The one I was in was like a prison. We were locked in our rooms every night. The worst was when I was put in there at 11pm and it was dark and I had no idea why anyone else in the room was in there... But no, you won't be attacked. They keep the violent patients separate from the other patients.

I went in through the ER and was taken back into the psych ward for two nights. I was discharged very quickly because being in there was making me extremely anxious. My team of psychologists deemed it best for me to be let out because I really wasn't benefitting from it. There were so many personal triggers.

However, lots of people did benefit from being there quite a bit. It was (for the most part) fairly calm and it is a break from the stress of the outside world. There are also tons of people taking care of you so all you really need to do is try to relax. Personally, I was very distressed about being suddenly removed from my life and I couldn't stop wanting to go back to school, however I can see why some people really enjoy being there.

Bring something to do, however, because it was very very boring. I had nothing with me but the clothes on my back when I was put in there. A lot of people enjoyed being social and making friends. I was too afraid of everyone to do so.

So I can't really tell you what to expect. Some people even in my hospital while I was there really loved it while I was almost actually traumatized by the whole experience. It will depend on both your program and your perception of it.