Abstract
Obscenity has been the subject of a series of court cases centered around the First Amendment, and its interpersonal effects have been studied by psychotherapists and communications theorists. But little has been written about the impact of the use of obscenity by patients in group settings to discharge their feelings and to dominate and harass staff and other patients. The authors argue that if staff are to be able to work effectively with patient populations who utilize obscenity routinely for these purposes, they must become more comfortable with its use, and to treat it as another symptom of the patients’ interpersonal difficulties. Guidelines for the therapeutic use/management of obscenity on the ward are offered.
Footnotes
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Dr. Maier is affiliated with the Forensic Center, Mendota Mental Health Institute, 301 Troy Drive, Madison, WI 53704; and is clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Miller is professor of psychiatry and director, Program for Forensic Psychiatry, Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado; and chief psychiatrist, Colorado Department of Corrections.
- Copyright © 1993, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
