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Afshin Meymandi, MSN, RN, APRN-BC, a clinical nurse in the psychiatric crisis intervention center at University of North Carolina Health Care, Chapel Hill, presented the keynote address at the sixth European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 22.
Meymandi's address, "Alternative Seclusion: Soothing While Secluding," complemented the 2009 international conference theme of Assessing, Treating and Caring for Potentially Violent Patients.
As part of his presentation, Meymandi discussed a panoramic landscape mural titled "Retreat" (above) that he painted in a seclusion room at UNC, transforming the room's barren walls and creating the illusion of sitting on the back porch of a country home while viewing a fishing pond in the distance. The painting represents a way staff at UNC encourage patients to use their innate abilities of dealing with anxiety, said officials. The visual impact is augmented by an audio system that plays nature sounds. It is purposefully designed to activate natural calming responses in patients who are experiencing anxiety and frustration or who sense danger through an altered sense of reality.
As an adjunct faculty member in the UNC Department of Psychiatry, Meymandi said he's found a reservoir of knowledge and artistic talents among medical staff, and constantly seeks ways to share these talents with his patients.
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