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

[hr-macgirl.livejournal.com]

I assume you don't have an outpatient treatment situation in place (psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, psychotherapist, even a regular primary care provider). If you do, I suggest you contact them first. Sometimes they can grease your way in the door.

Both Mass General and Cambridge Hospital offer telephone referral services. The descriptions sound remarkably similar, so calls to each may well be directed to the same place. Cambridge Health Alliance (http://www.challiance.org/psychiatry/acute.shtml) (including Cambridge Hospital, Mass General (http://massgeneral.org/allpsych/aps/best.asp).

I agree with the person who said that if you have to go to the emergency room/emergency department, take a friend (or two) and a book (or five). You will have a long wait. Even though the Boston area is well staffed with psychiatric services, there still isn't enough to meet demand.

If you do end up having to seek more intensive treatment, I hope you can use it to get yourself hooked up with good outpatient treatment. In the end, an inpatient stay is only crisis intervention/stabilization; the real work is done on the outside.

good luck.