Willis's restraining chair

Domain XVI · Historical, discredited & harmful · Francis Willis · 1788 · Kew

What it is

This entry is listed for history and for safety. Willis's restraining chair and strait-waistcoat were coercive measures that frightened, confined and humiliated the person they were used on. They are not recommended, and this guide does not teach any form of restraint. Section 4 covers only the…

Format

• The Framework describes two things: the historical phases of the practice, in outline, and the phases of the psychotherapist's own work. Session number and length follow the client's needs and the setting.
• 1800s: moral treatment and non-restraint. At Hanwell Asylum, John Conolly gave up mechanical restraint in favour of "moral treatment".

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Pre-1789: restraint as routine. Restraining garments were "universally used until the end of the 1700s". Private madhouses such as Willis's were part of this world.
• c. 1789–1830: the age of devices. Restraining, tranquillising and rotating chairs and shock baths were promoted, for example by Joseph Mason Cox and by Benjamin Rush, whose 1811 "Tranquillizing" chair was meant to "overwhelm every motion and sense".
• Today: regulation of restraint. Mechanical restraint is defined in law and restricted (England, Use of Force Act 2018; NICE NG10; US 42 CFR 482.13(e)). Regulators keep finding overuse, especially for autistic people and people with a learning disability.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• safeguarding risk to the person; carer burnout. Working: the family's requests shift toward supported care.
• minimising ("that's just how wards are"); your own wish to rescue. Working: concerns are clear, recorded and acted on.
• retaliation against you; the client being treated worse after a complaint. Working: a review happens and practice changes.
• the client agreeing to arrangements just to please you. Check again later. Working: physical arousal drops during sessions.
• retraumatisation through long processes; pressure from others to campaign. Working: the client acts by choice and feels more agency.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.