Abstract

Critics off er a number of objections against the use of physical restraints in psychiatric care. The objections typically cite the diffi culty in reconciling this treatment with trends towards increasing respect for patient autonomy and dignity. Critics also question whether the effi cacy of such treatments have been adequately studied, risks have been properly identifi ed, and so on. Although we should take these concerns seriously, they must be set against the sometimes ambiguous nature of the caregiver’s obligations, as well as the perceived sophistication of alternative treatments. Restraint-use necessarily involves medical paternalism, and there are institutional safeguards should continually be reexamined in light of what we learn about patient care. Still, were we to deny caregivers the authority to restrain their patients we might create ethical problems at least as great as those that restraint-use is said to create