83.4 Safe Use of Restraint and Seclusion

Abstract

The process of restraining a patient suffering from extreme agitation/aggression is one of the dangerous and unsafe events a child and adolescent psychiatrist will encounter during their career, typically in the setting of an emergency department or in acute or residential hospitalization. The majority of our evidence base and research has appropriately focused on the importance of reducing these restraint and seclusion events. Unfortunately, less attention has been focused on the best practice for physically restraining patients.