Experiences of Very Long-Term Inpatients in a Psychiatric Hospital: Narratives of Trauma Survivor Patients

Abstract

Although the focus of psychiatric care in Japan is moving to the acute phase, patients who have been hospitalized for decades are still largely ignored. The purpose of this study was to depict the experiences of very long-term inpatients in a psychiatric ward as captured during interaction with the researcher, and to discuss the characteristics and meanings of these interactions.

After complete disclosure regarding the purpose of the study, the researcher conducted fieldwork in a women’s chronic open ward once a week for a total of 50 times during the day shift. The study participants were four patients who had been hospitalized in the psychiatric hospital for more than 40 years and who agreed to participate in this study.

The results showed that it was not easy for the participants to talk about their past and, when they did, their memories were fragmented; they had lost their temporal and human connections and meanings, suggesting a traumatic experience in the past. In the discussion, the characteristics of the interaction with the patient in relation to the trauma, the difficulty of listening to the narrative, and the possibility of recovery were examined.