Key words: therapeutic alliance, containment, restraint, group of therapeutists, setting
The purpose of the article is to present a literature review regarding mechanical restraint in psychiatry. The main area of analysis is directed at the untitethical relationship between “restraint” and “containment”, in the light of legal, ethical, medical and psychodynamic factors, in specific the concept of “setting”. The ensuing assumption is that “mechanical restraint” constitutes “breach” of “setting”; namely, it is considered to be “non-treatment”, “malpractice” and “maltreatment”. The concept of “restraint” is given an operational definition, in contrast with that of “containment”, and is stated as the distancing of the therapeutists from the patient with consequential damage to the therapeutic relationship. An alternative to restraint can be found by training the group of therapeutists.
