during which participants discussed how the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health treatment settings can and should be eliminated. The meeting participants agreed that the use of seclusion and restraint must no longer be viewed as therapeutic but instead as a failure of prescribed treatment modalities. Many participants recounted their own experiences of being forced into restraints as unforgettable and traumatic experiences. For those with histories of physical or sexual abuse (which various studies show encompasses 60 percent to 97 percent of people with diagnosed psychiatric disorders) these experiences are especially harmful. Some participants explained how improving training in restraint techniques could lessen the likelihood of injury or death to clients, others spoke eloquently about the need to identify seclusion and restraint as human rights violations and called for an outright ban on their use. Because such practices as seclusion and restraint are often covered over, mandatory reporting was presented as a possible solution. Facilities would be required to publish data on seclusion and restraint incidence. The meeting participants also identified the need for increased resources for the federally funded protection and advocacy agencies and the importance of including current and former mental health consumers in all aspects of the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of seclusion and restraint programs. You can read future issues of this newsletter: http://www.ncstac.org/content/news.htm#archives.
posted 9/18/03 |