Orion Wellness LLC

I learned something when I worked in psychiatric units with the severely mentally ill. Actually I probably learned it in my nursing training but totally forgot about it. It's to not ask a patient "why" they did something, especially if it's bizarre or strange. They usually don't know why they did it and the question can get them agitated. Or you might get an answer like, "I don't know. I just felt like it, okay?"

So, it could be a better question to ask, "What was going on in your mind when you thought about doing it?" or "What was going on in your mind when you did it?" Even better might be, "If you don't know why you did it, can you take a guess why? Just a guess..."

Then you could move on to, "If you ever feel like doing that again, what would be a better thing to do instead that would make you feel better but not hurt anybody/anything?" Hopefully it would help them gain at least a little insight into themselves. (Sorry for the awkward pronouns!)