In My Room

Many do not know what to expect. Some may anticipate the dramatic portrayal of mental health assessment seen in popular media such as The Sopranos or Analyse This. The reality of the psychiatric clinic may turn out to be more prosaic than expected.

When people come to the room for the first time they are likely to be very apprehensive.

Of course, in many ways, none of this really matters. This room could be more or less formal, personal or spartan, but so long as it is a space where people feel able to talk, and feel that someone has listened and heard them, then it is a space of value.

In another corner of the room there are two large filing cabinets.

The floor is covered with a carpet and in front of the desk there is a small rug.

The room does not have the iconic psychiatrist’s couch. Amongst some books and papers on the desk, there is a computer, a reading lamp and a box of tissues.

To the left of the desk, a tall window looks north to a quiet garden. Beneath the window there is a small side table with bottles of drinking water and some cups. The room is warm and the furniture is reassuringly familiar to me.

The Room
My room at St Patrick’s University Hospital has a high ceiling, a wooden desk, a bookcase and a number of comfortable soft chairs.

And so the term ‘patient’ is used as a humane acknowledgement and a universal term signifying one of us who is suffering.

n ability to listen and to reflect.