Lived experiences in a psych ward. Trigger warning

[Tiddlysocks]

I was voluntarily hospitalised recently in a psych ward for 7 weeks. I was burnt-out and very depressed, and for the first time in my life was suicidal.

What surprised me was how helpful it was and I was treated. The staff were so kind, and the treatment was based on daily physical exercise and occupational therapy, with weekly psychotherapy. The patients had all meals together, weekly job list and every evening a different patient was responsible for a set group acitivity. Finally, we were given a lot of freedom. We could walk in the forest from 8am til 8 pm, visit home on the weekends and go shopping if we had to.

My first question is, how normal is this kind of experience for those hospitalised with depression and anxiety? Is this just a German type of therapy (where I am currently living)? What has worked and not worked for you?

Thanks for sharing.

I was in a mental unit near-ish to London in 2012. It was horrible. Staff mocked and ignored us, food was dreadful, there was one very thin blanket per person unless you had someone who could bring you something warmer in (I didn't).

Therapy was colouring in once a week or doing your nails once a week.

We were allowed out for an afternoon if family came to take you (mine didn't). You couldn't go out by yourself.

No exercise. Unless you wanted to walk up and down the corridor.

The bathroom was like something from a Hammer Horror. Old white tiles and a window at the top of the wall and no plug in the bath.

There was a TV room in front of the nurse station with magazines, and a little "kitchen" where you could make yourself a hot drink- if a nurse had time to unlock it and watch you make it.

It's been knocked down since then.

I think if you pay, you can get residential treatment like that in the UK - I was on the verge of needing it so did some research. I don’t think NHS psych wards are much like that.

2004 NHS unit. suicide attempt.

Bays separated by shelving units so lots of privacy. Meals served in the lunch room. Horlicks or hot chocolate before bed. I wasn't eating, no-one noticed until I fainted, then they made me meal replacement drinks for a day, then they forgot.

Activities included relaxation techniques & crafts. I saw a Dr maybe once a month?

Mixed sex unit, I was propositioned in the rec room. Very little violence. Some of my things got stolen.

Most therapy was in the smoking room with the care assistants, they were lovely & listened. Other than that, counselling once a week.

After the first few days I was allowed to leave the ward for short periods. After a month I could discharge for the weekend under family supervision.

Discharged after 2 months without any consultation or warning, in the same condition I went in, apart from being 2 stone lighter.

It wont help you but wards tend to be single sex now at least in the mental health trust i worked in
It also went smoke free a few years ago
Acute wards tend to be extremely busy
And ut wasent uncommon for there to be only one trained nurse on duty .

Im sorry you were treated like that
Some people should never be allowed to work in mental health
The Bbc did a panorama undecover documentry a few years ago on the forensic unit at the trust i used to work for
How some of the staff treated the patients was awful .

F

My family member was hospitalised around 2 years ago and she had excellent treatment, which sounded similar to this (cooking classes, etc). They have been hospitalised many, many times over the years and this was the first time they received, in my opinion, well rounded treatment (or any good treatment for that matter- they used to just put them on meds and release them too soon). It has worked and it finally had a long-term impact and they haven’t been hospitalised since.

I will note, this was for schizophrenic episodes that carried a higher risk of harm towards others. Unfortunately, I’m not sure people who are at risk of harm to themselves alone get the longer-term treatment that they need to fully recover, but that is my speculation based on my experience with my family member.

That sounds nothing like the UK. They're awful places that don't seem so focused on recovery, just getting people the right meds to get them out of hospital.

I really thought that it was probably a normal experience. Is there really not much like this in the UK?

Not at all from what I've seen, with my experience and others.

My Mil was in a rehab unit in Germany a few years ago - physical not mental rehabilitation. It was also in the forest and more like a hotel than a hospital . They even had a free cafe where they could go and have yummy cakes when they wanted. I would think about moving to Germany but the reason she was there was the absolutely appalling and negligent treatment she had before that from her local doctor and local hospital it East Germany.

I manage teams on seven acute psychiatric wards - they are all mixed sex.
private room, showers and toilets on corridors (these are single sex)

@Tiddlysocks i would say some rehab wards are like that - able to come and go, lots of groups etc.
on our acute wards, most residents are too poorly to have consistent community meetings, or to organise an activity.

Not going to say how/why I know but a secure mental health unit attached to a large Welsh hospital 2019 was like this:

• Mixed sex wards
• Smoking allowed in an enclosed outside area attached to the ward.
• Recreation room containing a single small television and residents do not have access to the remote control or choose what is watched.
• Same recreation room contained one magazine about luxury yachts. (One resident showed me which ones he owned but was not allowed access to as his money was being controlled by forces beyond his control).
• Activities available for residents are as follows: sitting in your room, sitting in the recreation room.
• Psychotherapy/counseling not available or offered.
• Each resident gets their own room.
• No leaving the unit until you are released by a team of psychiatrists and doctors who agree that it is safe to do so.

Horrible. Shared wards. No therapy. Dirty floors. Loud. Mocking staff. Worst 3 weeks of my life

Only quoting the OP as this sounds amazing - exactly what would help.

My experience - stripped of all dignity, and literally stripped. Filthy mattress and room. Unkind and abusive staff, including sexually (main carer started a 'relationship' with patients- constantly reported) no help and no purpose. Scary, home to people that were dangerous. Filthy, table filled with body hair.

Completely written off

Your experience seems quite nice, TiddlySocks. All of the NHS mental health environments I've been in (as a worker) were horrible. Dangerous, noisy, lots of illegal drugs, sexual harassment and abuse, violent disorder, overuse of restraint, staff who demeaned and belittled patients, some sold drugs to patients, no therapy except colouring books and felt tip pens, weekly meeting with a psychiatrist who often decided on a whim that diagnoses, medications and treatment strategies were wrong, terrible food, thefts from patient on patients, alarms going off every five minutes, locked doors, and stinky, ugly shared rooms, bedspaces separated by dirty curtains hanging off their tracks, broken furniture, lockers with no keys, difficult for patients to access towels, sanitary items, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Lots of agency staff who sit around doing the bare minimum, not enough pin alarms to go around, I could go on, but I suspect you get the picture. I pity anyone who finds themselves in one of these places.

Wow.

I’ve been sectioned multiple times and none have been like that. You are very lucky to have had the sort of experience you had.

I was a voluntary patient in a UK NHS psychiatric ward and had a positive experience.

"What surprised me was how helpful it was and I was treated. The staff were so kind"
I found this too, the staff where I was were kind and overall I found it helpful. I wouldn't be afraid to go back. I'm sad reading how different others experiences are.

"and the treatment was based on daily physical exercise and occupational therapy, with weekly psychotherapy."
I saw my psychiatrist I think twice weekly but there was no psychotherapy, I think people were too unwell. Inpatients is about stabilising you, therapy probably happens after. We had some limited short occupational therapy activities, around 30 mins a day.

"The patients had all meals together, weekly job list and every evening a different patient was responsible for a set group acitivity."
The meals were in a communal dining room but if you wanted to sit on your own you could and other patients respected that. No-one had jobs except your own clothes laundry. No patient organised activities, I don't think that would have worked.

"Finally, we were given a lot of freedom. We could walk in the forest from 8am til 8 pm, visit home on the weekends and go shopping if we had to."
It depended on how unwell people were to whether we were allowed out at all, out with a member of staff, or out alone. We could go for walks (for an hour or so) but we had to say where and when we would be back. They also took a note of what we were wearing, I guess in case we didn't return and they needed to notify police. We could go to the local supermarket again either on our own or with a member of staff. If you needed to go with staff you had to wait until someone was available. Some patients got home leave, some didn't. I was given 2 days a trial before my discharge to help ease the transition.

Sounds a wonderful treatment experience. You would be very, very lucky to get anything approaching this in NHS England. Just like a lot of healthcare (physical as well as mental health), Germany is well ahead of England. I am saying England as I can't comment for the rest of the UK.

NHS. Horrific. Came out traumatised. Laughably that was enough to make me reflect and I slowly got better.

Private. One independent. One “chain,” Priory. Much more like you describe. If you have a spare 8-10k a week worth every penny.

Had many admissions as have Bipolar. These are acute NHS wards

They've all been awful. Sometimes there is no alternative but they are dreadful.

You get occasional staff that are okay but the majority do not want to be there, do as little as possible, sit on their phones or doze off on 1:1. Records often falsified for safety checks. NHS inpatient mental health staff seem to be the absolute dregs of the NHS.

There's virtually nothing in terms of therapy or activities, it's all containment & medication.

Across a whole week (if you have leave ) there is a coffee group (coffee & biscuit & a chat with a member of staff) for an hour, a quiz, a walk in the grounds, a psychology group session for an hour (6 patients) , a mindfulness group session & a ward meeting where staff & patients talk to each other.

If you don't have leave to attend groups then you sit on the ward so other than the quiz & the coffee you have nothing to do.

Oxevision monitoring is commonly used so you don't really come into contact or talk to staff.

The rehab units, longer term wards & eating disorders units are generally a lot better.

My Mum was sectioned lots of times for FTD, it was horrible and I am glad she is no longer with us and subjected to those places. That's how bad it was that I'd rather her not be here at all. I used to visit her and she'd be covered in bruises or drugged up to the eyeballs.