Originally Posted by lovinghands
Is his psychiatrist and tx team aware that staff are allowing him to displace his aggressive urges onto objects? If so, is this "intervention" outlined in his tx plan? I would hope this is behavior is not a recommended form of therapy. Object aggression is still a form of phsyical aggression and should be taken as a serious threat, particularly in violent individuals. I recommmend you follow your chain of command and let it be known this child is stabbing, mutilating items with weapons (pencil/spoon) and this is not only being condoned but encouraged by the following staff then name them. I would not want these staff members on my unit - who knows what else they are encouraging, even in good faith.
Thank you! You articulated exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn't find the words. Yes the tx team knows about it, but it is NOT in the tx plan. But when I addressed this, the response was...'well how is that different from letting someone punch a pillow when they are angry?" Well, I think we are dealing with a different motivation in that case. Most people are not COMPELLED to punch pillows, and if they do, it is a momentary, occasional incident. This kid is mutilating fruit everyday to substitute for his compulsion to mutilate animals (of which he says he kills up to 4 each day by trapping rodents, birds and cats). To me there is a difference, although i am not big on punching pillows either.
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