Catatonia is a syndrome marked by an apparent lack of responsiveness to external stimuli, despite the individual appearing to be awake.

Who Is Likely to Experience Withdrawal Symptoms?

You’ve probably encountered patients who are reluctant about receiving regular injections of medications, but it’s important to stress the significant benefits of long-acting injectables (LAIs). 

Brief psychotic disorder (BPD), also known as brief reactive psychosis, looks just like schizophrenia but is short-lived and typically presents with a much more favorable prognosis.

You will often encounter patients with schizophrenia, particularly during exacerbations that lead to psychiatric holds and inpatient hospitalizations.

When interviewing patients who are experiencing psychotic symptoms, strike a balance between providing support and empathy without reinforcing their delusional beliefs.

Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) account for about 20% of psychiatric inpatients and can often present challenges on the unit. In this fact sheet, we describe a systematic approach to diagnosis.

Although DSM-5 lists a variety of cognitive functions that can be impaired in dementia (see fact sheet on differential diagnosis in dementia), by far the most important aspect of the assessment is forgetfulness—specifically, rapid forgetting.

For patients in hospital psychiatric units, sleep disturbances are not uncommon.