Residential Psychiatric Treatment

Residential psychiatric treatment plays a vital role in today's mental health system. Residential treatment is necessary when an individual is experiencing acute and severe psychiatric symptoms. Residential treatment is also a viable option when previous outpatient treatment has not provided adequate relief from the symptoms of mental illness.

Facts

• Residential psychiatric treatment takes place both private and publicly-run hospitals. The hospitals can be general hospitals or psychiatric-specific hospitals. According to the National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, there were 9.5 million total psychiatric episodes requiring treatment in 2002. Of the 9.5 million, 2.3 million required a stay at a 24-hour residential treatment facility and 7.2 million could be cared for in an ambulatory care setting.

History

• Colonial migration to the cities meant people left their families and potential caretakers behind. This created a gap in care, which, in turn created the need for the first mental hospital to be built in Philadelphia in the mid-18th century. Since the establishment of that first mental hospital, reliance on a residential psychiatric treatment model has ebbed and flowed. Currently, the majority of psychiatric treatment takes place in outpatient settings. Residential psychiatric treatment is now used primarily to treat the seriously and persistently mentally ill (for whom outpatient treatment is deemed insufficient) and those exhibiting acute psychiatric symptoms such as thoughts or actions that could lead to homicide or suicide.

Features

• Treatment specifics vary with each patient at each admission. The most common treatment features occur at admission and discharge. At intake, patients are evaluated, prescribed medications, given a room and informed of their rights as a patient. Prior to discharge, the patient is evaluated again to ensure they are safe to discharge. At the time of discharge, the patient is given their medications and provided with information on who to go to for follow-up treatment in the community.

Benefits

• The benefits of residential psychiatric treatment are twofold. First, it provides a safe and structured environment. People with acute or chronic mental illness often feel extremely vulnerable. These vulnerabilities exacerbate the symptoms of mental illness. Eliminating the sense of vulnerability helps to ease psychiatric symptoms and allow patients to participate in their treatment.

  Secondly, in an outpatient setting, treatment options are more limited.The intensity and variety of treatment received as an inpatient in a matter of weeks could take an outpatient months or years to complete.

Types of Admission

• There are two forms of admission to a residential psychiatric treatment facility: voluntary and involuntary. Patients who voluntarily admit themselves to a treatment facility recognize the severity of their disorder and the need for treatment. Those who are involuntarily admitted to a treatment facility either do not have the capacity to recognize their mental illness or just refuse to be admitted. Involuntary admission to a residential psychiatric treatment facility requires the cooperation of caretakers, medical professionals and the legal system. The legalities of involuntary admission vary from state to state.