One suggestion, talk to you therapist and Pdoc (if you have one) about what hospitals are options under your insurance, etc. ahead of time. Not all psychiatric hospitals are created equally, so if you can plan ahead, it will make actually having to make that decision easier. If you know your options, you can do a bit of research into them and hopefully go to the best option available rather than going into it blindly.

Some hospitals will have someone you can talk to ahead of time about how their program works, rules, etc. They can fill you in on what you are allowed to bring, visitation rules, daily routines, etc. The hospital I use will even walk a prospective patient through ahead of time before they make a decision.

Avoid hospitals that place patients in holding areas for observation ahead of time. There is one notorious for that here in our area; you don't want to be in that situation.

The hospital I use is a very good situation. I go directly to their ER because they are used to handling psychiatric emergencies. It is a regular hospital with a mental health floor rather than a free-standing psych hospital. If you go to the nearest ER and they don't have a psychiatric unit on the premises, you may get sent to whatever unit has a bed within their districting, and that is often not the best situation.

The kinds of restrictions you will have vary with the particular unit. My hospital currently does not have the facilities to separate patients who are a danger to themselves from patients who are not, thus, the restrictions for safety are probably more stringent than they would be otherwise. They are currently expanding, creating a unit for the most severe patients (often those in psychosis) and a separate unit for patients that don't require that level of intervention. I think they are also working on a separate unit for chemical dependency.

Because of the safety restrictions, it is a locked unit which means patients cannot come and go. You are able to go outside on supervised breaks after you've been on the floor for 48 hours, but honestly, I rarely bother (Texas weather is generally too hot or too cold for comfort.) Clothing cannot have strings, no shoelaces, no belts (pretty standard). No electronics. There are phones available for use if needed. Rooms are semi-private, so I usually have a roommate. It's generally not a problem. The one time it was (horrendous snorer), the charge nurse was able to move me because there were extra beds available. Psychiatric techs keep track of what you are doing about every 10 minutes; you get used to them with their clipboards and don't give them much thought after awhile. All doors remain open at all times except for bathrooms of course. Food was actually pretty decent as hospital food goes. A schedule of groups and classes throughout the day, including on weekends, led by social workers and/or therapists. No individual therapy as this is an acute care unit meant only for short-term stabilization.

The goal is to stabilize you for outpatient care, so most hospital stays are only a few days; mine average about 8-10 days which is on the longish end actually. Many patients are in and out in 3 days; the most severe may be their several weeks, but that isn't as common. Generally, if you require long-term care, you are moved to a long-term facility like a state hospital (not something I would have want to have to do). Social workers work with you to find an outpatient pdoc and therapist if you don't have them already. They also help patients find alternative housing if they cannot return to the situation they are currently living in. They have a wealth of resources that way. In my hospital, you see your pdoc every day, including weekends. When my pdoc has had days off, one of his associates in private practice has come in to see me.