Ethics and praxis: alternative strategies to physical restraint and seclusion in a psychiatric setting

This descriptive article highlights a 42-month project in which a comprehensive program revision was implemented in a psychiatric hospital that included numerous alternative strategies to the use of patient restraint and seclusion. The results of this project include a 94% reduction in the rate of restraint and seclusion, development of extensive staff and patient education programs, and comprehensive programmatic alterations consistent with a paradigm shift emphasizing collaboration, empowerment, and ethical clinical practice.