title: 'Never again'. Model mugging: a therapeutic resource for the psychiatric nurse.
abstract: I was in a room that had no windows and a disorienting effect. No light reached the room from outside and the fluorescent light gave the cement walls a forbidding appearance. The only sound was of my footsteps as they ricocheted off the walls, making them seem louder than ever. I felt cut off from the outside world. I was nervous, and my heart was beating loudly. I tried to remain calm, grounded, and in the present moment, but my mouth was dry, my shoulders tense, and my mind unable to focus. Seemingly out of nowhere I was grabbed from behind. Without thinking, my right arm swung up and around, glancing the side of my attacker's head. As I swung to the right with my arm. I pinched my fingers together and struck at his eyes. I flopped to the floor, laying on my left side with my right leg raised knee-to-nose and my arm raised to protect my head, waiting for him to come after me. He jumped on top of me but I kicked him in the head three times. He raised his hands to his forehead, signaling that I had hit his head hard enough with the heal of the foot to knock him unconscious. I stood up over him, stomped my foot, and yelled "No! 9-1-1!" Only then was I aware of the women behind me, cheering me on as I defended myself against an assault in the Model Mugging Program.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ellensweig
mesh_terms: D019548:Crime Victims / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012381:Role Playing; D012637:Security Measures; D012649:Self Concept; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000517:prevention & control; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*