A prospective study of psychiatry patients' attitudes toward the seclusion room experience.

The seclusion room is an integral component of hospital psychiatry. This study prospectively surveyed 50 patients shortly after each was released from an isolation room in a voluntary general hospital psychiatric unit. Fifty-eight percent of the sample were diagnosed with mood disorders. Previous studies found generally negative attitudes toward seclusion. These data revealed that patients often found seclusion to be restful and therapeutically helpful. The clinical implications of these data are discussed.