Nursing intervention for schizophrenic patient having sex?

Specialties Psychiatric

Published

I had an argument with a collegue, I am not a psychiatric nurse rather a pediatric nurse.

What do you do when you see 2 schizophrenic patients having sex? will you stop them? or let them because it's a physiologic need..

Specializes in Forensic Psychiatric Nursing.
This happened at my facility and they put the lady on birth control. This is the usual response to this kind of consensual activity. Boy did that relationship end badly

The social workers bear the brunt of these episodes. On another occasion, activities staff went into a room and both beds were occupied with residents making the beast with two backs. SW had the fun job of informing the POA of one of them (who was also the significant other and not in the room at the time of the incident) that one of the participants had herself a new prescription.

Just one of those human responses to actual or potential health problems we deal with every day.

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Hmmm, I wonder what the HIPAA rules say about that.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Hmmm, I wonder what the HIPAA rules say about that.
About what?If the patient has a POA, they definitely need to be notified.They just wouldn't get the other person's name, and a whole lot of personal details other then what is necessary to assure the patients' safety.
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Thankfully, my facility does not allow this (and there is a big to-do incident investigation when it does happen between the 15 minute room checks). Patients are not likely to be using protection and many of those I work with have communicable diseases. If you have a floridly psychotic patient, are they truly able to consent to the act or are they being victimized?

Unfortunately, sex with oneself is not prohibited. I've wished for brain bleach many times over the years...

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Specializes in Nephrology.

Can I chime in from a bit of a different viewpoint? I was admitted on a mental health unit, sharing a room with a young lady just diagnosed with schizophrenia. It was July, she had the window bed, bright sunshine, curtain between us. She and another one of the patients engaged in intercourse a few times in the week I was there. My problem was hearing what was going on and the first time I was seeing the shadows on the curtains. (I learned never to look that way again...) I was not allowed off the unit, and it was a very small unit with limited out of room places to sit (otherwise I would have been out of there like a shot) so I didn't have much choice about places to go. I did mention it to the staff, they asked her, she denied it, and it was suggested that perhaps I was trying to create trouble with my room mate? They told her if it was true to stop, but she didn't. One I had off unit priviledges, I spent as much time as I could away from there. It was very uncomfortable and I really felt like either she (or her partner) should have been given a private room or I should have been moved out of that room.

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It is not allowed on our unit either. If these patients are on the behavior medicine unit it is usually for a reason- they are not capable to make good choices at the time! If they are not able to make good choices at the time- how are they capable of making the choice to have sex? I realize that this is a physiological reaction, however staff needs to help our psychiatric patients with their judgement and insight.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC/SNF, Rehab, Corrections.

Schizophrenics?

The sex would be stopped in our facility. They have the right to have sex, but their ability to consent is impaired.

We have one little lady who is a total wild-cat. Women...men? Doesn't matter. She's the aggressor.

Trying to blow people...fondle the males. Once she told me that I was pretty. Then, she turned to the nurse and nudged her head in my direction, "You could get a lotta money for that one..."

Trust, if we allowed it? She's be the giddy conductor of a 40 man choo-choo train.

...but just because she's willing and the men are as well doesn't mean that we allow her to act out in such a manner. It doesn't mean that we allow this activity to go on.

It's important to consider that...while it's all her? Her 'sexy moods' are also a manifestation of her illness.

We do have 1 couple in the building. They sit together and eat their meals together.

They're 'with it', though. One is on the 'Resident Council'. It appears to be a union that's non-consummated.

A companionship sort of thing.

Also, my facility is geri-psych - but every woman of childbearing age is on birthcontrol. It's a precaution.

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