The violent patient: a strategy for management and diagnosis

Violence among psychiatric patients, while uncommon, is a serious problem mental health professionals must face. The author discusses the social, psychological, developmental, cultural, psychiatric, biological, and other factors that contribute to violence and the complex ways in which they interact. Management of the violent patient, the author says, can be broken down into two types: emergency short-term management and long-term management and diagnosis. Short-term care includes psychotherapeutic, environmental-physical, and pharmacologic tactics for controlling violence. Long-term management includes medication and careful diagnostic assessment. Mental health professionals need to understand both types of management to ensure effective treatment.