My question might be outdated or I may be misinformed by watching too many moovies, but why do mental hospitals have “quiet rooms”? It feels more punishing than calming.
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I believe the idea is to put a patient who can’t be calmed in a place where they can’t easily hurt themselves or fellow patients. I think movies and TV shows tend to feature them being used punitively a lot, maybe because stories about a mental hospital where the staff follows guidelines and the patients are treated well doesn’t make for good drama.
If you’re referring to padded cells, then those are controversial and somewhat outdated. In the past, they were thought to be necessary to prevent patients from harming themselves or others. This is less often used now as there are more better methods of calming people down, but it is still used when people are considered a severe danger to themselves or others. It’s more about restraining someone than it is about calming them down, though they are designed to be pretty boring so whatever kind of episode the patient is experiencing will eventually pass.
If you’re talking more generally about noise restrictions, then that is because some patients can become overstimulated by loud noise and it is harmful to them.
Ive worked in institutuons where there are lockable padded rooms. The reason is that sometimes, the person is in a fit and can be violent and harm/kill themselves or others. Staff are trained in restraints but you cant do that for a really long time and sometimes it escalates the behavior. So you either have to restrain them by strapping them down, medicating them, or locking them in a room like this until they tire themselves out or they can be calmed. Usually some combo of these tactics depending on the situation.
Safety. Mention of self-harm thoughts or being combative (a threat to others) requires intervention.
Padded cells in jail are still a thing. Zero furniture. The toilet is a hole in the ground. You are stripped and put in a velcro-smock. After 24 hours, a mental health staff will clear you to solitary and keep checking in with you while smocked (a few days).
In psych units, the staff are trained in de-escalation so likely they’ll talk you down and get you a PRN, back to business as usual. At worst a code is called and you get restrained to your bed and injected with a fast benzo… Once you wake up you’ll be re-evaluated.
Why are quiet rooms punishment?
They are just places that are quiet. Many people struggle with noise and busy environments. Where most don’t rent notice that 5 iris I are talking at the same time, a few struggle to filter out the sound.
It’s called sensory overload.
We could all benefit from quiet rooms.
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The “quiet room” at the last two psych hospitals I was impatient at was a hot commodity. People would request time in it. Sometimes you could get time to listen to music if a staff member had a speaker. It was also used as a place to meet with support staff privately.
I have seen it used for fellow patients who were in for detox and were a danger to others so they were put in the room in that case. But always under direct monitoring for safety.
I always have to sign a document asking my preference for what interventions staff should use in case I become a danger to others. Letting choose between restraint, isolation, or emergency medication or simply having no preference.
I work at a therapy center so kinda similar, but our quiet rooms are for folks that need a break from the regular day/group/whatever they’re doing, or they’re too worked up to be with everyone else and are separated for everyone’s safety. These rooms have more calming devices while also having less stuff in them. They don’t tend to be a punishment and when someone is in there they’re closely monitored and checked on with multiple staff there to help. They can (and usually do) ask for specific staff and we’ll do everything we can to get them who they need.
ETA: These are also regular rooms, not padded or anything. We also don’t lock folks in there or anything either. They might miss mealtime if they’re too worked up but we’ll just save a plate for them and offer it when appropriate.
Many people with severe mental illness do not do well with any kind of provocation or disturbance. If one person “goes off” they might set off all the other patients and create a situation the hospital staff can’t control.
Quiet rooms help keep agitated patients isolated from disturbances and also prevents them from disturbing other patients. It is definitely abusable but the fact is that people with severe mental illness can’t always be reasoned with at all times.
The only quiet room I have been in was one they strapped you down in this barbaric looking chair.
Jokes on them when the chair was the most comfortable position my shoulder was in.
They also have to watch you CONTSTANTLY when in a “quiet room” so it is a burden on staff so they keep you in there the shortest amount of time possible. Youll get a shot or 2 of haldol and some hydroxyzine and maybe ATIVAN.
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