The fox and the hound, I noticed that it says that you live in the States. I assume that is the US.

For the most part, here in the US the time that you stay inpatient tends to be pretty short because of insurance. JD is correct in that you will need to show compliance with taking meds if they are prescribed. For the most part they really don't allow much in the way of electronics such as cell phones, laptops, or tablets. I think there are a few reasons for that but I think the biggest is due to HIPPA privacy laws and the fact that pretty much all of those have cameras on them these days.

The quality of hospitals can vary hugely because some are private (meaning you need private insurance or pay out of pocket) and then others are public (means they take medicaid and those who are not insured). The private ones are almost always a bit nicer. They tend to have better food, tend to be better staffed and offer more in the way of therapy. I have found that most of the public ones seem to be more about warehousing a person, keeping them safe, and getting started on meds.

There can be lots of drama at times because of people dealing with all types of mental problems. The inpatient psychiatric units here are pretty much all locked units, which means you can not leave without a staff member until you are leaving for discharge. Some do have short couple hour passes that you can get when you are more stable.

The food almost always sucks. They can also be a bit noisy with people having occasional freak outs.

In short, they are basically for a person to go to long enough to get over being suicidal/ homicidal and then released. You certainly don't go to them to get fixed or work on long term issues.

If a person is suicidal or homicidal then that is what they are for nowadays.

Not the most happy place on earth to say the least.