The use of prolonged baths in psychiatric care: understanding through fiction

Two autobiographical novels containing descriptions of prolonged baths from the patient's perspective are referred to and analysed. They include depictions of patients who are treated roughly. Staff do not interact verbally with the patients, who attempt to discern the intentions and moods of the staff through their body language. The depictions from the patient's perspective are discussed in relation to nurses' narratives with the use of medico-historical references and psychological literature.