Introduction: Special protective measures, such as physical restraint with belts, are often used in psychiatric care to prevent harm to patients and staff. Despite their safety role, these measures have significant ethical and psychological consequences that affect patients' experiences. Understanding the patient's experience is key to improving practice and reducing negative effects. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to review the literature on patients' experiences with the use of physical restraints and to identify the psychological consequences and analyze the impact of healthcare providers on the patient experience. The thesis explores opportunities for improvement to reduce the harmful effects of special protective measures. Methods: A descriptive approach and a systematic review of scientific literature from 2015 to 2025, available in the PubMed, CINAHL, Wiley, and COBIB databases, were used. The inclusion criteria we considered were: free access to the text for members of the University of Ljubljana; we used scientific articles, case studies, and qualitative research in Slovenian and English; relevance of keywords; and content relevance of the title and abstract to the purpose and objectives of the thesis. Results: Before improvements in clinical practice, patients experienced physical restraint with belts as a traumatic and humiliating experience associated with feelings of helplessness, fear, loss of dignity, and distrust of healthcare staff. Long-term psychological consequences include increased anxiety, depression, and reduced trust in healthcare. Patients' experiences are strongly influenced by the attitude and behavior of healthcare providers, who can mitigate negative effects through an empathetic and respectful approach. Discussion and conclusion: The results showed that patients experienced physical restraint with belts as a deeply negative experience, which often caused feelings of loss of control, shame, fear, anger, and complete helplessness. The use of physical restraint without adequate explanation or involvement of the patient in the decision-making process in many cases exacerbated their distress and led to a lasting reduction in trust in the healthcare system. Psychological consequences included symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, and withdrawal from further therapeutic relationships. Such experiences have a negative impact not only on the individual's recovery, but also on long-term cooperation in the treatment and therapeutic process. A humane approach and the use of de-escalation techniques can significantly reduce trauma and improve the relationship between patients and healthcare staff. This thesis contributes to greater awareness of the psychological effects of special protective measures on patients and offers guidelines for improving practice, leading to higher quality and safer psychiatric nursing care.
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