Talk:Psychiatric hospital

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mentally retarded is not an acceptable term! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.205.99.11 (talk) 00:09, 13 November 2007 (UTC)


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Contents

[edit] Old discussions

History of mental hospitals? --user:Daniel C. Boyer


Page fails to distinguish between mental hospitals and psychiatric wards. Be more precise! --user:Daniel C. Boyer


Either such hospitals are different in Britain, where the original author seems to be from, or this is a quite understated description.

  1. Suicide preventions measures go fairly far, including removing "sharps" (scissors, mirrors, etc.) from patients' possesion. The environment is altered as well. All windows have guards, light bulbs are enclosed, TVs are kept out of reach, etc.
  2. The atmosphere is not quite that calm. There is usually a bit of "acting out."
  3. The environment is kept more "normal" than in a medical hospital, yet the fact that most patients can not freely come and go, makes a big difference.
In England at least, these things vary. It depends on the hospital and the people they are designed to treat/accommodate. -- sannse 15:51 Apr 14, 2003 (UTC)

Is the title "mental hospital" the best one for this article? In my experience it is quite a derogatory term. Wouldn't "psychiatric hospital" be more appropriate? -- sannse 15:51 Apr 14, 2003 (UTC)



Whilst recognising that there are many problems with psychiatric care in the UK I feel this article jumps in too quickly with criticism. I think it needs to begin by laying out an NPOV definition of what they are supposed to achieve and policy etc, and then discuss criticism later in the article. And I speak as someone who has seen how poor the services can be. I'm going to list this on articles needing attention --bodnotbod 11:23, May 4, 2004 (UTC)


I have a relative that had spent a few weeks in a mental hospital last year. It saved his life, if he had not gone he would have died. As a result, we got to see a psych ward from the inside when visiting him. It was most certainly not a jail. The staff did much to make sure that those in the ward were comfortable, had their needs attended to, and those there got better quickly. As good as that ward was for him, I know of some other wards in the state that aren't very good, and I wouldn't wish those wards on anyone.

172.209.224.1 02:08, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I corrected an error in the section on mental hospitals for the criminally insane. Personality disorders are most emphatically *not* what Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGI) pleas and hospital commitments are usually based on; personality disorders are rarely considered to be a valid legal defense, whereas psychotic illnesses and, in some causes, severe anxiety-related illnesses are. This is why serial killers (considered to be a specific subtype of sociopath) go to prison, not to the hospital. At least, this is all the case in the USA. Whooper 00:09, 7 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Crucial omission

This article should also talk about using P.H. for forceful treatment of political prisoners in the Soviet bloc countries and possibly others (Saddam?). See Vladimir Bukovsky. Humus sapiensTalk 09:11, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

It also does not talk about these allegations as concerns other, Western countries, in particular the United States, and the role of the Secret Service in the openly-acknowledged use of these hospitals (despite no allegation that they are necessarily mentally ill) against those it deems a threat to protectees. --Daniel C. Boyer 20:24, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History

Okay, I typed up some "history". Please take a look at it and edit it as you see fit, especially if you think I've gotten something wrong -- I'm just doing this from memory (mostly), and most of my experience is with the development of the mental hospital as it proceeds in California through the 19th and 20th centuries -- so I might be wrong about the national picture, and I might be totally off about the world picture. But I figured if I threw out some things, maybe people would latch on and take it somewhere new... --Fastfission 23:45, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] just wondering...

Hello,

I was just wondering about these mental hospital things... I think I may belong in one... but I don't want my parents knowing right away... is there any application thing I can fill in? somewhere in montreal would be nice... anyways, please e-mail me back at: cool_ginger@hotmail.com

Thank you,

             "Angel Night"

[edit] answer

If you are feeling suicidal or psychotic, you can go to an emergency room. If you have a counselor, therapist, or psychiatrist, it would be best to talk to that person about it.

[edit] References

I have just done a number of rewrites and additions to this article and thanks to Fastfission for improvements to them. It reminded me of an article I read about 15 years ago which I think was in the Brit J Psych. It discussed the history of asylums. Does anyone know of this article? It would be good to reference it and to glean any gems from it.--CloudSurfer 18:19, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)


[edit] Some noteworthy points

I think what would also belong in this article, that is that some patients of mental wards (such hospitals) often receive psychopharmaca, ie. mind-altering drugs. While the more "reasonable' of suchdrugs simply "level out" emotions, the stronger ones may turn patients into "a vegetable"...

Perhaps it would be worth mentioning such things... 213.200.248.36

I've been to a mental ward 4 times. And yes, it is boring, on the other hand, it gets way out of hand, people go screaming, people try to choke you (ive had this happen before) people throw glass at each other, its pretty bad.

Ive been to a mental hospital, and yes it is boring, but it is also can be pretty violent. I've seen people try to strangle me, throw glass at me, even kill me.

Ive been to a mental hospital, and yes it is boring, but it is also can be pretty violent. I've seen people try to strangle me, throw glass at me, even kill me. 70.176.219.169 08:18, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

I've been to a psychiatric ward (4 times). Although it is very boring, and sometimes quiet, is is most certainly far from 'quiet'. I've had people try to choke me, people who took Acid and hallucainted, people throw glass at me, people open up the fridge (which they arent supposed to) and chuck a glass bottle at other patients, etc. It is very misleading.

Also, in most (i've been to 4, in different states) ive been to you do NOT get to wear ordinary clothes. Because they may contain strings or other stuff like that. They are very sensitive to this. They also take off your shoes, due to shoe strings.

I'd edit it, but I don't know how. If no one edits it, I'll try my best too. Because it is not very accurate. Just reading the history section, it is boring. Very boring. I'm sure it's more fun than prison though.

In the last one I went to, there was an 'evaulation' period for 2 days to see if you were fit to stay there. If you weren't, then they kept you there for at least 2 weeks. In the one I went to (all of them, actually) there were no 'guards'. Especially not by every window. However, where there were windows, it was interesting that they'd not let us get near them.

There were guards, however, at all times, if there was a juvenile from a juvenile hall prison.

There were alot of security checks for the doors. The first one, which was in las vegas, had infared lasers. They also, oh my god, had the best food. The buttered noodles were awesome. It's now my favorite food. The last one, they locked the door at all times. There was a square area of tape which you could not step in. Some kids tried to escape but they got chased down by a really fast psychiatric hospital.

The adult one could've been different though. Because I was 17 at the time, I was in the juvenile one (for minors)

70.176.219.169

[edit] Voluntary discharge from psychiatric institutions

Please note that at least as of the 1970s, discharge at will after being voluntarily committed was not as easy as the article leads one to believe. Zimbardo: Shyness tells us of an experiment in which a colleague of his got various people to have themselves voluntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals to see how long it took for them to be detected as normal and discharged. The answer turned out to be forever. Getting back out took assistance from friends or lawyers.

I did not edit that particular paragraph, but, speaking as someone who works in a medium-term psychiatric unit, I can confirm that the article is correct in this respect, at least it is consistent with practise here in the United Kingdom. Obviously, I am not able to comment on the procedures used by other trusts, countries or decades. Although I should point out that if a voluntary patient attempts to discharge themselves, i.e. walk out of the hospital, emergency section powers may be used if it is believed that there is a serious threat of the patient harming themself or others. Rje 15:34, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
In my experience, anyone who voluntarily admitted themselves could ask to be signed out at any time-however, there was a procedure to go through. If you want to leave, you have to see the head psychiatrist/doctor/whoever within 24 hours of submitting your request, and then they make sure you are fit to leave. If not, they can hold you, but the specifics of how long the hold you varies from state to state, at least in the U.S. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.124.0.178 (talk) 03:30, 13 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] History of psychiatric hospitals

History of mental hospitals? --user:Daniel C. Boyer

Something more might be said about behaviorist psychiatric techniques, especially shaping behavior using (mainly positive) reinforcement. See H. J. Eysenck: Psychology Is About People, Ch. 3: Behaviourist technologies in psychiatry and education (Pelican Books, 1977); and T. Ayllon and N. Azrin: The Token Economy (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1968).

I am not sure what question Daniel C. Boyer is asking, it may relate to a much earlier period when the article appears to have been called mental hospitals in which cae he might consider deleting it now.

I would like to raise the question "As the section on the History of psychiatric hospitals is now quite large and the whole article is becoming very large is it time for the History to be moved to its own page with a link form this page on current psychiatric hospitals? DonBarton 00:05, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wondering..

i saw this on the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatric_hospital#Geriatric_wards and didn't think it was right (maybe it is but i REALY doubt it): "Geriatric wards are designed to help treat older adult patients. The staff of these wards are specially trained suck penises to deal with older patients."


i found that it was recently edited, i changed it back to how it was before the edit. i am not that used to wikipedia, so i do not know how to block a user. if someone could block the user that changed it to the "especially trained to suck...", that would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

the user is: User:71.126.4.88


Staff are specially trained to recognise and help elderly people whose psychiatric disorders can even be caused by constipation. But the main reason for elderly psychiatric care is to remove elderly people who may be frail from the violence and aggression that sometimes occurs on adult wards.

I would also surmise that such wards exist because elderly patients can have many non-psychiatric medical problems that a ward for general adults is not equipped to handle. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.124.0.178 (talk) 03:32, 13 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] List

I suspect this article should not list every mental hospital worldwide. Therefore, I'm removing the list that was slowly growing here:

Cheers. JFW | T@lk 19:28, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Yes, good move. A more complete list is at Category:Mental hospitals. All mental hospitals should be listed there by being placed in that category. JonHarder 20:35, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removed Image Request

I have removed the image request for this article. Psychiatric hospitals are generally non-descript buildings from the outside, and I'm guessing that the requestor isn't after such images anyway. For obvious reasons of patient confidentiality, photography is not allowed in psychiatric hospitals - at least in the UK. Any such image could well lead to legal action being taken against Wikipedia; given how unremarkable the wards are anyway, it is not worth the trouble of obtaining such images. Rje 04:28, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Well, if anyone is sincerely that curious, many wards and hospitals have photographs of their facilities on their own webpages, but aside from having a nurses station, patient rooms, etc. I doubt any of them look too terribly similar or noteworthy. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.124.0.178 (talk) 03:33, 13 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Other names

There are other names for this facility. Some are offensive, but should be included. Among these are:

  • Nut house
  • Funny Farm
  • Ha-Ha Hotel
  • Bonker Barn
  • Crazy house
  • Mad House —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.173.104.223 (talk) 23:27, August 22, 2007 (UTC)

After all, Wikipedia is NOT censored. 65.173.104.223 23:26, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Can this be stated in the article ? 65.173.104.223 23:44, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
Were this a whole book on the subject, then perhaps a chapter could included detail such as this. As an encyclopaedic article however, it is too peripheral. There is urgent need for more focused material to bring the the article up to standard. So, in other words no. This is not the place for it. --Aspro 06:54, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] In Fiction?

The article currently has an "In Fiction" section, mentioning only Batman. I could see this list getting way out of hand if we mentioned all (even just notable) places in fiction where a psychiatric hospital is a setting. I think we should remove this section. Thoughts? --Loudsox 01:53, 29 July 2006 (UTC)


Agreed. Be Bold. Remove it. --WikiCats 13:37, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

There is something noteworthy about asylums in fiction that ought to be discussed, the fact that they're unerringly depicted as so horrifyingly destructive to the psyche that any sane person who enters one will inevitably become insane. It's a pretty significant claim that I'm sure most people believe in, but it could very well be true, since few people argue that putting an innocent person in prison for years will cause them to acquire the mannerisms of a criminal. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.72.21.221 (talk) 23:31, 21 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Requiring cleanup

Some subjects have oddly worde/completely nonsensical grammar, and I had to delete Medium term as a type of hospital because it made no sense at all. I feel like this topic could be cleaned up and some of the information lost in the grammar issue reworded and replaced. Funkbomb 18:17, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Check the edit history -- you'll see that 68.13.76.119 deleted some random chunks of text from the article on October 29. I restored the deleted parts, and removed the Cleanup tag. Dave6 07:55, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Definition for Term 'MERE OST' Needed

There doesn't appear to be a definition to explain the term 'MERE OST'. Part of the first sentence - referring to modern psychiatric hospitals - in the section Crisis Stabilization begins, "One MERE OST type is the crisis stabilisation [sic] unit..."
What that term means or stands for isn't obvious - at least to me. But, perhaps I overlooked it somewhere. Would someone with knowledge about this please add an explanation/definition placed after the term appears? I think it will be beneficial to anyone coming to the page. True Lucidity 06:56, 3 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Source for refs

I found this page, if anyone wants to go through and cite some sources - a lot of it sounds pretty similar. http://www.medhunters.com/articles/historyOfMentalHosps.html Can-Dutch (talk) 16:00, 23 November 2007 (UTC)