One of the most significant aspects of effective care in a psychiatric hospital is maintaining a therapeutic milieu. Milieu therapy has been a cornerstone of modern inpatient psychiatric care since its inception, but is often regarded as secondary to other aspects of psychiatric care. As a result, many staff members, while excelling in the general aspects of patient care in a hospital setting, often overlook the importance of patient engagement, attentive listening, and other forms of treatment that are at the forefront of the psychosocial model. Robert, however, goes above and beyond on a daily basis.

While running charge as a Nurse, he still finds the time to spend hours with as many patients as possible every shift. I often work with him on the weekends, and every weekend, we will come in and by the end of a single shift, Robert knows the story, trials, and tribulations of each and every patient that he interacts with. Among the countless instances of this. I recall him speaking to a specific patient, whom I will refer to as "T" for the sake of this story. T had a very difficult time interacting with his peers in the milieu and sharing his interests with them. I really enjoyed "Dungeons & Dragons," the board game, and would carry the 200-page Game book around with him like a sort of tome. Seeing that T had difficulty getting his peers to interact, this nurse would spend hours on a daily basis ensuring that T felt as though he belonged and was able to give him a sense of confidence in his own interests. This allowed T to become more confident when interacting with his peers in the milieu and enabled T to reap far more of the benefits of a therapeutic milieu. This is thanks in no small part to his efforts to not only maintain the basic safety of his patients, but also foster an environment and milieu where patients can be reminded that they are far more than cases, but in fact human beings deserving of attention, care, and compassion.