Hi Non,
I work in a hospital with a vol/invol psych unit. If you'd like to ask me specific questions please PM me.

Psych units/hospitals all vary. Please know, though, that you can sometimes get a bed by "signing yourself in" but you are signing yourself in to THEIR care and they determine when you are ready to leave. If you want to leave and they don't think you're ready they can call for a CDMHP eval before you are allowed to leave.

Psych beds are tight. Usually a patient must be suicidal, homicidal or "gravely disabled" in order to be admitted. Certainly if you've had medication troubles in the past, it would be a valid reason to start you on meds for a day or two in the hospital. However, if your primary complaint is that you're "afraid" of meds, that won't be enough to warrant an admission.
Take care,
Okie