Reactions to Illness: The Acute Phase

Abstract

The acute phase of illness, following initial evaluation in a physician’s office, patient’s home, or an Emergency room is spent in intensive care units of one kind or another. These are specialized units with trained staff and special equipment addressed to the needs of the patient. Our attention has become focused on these environments of illness as their number and their special approaches have multiplied. Our interest has been directed to specific problems that arise in these arenas and we have come to think about the effect that environments and what takes place within them have upon the behavior of staff and patients.

Modified after “Reactions to Illness: The Acute Phase — The Interplay of Environmental Factors in Intensive Care Units“ in Symposium on Liaison Psychiatry. Psychiat. Clinic. No. Amer. 2:307–319, #2, 1979