The Beauty of a Locked Door

When the door loudly clicks shut, and the lock bangs together securely, it's a sense of panic that spreads, pouring from the heart and soul of the newly admitted child or teen, and floods over the desks and chairs and hearts and souls of the nurses who stand there, watching, scanning, assessing every move, every word, and everything that isn't said, but is communicated, loud and clearly from the face of our newest addition.

This message is this,

"I've lost control."

Yep. People in general don't come to a locked facility for no reason. Things have gotten bad. Not just bad, but really BAD.

And just like the shock and disbelief that occurs with the sudden death of a loved one, the click of the locked door and the loss of control is a VERY hard pill to swallow...(excuse the medical pun).

Everyone reacts to this loss of control in slightly different ways. Some kids are relieved. Some are enraged. Some don't care, and rather, it's their parents who have relief...and rage.

But more often than not, a hot piece of pizza, a glass of juice, and movie in their room to appease them for the next few hours until sleep, is enough to help them through this traumatic break from their safe and secure* surroundings of home.

*not always-hence the reason for many children to be admitted in the first place.

So, why the title? The BEAUTY of the locked door? It sounds pretty traumatic to me actually, you might say.

Well, to me and to the other incredibly talented nurses I work with, this locked door is often the foundation to our success.

After all, a locked door ensures a "captive" audience. I'm not sure if the word CAPTIVE has ever been used so aptly.

Using the "carrot" of discharge, and the obviously inevitable unlocking of the locked door is the tool used to gain the attention of even the most angry, most bitter, most engraged, most oppositional, and most dangerous of all children.

And so it is to you the family member that I honor with this entry. For you don't have the luxury of a large locked hospital door and a swat team of security guards waiting your command.

You are on your own. (JUST DON'T FORGET MY DISCLAIMER. CALL 911 IN AN EMERGENCY!)

Once a child realizes he or she is going to be staying with us, a new mentality takes over. It's amazing what happens to a teenage attention span when there is no mall, no facebook, no cell phone, no school friends, no running away, no video games in the bedroom, and no tv to distract them.

In our little slice of uninterrupted heaven...we actually teach them something!

And it is with this securely locked door in place that we as psych nurses are able to do the amazing things I've seen us do. Change lives. Reach out. And of course...Say It Like It Is.