Your experience is rare thing. I can tell you that according to the APA, federal HIPPA law and all united state boards of clinical certified and licensed social workers boards all state in their rules and ethics codes that medical and mental health treatment personnel are NOT supposed to even acknowledge such phone calls WITHOUT a signed release of information on file from the client. The American Psychiatric Association and your states board of clinical certified and licensed Social workers can send you the information on request Just tell them you need information regarding their confidentiality rules and ethics codes. That is how I got my information when a social worker violated my confidentiality which led to her being fired from the agency and losing her license.

Also though the intake papers with a therapy agency states they are allowed to break confidentiality in the event of suicidal or homicidal situations they are allowed to do so only if they are contacting the police, 911 those type of emergency services. or suppeniaed for court purposes. They cannot call just anyone and say I saw so and so and they made a threat against you. If they could do that I would be sitting in jail many times over. when a person makes a threat against another first the therapist assesses how serious it is, then calls the supervisor and the supervisor contacts the police and the polce pick up the person making the threat and the person is immediately hospitalized involluntarily or placed under arrest depending on the type of threat of harm. How do I know this - while in a memory piece (alter) during a therapy session I threw a table at my therapist. It was decided between the supervisor and therapist that they would try to help me gain control of this without police intervention and hospitalization first. But I was informed of the law, agency protocal and possible ramifications should we not be able to take care of this situation within the agency.

As for hospitalization again your experience is rare. I was hospitalized in california in Lancaster to be exact and I WAS required to speak to TWO professionals. This was about 15 years ago.

A friend of mine just got out of the hospital in Los Angelas. She had to speak to TWO staff psychiatrists in the ER because she refused to go in on her own.

I have another friend that was hospitalized in Marina Del Rey last March, she had to talk to TWO psychiatrists AND they had to agree commitment was needed.

I have a relative in Palmdale who is a frequent "inmate" as we joke of three different hospitals all of which required her to talk to TWO psychiatrists. The only time she did not was when her therapist went with her or called ahead.

I have another relative in Edwards and she was required to talk to TWO psychaitrists when transported to the hospital.

I have a friend who is a Psychiatric Nurse in Hesperia who told me last night their hospital protocal follows the state rule of talking to TWO psychiatrists.

(as you can tell California is one place I personally know about. for I lived there for 6 years in many places. If you get a chance visit Bouquet Canyon in March for me so beautiful in the spring)

California does require TWO psychiatrists. by your post you DID talk to two - one in the ER and one on the unit and then they released you after their assessment. You weren't officially committed involuntarily. Its considered involuntarily committed AFTER the two assessments are done.

For future referance - At any point BEFORE that second assessment you could have walked out the door and there was nothing they could have done about it.

Knowing what my california friends go through and what I experienced there Im guessing that The first assessment in the ER probably raised a couple flags for the psychatrist on call (otherwise you would have been released) and instead of making you wait in the crowded and noisy ER for the second psychiatrist who was most likely not presently in the hospital and able to see you right away so the first one probably ASKED you if you would mind going up on the unit until the second one could talik to you. OR you changed your mind and agreed to go on the unit over night which makes getting a second assessment in the ER basically not necessary. Both of these situations has happened to my friends along with another one and that was when one of them grabbed a bedpan and started swinging at the staff with it. obviously there was no need for the second assessment when gail did that.

Im assuming since you did not mention it you were not showing such "extreme violent actions" at the time they decided to do the second one on the unit instead of in the ER which is the protcal for such things.

When in the ER if the first psychiatrist sees no "red flags" then the second one is not necessasary.

One of my friends there was actively TRYING to be hospitalized and they wouldnt. when she got copies of her files it states "patient came into ER wanting to be hospitalized though she claimed to be suicidal her tone of voice was calm, her thought patterns showed no marked incoherence, in fact she was able to laugh and show appropieate emotions during a detailed conversation which lasted 15 minutes. There was no visable self mutilation or suicidal actions present. The only time this patient expressed any agitation was when told she does not fit the criteria for immediate hospitalization." (LOL so much for trying Meg guess you need to hit them over the head with a bedpan)

Anyway all I can do is tell the people my experience and what I know about the law and how to find the information for what they need. Since there are many people on this message board there are going to be many versions of their experiences since we are not clones of each other. So sorry you werent hospitalized when you felt you needed to to all those who werent hospitalized and sorry you were to all those who were. and good luck to all in finding what you need to help you.