A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF PSYCHIATRY PATIENTS ATTITUDES TOWARD THE SECLUSION ROOM EXPERIENCE

The seclusion room is an integral component of hospital psychiatry. Th is study prospectively surveyed 50 patients shortly after each was rel eased from an isolation room in a voluntary general hospital psychiatr ic unit. Fifty-eight percent of the sample were diagnosed with mood di sorders. Previous studies found generally negative attitudes toward se clusion. These data revealed that patients often found seclusion to be restful and therapeutically helpful. The clinical implications of the se data are discussed.