I did all my clinical rotations for school in a psych unit of the local hospital. It was similar to how your friend describes it... basically like another unit except that there was a little structure and you wear your own clothes. There were 2 educational groups per day. Locked unit so you couldn't ever leave it. Kinda a bummer.

When I needed hospitalized last year i was scared to death because all I knew was my clinical experience. I worked with my T and I went to a private psychiatric hospital where they have separate units for people... they have a building for kids, one for adolescents, 2 separate units for dual diagnosis people, 1 detox unit, 1 unit for lower functioning people with severe bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, and 1 unit for higher functioning people... professionals, college students, etc. We were loekd in the unit 24-7 for at least 1 day until we were determined to be safe, then we were allowed to leave (always with a staff member) to go to the cafeteria for meals. Also my unit often was allowed to have fresh air outside ever 2 hours and a few times each week a staff member would allow us outside leisure time. I was in there 2 times... they were both overwhelmingly positive experiences. I saw a psychiatrist every weekday and we had structured activities/groups all day every weekday. Weekends are typically more relaxed.. less structure.

All in all, you don't want to go to the hospital if you dont have to but if you do, hopefuly there's one around you that's privately funded. Freestanding places tend to run better from my professional and personal experiences. Best to you.