Nursing management of acute psychotic episodes

Communicating with an individual experiencing an acute psychotic episode involves skills that can be learned and refined. People experience psychosis in a variety of ways. Assessment skills and increased awareness of self are clinical skills that can be learned to improve communication and intervention with persons experiencing acute psychosis. This article defines characteristics of acute psychotic episodes with assessment parameters, initial nursing interventions, and referral sources. The authors offer a model for managing acute psychosis. This staged approach provides options for interventions based on accurate identification of the stage of psychosis.