Quote:
Originally Posted by sophiebunny
I was in-patient in a psychiatric hospital for a year. It was a long term facility but not run by the state. When I had exceeded the allotted time for treatment at this hospital the plan was to transfer me to an out patient day program to see how I adjusted. I was given no readjustment help. I couldn't manage even the most basic of living skills. When I failed to readjust properly, they planned to send me to a state hospital for an unlimited amount of time. I have a very unusual and well documented trauma history as well as bipolar 1 disorder with psychosis and DID. The state hospital is where the system sends you when they have no idea anymore how to treat you. It's like being the walking dead. There is no worse feeling than knowing the entire mental health system sees you as a lost cause. I was literally rescued from permanent confinement by a young newly graduated psychiatrist who saw something in me no one ever had...he saw potential. He fought hard to keep me out of the state hospital and ultimately, he won and gave me a chance at a future. 25 years later he's still my psychiatrist. I just saw him today, in fact.
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You found your hero. So happy to hear about that.
Yes, many state hospitals, those states that still have much of one, are the end of the line. I met people who had been living at the one I was at for more than 20 years. So sad.
Ours was recently investigated by the USDOJ Civil Rigths Division. Some things are much better, like overall psychiatric care and nursing care. Also, less use of restraints. Unfortunately, once patients are fully discharged from our state supervisory system, known as the Psychiatric Supervisory Review Board, there is absolutely zero follw-up support--of any kind. Often, patients who can do well in a highly structured and supported environment really deteriorate when they have no support.