Mental Health 1: Therapeutic Communication - Essay Example

This was quite frightening for the observer because it was not something that happened everyday. The major themes in this incident were the idea of restraint and whether it was necessary. Also, the fear of the researcher was present because the researcher had never seen anything like this in the past. The researcher was told that this boy had Prader Willi Syndrome and was prone to act out in this way. The individual also was mentally retarded to an extent and functioned well until he could not have his way or he could not have access to food.

One concern in the incident was safety for not only the people around this boy, but also for the boy himself. It was not something that could be a regular situation for anyone but it happened quite frequently. The only limitations on this report seem to be the fact that this researcher was not familiar in the beginning with the Prader Willi Syndrome and there needed to be research on this problem. This was an unplanned critical incident and it was something that no one could have predicted as to how it would happen, when it would happen, or what would set this boy off.

It was something that was purely open to interpretation when it happened because the caregivers had to figure out what to do in light of the outburst. The analysis for this report will be regarding Prader Willi Syndrome and the use of restraint in the situation. Prader Willi Syndrome is a condition that is not only genetic, but it has "distinctive physical, cognitive and behavioral features" (Kundert, 2009, p. 246) that make the individual act out in the way that this particular client did. One of the distinctive factors is that the person suffering from this syndrome is most often chronically obese.

The individual with Prader Willi Syndrome will also have difficulty sleeping, may have sleep apnea and is prone to hyperventilation when they are upset (Kundert, 2009). Often, these individuals can become violent when they cannot have their way in a situation or went they are actively seeking food and cannot receive it. Many of them have a problem with pica, a problem that has them eating out of garbage cans or eating any substance that is in their location (e.g. plaster, string, hair, animal droppings and so forth) (Prader Willi Syndrome Association).

Because of this type of behavior, these children and adults are kept away from anything that may trigger their need to eat. The Use of Physical Restraint Physical restraint is a controversial issue when dealing with violent patients, but it is one of the only interventions that have been found to work during an incident like the one the researcher observed. According to Allen, Lowe, Brophy and Moore (2009) the use of restraint is a behavioral intervention that happens when someone becomes a danger to themselves and to others.

Restraint in these situations is used to make sure that the people around are safe, and the individual is safe and at the same time cut down the risk of anyone getting hurt. McGill, Murphy and Kelly-Pike (2009) found in a study they conducted that the use of restraint became a routine thing that happened for certain patients when they acted out and it was not something that was used as a last resort. This was disturbing to this researcher because it seemed that something like this could harm not only the individual being restrained, but it could also hurt the individual be