Families’ experience caring for mentally ill patients with re-pasung

Objective: Mentally ill patients tend to endanger themselves and their surroundings. Often times, this fact allows their families to decide whether to apply repeated pasung in the patients’ treatment. The objective of this research was to determine the experiences of mental health patients’ families in treating the patients using repeated pasung. Method: This research used a qualitative design under a phenomenological research approach. The participants were family member caregivers aged 25–82 years old. The data were analyzed using the Colaizzi method. Results: Caregivers who treated their mentally ill family members using repeated pasung experienced helplessness and prioritized safety. The results of this study can be described by 3 themes, namely: (1) the helpless feelings of the families in maintaining an adaptive state for post-pasung mentally ill patients; (2) a sense of security as the priority for suppressing the guilt; and (3) the care of mentally ill patients using repeated pasung: the reduction in the pasung's intensity and the fulfillment of basic needs. Conclusions: Repeated pasung conducted by family members is defined as an effort to create a secure environment for patients with mental health problems.