Introduction: The evaluation of the patients' perspective of psychiatric admission is useful to define what is the therapeutic milieu and important to improve treatment quality.
Aim: This study aimed to explore the patients' perspective of psychiatric admission to a residential unit for intensive rehabilitation treatment.
Methods: A questionnaire, assessing the patients' experiences of psychiatric admission developed from previous studies, has been administered to a series of inpatients at the rehabilitation unit "La Luna", University of Ferrara, Department of Mental Health.
Results: 40 patients (20 depressed and 20 schizophrenic) participated in the study. Some dimensions, such as protection from the external world (85% of depressed and 65% of schizophrenic) and opportunity to recover their own existence (75% of depressed and 65% of schizophrenic) emerged as the main experiences. The subjects (85% of depressed and 70% of schizophrenic) also reported to have a good relationship (caring and empathic) with the staff and other patients and to perceive a sense of universality, without the anxiety of living with other severe patients (65% of depressed and 55% of schizophrenic). Schizophrenic patients felt to be limited by the experience of admission more than the depressed (20% of depressed and 60% of schizophrenic, p<0.05). The most influential factor of negative or positive experience was the quality of relationship with the staff and other patients.
Conclusions: This study outlines the importance of therapeutic relationship in patients' perspective of psychiatric admission and suggests broader attention to human quality on therapeutic approach.