Drug-free Mental Health inpatient treatment?

[turil.livejournal.com]

I just called the Cambridge Health Alliance Mental Health emergency services and wanted to check myself in. Before I went in, I wanted to be assured that they wouldn't drug me without my consent. The woman said that she could not "arbitrarily" assure me of that, got angry with me, and actually hung up on me while I was crying. (Seriously.)

So I'm kind of in need of finding some place local that doesn't drug people without consent, and that might have some staff that don't actively try to be mean to depressed individuals looking for help...

Any suggestions?

I also don't have any health insurance or money.

(No, I'm not officially suicidal yet, but I'd rather get this taken care of before that happens, you know?)

Comments

[recoiling.livejournal.com]

hey- i was actually just discharged from the post traumatic stress and dissociative disorders ward at mclean on wednesday [it's not just for rich people anymore, i'm on masshealth myself]. unfortunately, as a "frequent flier" of local psych wards i'm quiet familiar with the rules.
1) they'll only admit you if you state you are actively suicidal and/or homicidal- i had a friend who was quite psychotic once and seeking help, only to be forced to say they were homicidal in order for an admission.

2)they cannot and will not drug you forcibly if you sign in voluntarily. there are catches to this, of course- if you're viewed to be an active threat to yourself or others. most places will have you sign a form upon admission asking what you'd prefer in case of such a situation: restraint, chemicals, check-in, etc

3)if you voluntarily admit yourself and want to leave- you can sign a 3 day notice, which gives them 3 business days upon which to decide whether to release you or get a judge to commit you. i've signed 3 days several times and they've let me go all 3 times- it was against their wishes but they couldn't do anything because i continually stated that i was no longer suicidal.

hospitals are not fun places to be- staff members can get power trips and patients can be scary [although usually only because of the antagonism of fucked up staff]. however, it's far better than nothing if you're feeling suicidal and there are places that will treat you with relative respect and dignity.
stay as far away from arbor in jamaica plain and westwood lodge in westwood as possible- they have an abnormal number of restraints and also a lot of power-tripping staff [in my experience, at least]

i highly recommend mclean hospital, particularly if you are dealing with any trauma issues- as the trauma ward is far quieter and more respectful of people's dignity.

things to know if you decide to go:
-it'll be a long wait in the ER, try to bring a friend, books, magazines- something to keep you occupied.

-about 75% of psych hospitals do strip searches [i know the DID unit at mclean doesn't, but it's either hit or miss w/ other places], prepare to be pretty much demoralized- although when someone having themselves locked up to protect themelves from themselves, they most likely feel pretty low already.

-most hospitals take your cell phone and keep it locked up while you're in- so bring change or a phone card for pay phones- they technically have to give you free phone time, but it's hard to come by

-they'll give you information about your civil rights when you go in, read it and keep it and make sure you understand everything before you sign anything

-upon admission, they'll do a "sharps" check and take anything away that could be used for self-harm. very place is different but some idea: sharp things [obviously], medications, anything that is long enough to wrap around one's neck- such as belts and shoelaces, some places also hold personal care stuff like shampoo and lotion, but that seems to be a rarity around here

-hospitals are good for 1 thing, maybe 2 depending on the team of people you work with: 1)keeping you physically safe- if you need that, please go in- nothing can get better if you're dead. 2)getting you the help you need on the outside- once you've had an admission, your case is given higher status by community outpatient organizations and it will probably be easier to get free care. sadly, sometimes the nature of this system makes it necessary to go in even if you're not in acute danger.

finally, i know there's a lot of information here. even though we don't know each other, if you'd ever like someone to hang out with during these times, let me know.
my email: lia @ glowinthedarkstars.com

ps.

[recoiling.livejournal.com]

sorry to overwhelm you with information, but just 2 more things:
1) i noticed on your profile that you're a vegetarian- if you do decide to go in (and i'm definitely not advocating that you do or don't; i just want you to have as much information as possible to make an informed decision) make sure that they note that upon your admission and be assertive in forcing them to comply. there are some hospitals that think vegetarian means serving the rice and vegetables with the chicken removed. if you have someone who can bring you food, ask the staff to label it and put it in the staff refrigerator.

2)if you're looking for outpatient care, i found these 2 things that seem pretty positive:
http://www.cambridgewomenscenter.org/programs/projects.html
Women's Counseling and Resource Center - The Women's Counseling and Resource Center (WCRC) is a collective of licensed therapists, offering individual psychotherapy to women who are low-income and have no health insurance. Each therapist volunteers her time. WCRC provides a one-to-one relationship with a skilled counselor to women who cannot afford therapy at the Women's Center.

also, the Transformation Center is a peer operated center devoted to wellness and recovery. i know some of the people who work there and they all fucking rock. the website is due to be updated at the moment, but i think you can find more information if you contact the awesome folks at m-power [slogan: "nothing about us without us"]:
http://www.m-power.org/
" The Transformation Center is a peer-operated center that is spinning off from M-POWER to strengthen a mental health focus on wellness and life recovery. We currently offer training for Peer Specialist Certification, Leadership Academy, WRAP Facilitation, Recovery Conversations for Providers and more. Efforts will expand advocacy, resources & information, peer programs & evaluation, and policy input from people with lived experience of mental health conditions and/or addictions. Watch for the new website in June 2007 at Transformation-center.org. Visit our supporters now at mamhtransformation.org.