Well, my answers are from where I come from - South Africa, and I have only been in "normal" hospitals.
1. What is intake like? I signed myself in, like any other patient. Needed to phone a few hours ahead and verify that a bed was available. When I got there, I had to fill in a whole bunch of forms.
2. What are the rooms like? I shared with 3 other people, with 1 communal bathroom. Cannot remember if there was a bath/shower, but think there was a bath. I was in a general ward - 2 of us were there for Major Depression, and the other 2 had other medical conditions.
3. What are the days like? I saw my pdoc for an hour, and my T for an hour. As I was admitted I had blood tests done. Nurses come to wake you up, take blood pressure and temp. The rest of the day is for you to sleep, read, watch TV, go for walks... 3 meals a day. Nurses see you 3x a day, but are always on call.
I have not been in a lock-down ward. I was moved to a psych ward for one night, and the only real difference was that there were only 2 of us in a room
4. What are the nights like? I just slept. I was on a sleeping aid, so I wouldn't have noticed too much. I think the nurses check on you...?
5. What do they do if you are currently taking medication? You bring your meds with, tell them what you are on, how often and what dosage. They take your meds away from you, and the nurses come to hand the meds out when applicable
6. What do you bring with you, if anything? some clothes, toiletries, reading material (And I took my laptop!)
7. How do you find in patient psych hospitals in your area? I haven't been
8. What does it have to offer in terms of counseling, meeting with doctors etc. I saw my pdoc and T daily for an hour. We have our original pdoc and T come to us.
9. How long are the stays usually? (For someone depressed or manic) For depression I was in for 3 days initially - they started my meds while in hospital
I was then admitted after an OD - again 3 days. Now, when i was supposed to be hospitalised recently, they wanted me to go to an inpatient Psych clinic, which would have probably been 4 weeks
10. Do most insurances cover it? My insurance has covered my hospital stays.