Control and restraint techniques in the management of violence in inpatient psychiatry: a critical review.

Violence has long been a matter of concern in inpatient psychiatry. While research suggests that training in physical restraint techniques can reduce the number and severity of violent incidents and assault-related injuries, the recent Cochrane Review is critical of the methodological inadequacies which characterise these studies. This paper considers issues pertinent to understanding research in this controversial area, critically evaluates research on the effectiveness of the predominant approach to training in physical restraint in the UK, and examines some of the methodological problems inherent in this research.