Today I am going to talk to you about the psych ward.
So like I said, today I am going to talk about psych wards.
What is it?
People use that term a lot,
'I have been in the psych ward', or 'I am going to the psych ward.',
or 'One of my friends is in the psych ward.'
And what does that mean?
Now I actually worked in the psych ward for many years.
And what it is, is hospitalisation.
When I tell many of you if you are worried that you are going to kill yourself or hurt someone else, to take yourself to the hospital.
That's what this means.
Now the psych ward is a portion of the hospital, usually a floor.
And it's a locked facility.
And it's somewhere that you go when, honestly, you just don't feel safe.
And you are under constant supervision.
Whether it's a therapist like myself, it's a psych nurse, it's a psychiatrist, it's a primary care doctor.
They are always doing rounds and checking on you every half hour or hour to make sure you are okay.
So truthfully this is the highest level of care that you can be in to just ensure your safety.
And that's why we go.
Now I may have to send my clients there, like I have talked about before in the state of California we call it a 51/50.
And that means that you are a danger to yourself, you are suicidal or trying to kill yourself.
Or you are homicidal, you are a danger to others.
So that means that you are trying to put together a plan to kill your ex boyfriend, or kill someone that's really hurt you.
I don't know, you're putting together a plan to harm someone else.
And I as your therapist am legally bound to send you into the hospital so that you are safe.
And that people around you are safe.
And so that's something that I have to do if I think that you are going to harm someone else.
Okay.
Now what does a psych ward look like in the day?
Like, what does it actually feel like when you are there?
And I'm not going to lie, it's pretty scary.
A lot of my clients hated it.
And it wasn't that they would never go back, because many of my clients say 'Oh my god I hate going there, it's horrible.'
And it honestly, it helps motivate them to get help earlier.
Because like I said, this is the highest level of care.
This is when nothing else is helping, and we just want to make sure that you are safe.
So you go in to the hospital, and most likely it's an emergency room.
Because you are fearing for your life.
Or someone has sent you there and the PET team, there is a psych team that comes and gets you in like an ambulance.
And they take you there.
You are assessed immediately by a psychiatrist, or a therapist.
I used to do a lot of those assessments where I would show up in the emergency room and assess how you were doing.
And so then, from there they usually give you medication.
Often times you may not have a choice because you could be fighting back, you could be dangerous.
And from there they put you on a bed and they take you either upstairs or down the hall into the psych ward.
Now we have to key ourselves in as people who work there.
Because I said that it's locked.
So you get in there, you have a room.
If you are dangerous to others, then usually you are in your own room.
But if you are more of a danger to yourself, you are not a danger to others, you may share with another person.
And you are in there for.
In the state of California, to be honest, there aren't a lot of psych wards.
And people are, it's expensive for insurances.
And people don't want to pay for it.
And so, I remember thinking that was a huge disservice to people.
But you are only in there for maybe two or three days.
And like I said, you are checked on every half hour or hour.
The meals are brought to you.
You may have a couple of groups during the day with other people in the psych ward.
And for those of us who are not floridly psychotic or hearing voices.
We just attempted suicide and that's how we ended up there.
It can be really scary.
I mean. I have been mooned by people, people have taken their clothes off.
I have had faeces thrown across the room, luckily it didn't hit me.
There is a lot going on because some people are really sick, and that's why they are there.
So in a nut shell that's what the psych ward looks like.
And it's obviously different depending on where you are at.
And where, whether it's a privately owned hospital or a state run facility.
Or if you are in the UK or if you are in a different part of the world.
Like always share what your experiences are like.
Your's might be very different from the one that I worked at.
But based on my experience, that's what the psych ward looks like.
And even though I am telling you obviously it's very scary and it's not the place you want to end up.
Which is why I always encourage you; if you are worried about yourself, if you think that you are really struggling.
Please please please seek help.
Because that's the last resort.
I don't want to have to send my clients there.
They don't want to be there.
No one wants to be there.
We want to make sure that we can get you help early on so that we don't have to resort to that.
But it's a safeguard. It's something that you should utilise.
If you worry, if you think that you are a danger to yourself or someone else.
It's okay to go there.
Like I said. It's a couple of days, they are going to make sure that you are safe.
And that's my biggest concern to my clients.
Making sure that you are safe, and you are taken care of.
So I hope that that kind of helps debunk any myths.
Or help you understand what the psych ward is there for.
And what it looks like.
And if you do go in, what to expect.
Because I want all of you to be safe.
I want all of you to get the help that you need.
And we will continue working together towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community