Table 6.
Subjective experience of catatonia and theoretical potential interventions for future research
| Experience during catatonia | Theoretical Non-pharmacological interventions for future research |
|---|---|
| Fear and anxiety | Nursing in a quiet environment with low levels of potentially stressful stimuli |
| Allocating regular staff to nurse the patient to allow for familiarity and recognition to develop relatively quickly | |
| Taking a reassuring, non-demanding approach to interacting with the patient during the catatonic state | |
| Emphasizing reassurance about safety of the environment and the caring aspect of the members of the multidisciplinary team involved in the patient’s management | |
| Open, non-threatening and reassuring demeanour at all times to help in reassuring patients | |
| Open sharing of all information regarding intervention plans for care using basic, easy to follow language to ensure there is no confusion. This should be done irrespective of whether the patient is communicative or not | |
| Yearning for family | Psychoeducation sessions with family |
| Short contact sessions for reassurance re ongoing family support. Increase contact with family and loved ones when aggressive outbursts decrease if patient displays any and explain this link to the patient as well i.e., it is for their safety and the safety of others | |
| Family mediated exercise interventions and support with activities of daily living (supported by a psychotherapist and occupational therapist) | |
| Confusion about orientation and reasons for admission | Providing well-timed, simplified and regular feedback on the management plan (e.g., “Today is Tuesday. The doctor will review your treatment with you today”, or “Today is Tuesday. Mary, the occupational therapist will be seeing you today”, “Sipho, you seem to be having a better day this Tuesday”, etc |
| Using simple, non-jargon language when talking to the patient and taking opportunities to re-enforce orientation and reasons for admission whenever they present themselves (as in the simple examples provided above) | |
| Reasons for admission and the plan for the day should be conveyed at every patient contact to help lend a degree of predictability to the patient’s immediate environment |