Psychiatric hospitals?

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I just need to know what they are about. I know in the old days they have had a very horrible past for patients with mental illnesses and conditions, as well as people with disabilities. But I want to know about them today. What are they like and how do they do things now then they did from the past? Do they allow iPads AS LONG as it helps with treatment?

In the story I've been writing, my character has depression and an autistic disorder. She sees and hears ghosts so her mother thinks she's schizophrenic. (She doesn't think what her daughter sees are real) She cuts herself and can also be pretty suicidal. She has no friends except for her demon best friend Ikuto who she told off for expressing his feelings just before she was being sent off to a psychiatric hospital. So she meets new friends at the hospital. However, Ikuto does come back to save her from become 'sane' and she doesn't believe it's him because he goes away for a week while still protecting her from an invisible distance. Since he is a demon, he has an ability to manifest in any place where she is or stay invisible where she can't see, hear or sense him but he still hears, sees and senses her.

So yeah... I really want to know more about them today and how they do things. Does anyone have any idea? D:

You can give her an iPad. I've been to two. You get your blood pressure taken twice a day. The patients are all different. Drama definitely breaks out multiple times from freakouts. The nurses tend to be amazing.

Hmm, I'm not entirely sure. I know in Canada we have the psych wards in general hospitals for short-term stay. My experience in the psych ward was good. I was there for 2 weeks and everybody was caring and I had group therapy. We do have a few mental institutions but they're really really hard to get into. You have to really need the long-term care. Your mental issues have to be extreme. I've been to Ontario Shores a few times (a mental institution close to where I live) I went there for a few psychiatric appointments and once I got lost and ended up in the residence area. There seemed to be classes for youth there. They were going to different classes and they had a music room and stuff.

I don't know too much about it though. I remember my mum told me when she was doing her nursing practicum at the old Whitby Psych before they renovated it in the mid 90's some guy jumped her and nurses and doctors had to pull him off of her.

Hmm, Ontario Shores has a website and it explains some of the different programs they offer you. They might get back to you. The staff there are really nice. I'll give you the link.

Ontario Shores

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I spent 2 months in a osych hospital years ago. There were no shades over the windows and none of us were allowed to have shoe laces. It took me about a month to earn their trust to where they allowed me to get a walkman & headphones. It'd be interesting to see how things have changed now, not that I'm planning to be interred again!

Things are very repetitive in the hospital and you do not get much freedom or time to yourself. I attempted suicide and spent about two weeks in the psych ward of a regular hospital. All we could do was lay in bed all day and watch TV. I had my own private bathroom but my bedroom door could not be closed. Each patient had a security officer sitting outside of their door at all times. They would just watch you and make sure you weren't trying to harm yourself. We had to wear these blue paper thin hospital clothes and we only got to leave our rooms once in the morning. We had to go to a different level to see the doctor and also we could see visitors at that time. There were no psychiatrists there so we had to talk to one over Skype. You would talk to him/her the first 24 hours or so you got there and they would determine whether you well enough to leave or not. During my stay there, it took them about 2 weeks to find me an actual psychiatric hospital to go to.

The psych hospital was pretty nice looking and not as institutional looking as the other hospital. For the majority of the day we had to stay in this big open area that had a TV, tables, and books and stuff. It also had an atrium in the middle. Some of the patients there were like zombies at times. They would just stare at the floor. One guy would walk around with this dazed look on his face singing. Some patients were prone to violent outbursts. One guy tried to jump over the nurses station. There was one women I met there who could not get from point A to point B in conversation. She had a lot of the signs of schizophrenia. She actually thought that I was her niece but I did not know her at all. But some people seemed completely normal. I even met someone else there who had AS. He said the sound of the TV was driving him crazy. He had been there for 7 months. (Keep in mind this was a state hospital) Places like this are hard for those of us with AS. I had a lot of sensory issues at this place because of all the noises and movements. Here's the website for the place I was at: http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/bryan/

Our days were spent going to classes and working with our treatment teams. You had to level up to be able to go outside of the ward. When you did they had other activities you could do. They had a library and a place where you could watch movies. I never stayed leveled up for that long. They would actually give you shots if they thought you needed it. I was given several and they would knock me out for the rest of the day. I never actually needed the shot but the doctor on call was not my doctor so he/she ordered them for me (ignorantly).

If you have Netflix, check out the indie film called Mental.

Hopefully my long post gave you some ideas and information.

There are different types of psych hospitals. Public psych hospitals are usually state run places where people are put either voluntarily or against their will regardless of insurance or ability to pay. They aren't very good and your character would not have an ipad in one of those places.

Private psych hospitals require either insurance of cash/crediit based payments and as with public ones a person can enter voluntarily or can be committed against their will. They vary widely and some are very nice while others are barely above public hospitals.

Then there are psych units in regular hospitals. They vary as well. In teaching hospitals, while you may have access to newer therapies and may see more actual doctors and therapists during your stay, the accomodations and amenities will not be all that great. For profit hospitals tend to have the nicer places, offer more privelages, and a better staff to patient ratio. You will more than likely see your psychiatrist every day and possibly have therapy with him as well, where in teaching hospitals you may have therapy with your psychiatrist, a psychologist associated with his practice, or someone on staff such as a psychologist, social worker, counselor, etc.

You do get vital signs taken daily, usually at the beginning of every nursing shift unless you have medical problems that dictate more frequent checks. While some do allow smoking in certain areas, none allow smoking in rooms, nor do they allow patients to have access to lighters. For profit hospitals tend to have a greater number of private rooms than teaching hospitals, and some even have suites of a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom for those who want to pay extra. They all have a nurses station and the nurses may wear scrubs or uniforms in some places while in other places they wear street clothes and name tags. Toiletries that contain alcohol or are arosol are usually kept in a locked room and given to you to use by the nursing staff, as are razors. Many places will have polished metal mirrors and the pictures will be covered in heavy unbreakable clear plastic instead of glass.

Private mental hospitals, as private (for profit) psych units vary widely in what is permitted, so if you have your character in a private facility you can get away with letting her do anything you want to let her do, almost.

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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