Least to most restrictive interventions. A continuum for mental health care facilities

While this article does not propose to provide answers to the many questions prompted by the new Patient's Rights CoP (1999) or the newly revised JCAHO standards on seclusion and restraint (JCAHO, 2000), a prudent plan of action for any organization serving patients with a behavioral component to their treatment would be to adopt a policy of least restrictive intervention prior to consideration of seclusion and restraint in response to emergency patient care needs. It was the authors' intent to present a representative sample of the available literature and from that to develop a continuum of intervention possibilities ranging from least to most restrictive. In addition, suggestions found in the literature for implementation of least to most restrictive programs have been provided.