The author reviews two recently published books on the current use of restraint in Italian psychiatry. He briefly presents the contents of these books which examine restraint practices utilized during the last decade, described by institutions, scientific societies, associations, musical bands, film directors and psychiatric patients. The author subsequently underlines the need for more work and research to withstand the use of restraint in the Italian psychiatric emergency wards, and also the necessity to collect more accurately data on this subject. The issue is to keep the topic at stake through debate and to maintain a focus on the ethical stance.
Keywords: Restraint, community psychiatry, Italy