ABSTRACT
I was working on a locked adolescent psychiatric unit in Belmont, California. A young woman had just been admitted to the unit. She was extremely agitated, banging her fist on the counter at the nurse’s station. She was screaming about how staff at the hospital were in a secret coalition designed to kill her. There was a very long hallway between the nurse’s station and the exit door of the unit. I was by the exit door, making my way out to go to another part of the hospital. I approached the door and took the keys out of my pocket. This young woman, who was a good 40 pounds heavier than me and full of terror and rage, saw the keys. She saw the door. She saw me with the keys. She let out a howl and made a direct, full-speed charge for me. It was very clear at that moment that this woman had no other intention than to break out of the hospital. I was the object in her way. She was charging me like a mother bear charges anything that gets between her and her cubs.
