Mom Sues Psychiatric Prison Alleging Abuse of Schizophrenic Son
An adult male in Massachusetts is at the center of lawsuit against the state Department of Correction, the superintendent of Bridgewater State Hospital, the state of Massachusetts and MHM Services Inc., a national health care provider, for alleged abuses. The suit, brought by the patient's mother alleges the staff has isolated her son in a locked seclusion room at the intensive-treatment unit and restrained him to objects like his bed. Igor Galynker, MD, Director of The Family Center for Bipolar Disorder at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Professor of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who has never treated this patient says most patients with schizophrenia are treated effectively with medications. "In most people, they are very good at controlling the positive symptoms, which are hallucinations and delusions and disorganization, all leading at times to violent behavior," he said. "Seclusion is less restrictive than restraints," said Dr. Galynker "It's really a big deal to put someone in restraints and it's very tightly regulated. You need a doctor's order, time limit, and constant monitoring."
-Dr. Igor Galynker, Director, Family Center for Bipolar Disorder, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai