The therapeutical implication of a strike in a psychiatric ward.
This paper compares patient functioning during a maintenance workers' strike. Four criteria were used to assess change: 1) patients' functioning as evaluated by five independent judges on a questionnaire; 2) number of days out of the hospital; 3) number of days of closed intensive therapeutic ward hospitalization and 4) number of patients that underwent a major improvement during that period. A positive therapeutical effect in patients as a result of the strike has been found. This effect is thought to be due to the staff's higher expectations towards the patients, and not due to a need of the patients to restore a sense of balance in the threatened family-like system of the ward--as was believed in a previous study (1). The role of the staff in helping the patient to constructively cope with the strike is discussed.
Sigal
M
M
Research Department, Mental Health Center, Netanya, Israel.
Gelkopf
M
M
Stern
R
R
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008284:Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013317:Strikes, Employee