I use a hospital in Texas (many times in fact). Patients leave all the time at their own request as long as they came in voluntarily. In fact, I saw a man who was admitted involuntarily from another hospital. It was really a mistake as he had actual volunteered his admission but the other hospital had handled the admission work incorrectly. The pdoc at our hospital got the matter staightened up quickly and he was able to leave on his own volition later that day. I've seen very few patients complain about not being allowed to leave, and in those cases it was very clear they were involuntary admissions ( and needed to be).

I know each hospital is different which is why people really do need to do their research if they expect hospitalization for mental health problems may be a possibility at some point.

I've never found the hospital to be prisonlike. I suspect people who have actually been in prison would generally agree. Yes, it is restrictive in some ways, yes they do observe patients closely (my hospital notes what each patient is doing every 10 minutes), but I certainly didn't find it prisonlike and I was on a locked floor--still not prisonlike.

I did receive good care. The staff was caring and helpful. Patients were dealt with respectfully and professionally even when that respect was not reciprocated. Never saw restraints used in all my stays. There is one quiet room for patients who might lose physical control, but this hospital does not lock patients in the room. They simply position staff at the door while the patient calms down, and patients are there a very minimal amount of time.

Yes, there are bad hospitals out there, but they aren't all run that way.