At What Point Is Inpatient Care Good For Mental Health?- Who Is It Suitable For?
Many people do not understand what inpatient mental health care entails. Misconceptions about inpatient mental health care include metal beds, straight jackets, and even evil nurses. But no, inpatient mental health care is designed to help you control your symptoms and live a healthy life.
What point is inpatient care good for mental health, then? You should consider inpatient treatment when your symptoms become too severe to manage. If you are experiencing symptoms like suicidal ideation or psychosis, you require inpatient care.
Internal care encompasses all medical services under one roof. The patient has access to professionals in mental health and other support personnel. This essay will discuss when inpatient care is necessary and how inpatient treatments work. In addition, we will discuss other necessary facts about inpatient care you need to know.
What Is Inpatient Care In Mental Health Treatment?
Inpatient care is a form of mental health treatment in which the patient resides in a mental health facility. Depending on the individual's needs, the length of stay could range from one night to several months. Residential treatment refers to long-term inpatient treatment.
During mental health inpatient treatment, you receive intensive assistance and close supervision. Inpatient care focuses on providing therapeutic and educational services that facilitate a patient's reintegration into society.
If your symptoms are becoming unbearable, you can enroll in an inpatient mental health facility. Individuals who have attempted an outpatient program but relapsed may also benefit from inpatient treatment.
Depending on your progress, you will likely be referred to outpatient programs or residential hospitalization following inpatient treatment.
What Point Is Inpatient Care Good For Mental Health?
Inpatient care is crucial when you feel your mental health spiraling out of control. Also, inpatient care might be a better option if you have sought outpatient help and it was of no use. Despite the widespread fear, stigma, and misunderstanding, inpatient mental health care is critical.
It is time to eliminate the misconceptions and stigma. Inpatient mental health care is not as grotesque as displayed in movies and television. However, it can be scary for patients and their families to embrace inpatient treatment.
Parents are hesitant to allow their children to receive inpatient mental health care. That is why there have been plans to improve inpatient care services so as to make the patients comfortable and less reluctant to enroll in the facilities.
Once people comprehend the efficacy of inpatient treatment, they will recognize the possibility of helping their loved ones achieve full recovery.
Going to a hospital for mental health care is the same as going to an emergency medical condition. Inpatient treatment is a brief stay to receive the assistance necessary to resolve a problem.
Inpatient treatment provides a warm, inviting environment where patients can receive the necessary treatment. Patients receive mental care in an optimized setting for their well-being in every way.
Who Is Inpatient Care Suitable For?
As mentioned, inpatient care is suitable when mental health symptoms become too severe for you to control. For people who experience the following symptoms, inpatient care is ideal for you.
- Suicidal intent or self-harming conduct
- Manic episodes
- Severe depression
- Delirium
- Increasing recklessness or when you pose a danger to others
- Mood disorders (such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder)
- Psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder)
- Substance-use disorders (including substance-induced psychosis or depression)
- Not taking care of yourself (not eating or showering)
- Have trouble managing medicine use
- Delusions and hallucinations (psychosis)
So, it is vital to realize that these symptoms require hospitalization. Also, at times, someone may feel overwhelmed with mental issues and enroll for inpatient care for a few days.
A short-term emergency inpatient stay may be necessary during a mental health crisis. You receive intensive assistance and close supervision during inpatient therapy for mental health.
You may require inpatient care if you have exhausted all other therapy choices without success. After receiving inpatient treatment, the specialists will refer you to outpatient programs.
What Are The Benefits Of Inpatient Care?
There are two types of inpatient care; short-term and long-term inpatient treatment. One patient may be best served by engaging in inpatient care a few times per week and returning to normal activities. Another patient may prefer rigorous, ongoing inpatient care.
Treatment professionals select the optimal treatment for each patient according to the intensity of their symptoms. After a thorough examination by a treatment expert, the treatment option is provided to the patient, who then decides whether or not to partake.
The essential benefit of inpatient care is the security it offers. Inpatient treatments provide a comfortable, contemporary atmosphere to patients.
Short-term inpatient care only helps individuals get a break from mental turmoil; in no time, the individual returns to their everyday life. On the other hand, long-term inpatient treatment has many benefits, they include:
1. Inpatient Care Helps Overcome Stopping Bad Habits
Through inpatient care, individuals get liberated from toxic behaviors. This is done through self-care practices that promote spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental health as part of the healing process.
Getting rid of toxic behaviors requires motivation, effort, and time which inpatient personnel provides. In addition, inpatient mental health care gives patients a controlled routine that allows them to immerse themselves in new, healthy ways of living.
If the patient is suffering from a particular addiction, such as substance abuse, they receive a qualified guide who can assist them in controlling the need for drugs. Living in an inpatient treatment facility eliminates access to these substances.
This makes the patient concentrate on other things apart from drugs. Consequently, patients can take healthy habits from the treatment with them when they leave treatment.
2. Inpatient care helps address underlying issues
While short-term inpatient care addresses symptoms, long-term inpatient care helps patients work through underlying issues.
Underlying issues trigger depression, anxiety, and despair. By addressing them, the patient can move forward with inner healing.
3. Inpatient care enables a patient to focus on rehabilitation
Unlike short-term inpatient care, long-term inpatient care provides continuous care without distractions.
With outpatient care, when the individual returns to their normal activities, they may relapse into the same triggering behaviors. Long-term care provides patients with an escape from their everyday lives.
Patients can genuinely abandon their day-to-day commitments and focus on therapy and healing. The amount of development that may be accomplished in an inpatient setting is astonishing compared to outpatient sessions.
Inpatient mental health treatment can provide the space, safety, and time necessary to concentrate on recovery. Additionally, it provides access to treatments that may not be available in an outpatient setting.
4. Personnel come up with a personalized care plan
Therapists expose patients to inpatient treatments and select which suits the patient best. It may take time to determine which treatment is most efficient.
In addition, therapists and counselors establish an aftercare plan according to a client’s unique requirements. That way, the aftercare plan can help people continue their healing journey after discharge.
5. Inpatient care helps patients meet a supportive community
This form of treatment assists a patient in meeting other individuals who are going through similar circumstances. Long-term inpatient treatment enables patients to develop caring and supportive relationships with their peers and mentors.
Many long-term programs offer after-treatment support teams that keep clients connected even after discharge. This type of continual community and connection is uncommon among outpatient treatments.
The benefits of long-term mental health inpatient care are evident. However, there are disadvantages to long-term treatment. For example, it can be highly challenging when an individual leaves their daily lives, families, and friends.
Also, the cost may discourage people and families from pursuing inpatient care. Nevertheless, many insurance providers cover long-term mental health institutions.
How Long Does Inpatient Care Last?
Short-term inpatient care lasts for a few days, utmost 15 days. Long-term inpatient care lasts for at least three months. During this period, patients have access to mental health professionals 24/7.
Some establishments may permit extensions and more extended stays. The recommended length of stay in an inpatient institution is determined by your physician, depending on your symptoms.
How Does Inpatient Treatment Work?
Inpatient mental health treatment typically includes therapy, peer support, monitoring, and leisure activities. The treatment program follows a schedule where patients do certain things at a particular time.
Typical morning activities include taking a shower and having breakfast. After breakfast, patients can read, journal, or participate in group or individual therapy. The purpose of group therapy is to assist the patient in comprehending and managing the symptoms.
In addition, group therapy assists you and other members of the group feel understood. This helps patients in accepting themselves, and healing commences. Individual treatment, on the other hand, aids you analyze what led to your mental health crisis.
These individual group sessions also assist therapists in developing an effective aftercare plan. Therapists also identify goals for continued outpatient therapy. Later in the day, physical or other leisure activities follow for a period.
Some programs will emphasize physical therapy to provide patients with the endorphins that result from physical activity. Although exercise is not necessarily a solution for mental illness, studies indicate that regular physical activity can aid in treating depression and anxiety.
The timetable may include holistic therapy, such as art, yoga, or music, incorporated into specific programs. The purpose of holistic treatment is to promote feelings of serenity and stability.
The patient gets to recover the ability to concentrate on the present and calm their nerves. After supper, most schedules allow for leisure time, such as viewing movies.
Finally, lights-out happens to ensure that patients receive sufficient rest. Scheduling may appear limiting, but it is intended to give therapy to patients on a solid basis.
What Happens After Inpatient Care?
During inpatient care, therapists develop an aftercare plan for after the patient is discharged. The inpatient facilities only help you move from mental crisis to stability.
An aftercare plan is intended to keep you stable so that you do not have to return to the hospital or experience another mental health crisis. Depending on the specifics of your case, your therapist may suggest further treatments.
They may also recommend attending support groups and weekly counseling sessions, taking medication or adhering to a physical program. Your new outpatient support team may modify and update your plan as they learn more about you.
As the patient, it is vital for you to adhere to the discharge plan to continue with the path to recovery. Recovery is a lifelong journey, but it is possible to live a happy and healthy life with the proper assistance and support.
Conclusion
So, at what point is inpatient care good for mental health? When people cannot control mental health-related symptoms, they should receive inpatient care. If you exhibit symptoms such as suicidal ideation, psychosis, or delirium, you should seek inpatient treatment.
Therapists and other specialized personnel assess your needs while in their care. In addition, they connect you with the necessary resources during your stay and even after you are discharged, which facilitates your recovery.