It's the Way You Treat Me That Makes Me Angry, It's Not a Question of Madness: Good and Bad Practice In Dealing With Violence in the Mental Health Services

Accessible Summary What is known on the subject: • The first access to a mental health service is sometimes marked by aggressive be- haviours and anger. Forced hospitalization is frequently an occasion for resistance and hostility to the service, which should not be mistaken for psychotic symptoms. • If this situation is not dealt with effectively, it can jeopardize the quality of the relationship with staff and compliance with the treatment programme. What the paper adds to existing knowledge: • The narrator presents his experience in undergoing voluntary psychiatric treat- ment, casting light on nurses’ good and bad practices: those that increased resist- ance, and those that helped de-escalate the uncontrolled reaction at the time of access, as well as during the recovery period. What are the implications for mental health nursing: • Practitioners should be able to put in place listening techniques and ways of per- sonalizing the relationship with the patient. • When such measures become part of the patient's meaning system, the vicious circle of misunderstood anger that creates more anger may be interrupted and the patient can invest in relationships of trust.