[jpal71]

How can I know that long-term state hospitalization is the right choice for my teenaged daughter? How can I know she will get the right therapeutic treatment? Aren't long-term state hospitals only beneficial for medication and observation? A mental health professional I spoke to says that it "takes" more than it "gives". My daughter has been admitted to acute care psychiatric hospitals on 6 occassions for cutting and visual/auditory hallucinations.

[Rapunzel]

That is a very difficult decision to make. Is your daughter at all willing to try to get better? Will she take meds for the hallucinations, and talk about what is going on? Cutting is generally a way that people try to cope when they don't know how else to cope. It may be taken as a sign that she wants her life to be different, and that she wants help. Hospitalization is usually more about keeping people safe than really treating mental health issues, or perhaps medication stabilization if it is the only way to accomplish that.

What other options have you considered? Have you tried intensive outpatient programs or residential treatment with an objective to help her to learn how to manage her problems and live in the real world? I don't know your daughter, or you, but I would make sure that all other options have been explored before turning to long-term hospitalization. If she is able to be safe, I would look for other answers. If she isn't safe, she may need to be in the hospital until she can be stabalized.

[GrayNess]

As someone who also has visual and auditory hallucinations, they're not the most fun nor pleasent experience (however, I don't cut so cant help there). I'm assuming the hospitalization would be to get her to stop cutting or give her alternative copings ways and start her up on some antipsychotics (which tend to have some unpleasent effects).

There's also outpatient therapy both for medication and talking, so you could also try that.

But, to answer your questions. How do you know she'll get the right treatment? Well, as someone whose taken a course in medical pharmacology and plenty of biology (and currently a human anatomy and physiology course), it's basically a guessing game. They have the meds available but to know which ones will work and how well really is a trial-and-error test. Obviously there's the stats on how good certain meds are but it's a guessing game if your daughter will react positively or not to the meds. However, once it is found, then it is quite effective.

How do you know long-term is right? For starters, she probably won't have access to things to cut with, and can get some proper treatment, as well as a diagnosis if she doesn't have one already. The long-term would probably refer her later to outpatient therapy, or if they have therapy in the long-term, finding out her possible reasons for cutting and tackling them.

[Perna]

Who is recommending long-term? I'd ask them why and what she might gain/lose (worst case scenario)? I'd assume if short term crisis/acute hospitalizations haven't helped her (having had 6) then it might be time for a longer, evaluation/med check, etc. trial?

You too are influenced by your daughter's illness and could use the longer time to recoup some of your own energy and make plans for the true long-term, see what might be next if things go well/ill.

I don't know that you can predict how your daughter will/will not do or whether it will help or not further than researching the hospital and staff and their "success" rate, etc. as one would before any important medical operation? I'd learn all you could from three sources, those who think it might be a good idea and those like the one whom you have already spoken with who don't like long-term care but also speak with people who know your daughter!