"Smallville" mental hospitals vs. real mental hospitals

[shirkie]

I have a feeling tonight's portrayal of a mental hospital is going to be rife with inaccuracies, so I thought I'd start a thread about it. Stick your thoughts in here!
shirkie

[superhippie2000]

Well with the trailers and pictures they have clark grabing on to bars and im pretty sure real places dont. Ones i have seen just have windows on the doors. Also with Clark kissing Lana if clark was really that insane they probably wouldnt have let him close enough to someone to kiss them.

[thehenry89]

well i've neve been to a mental institution *coughs* but i'm sure they don't look like that ;)

[lillie_poo_pod]

I wonder if real ones look similar to the one in the movie Gothika

[superhippie2000]

The one i saw was just in a regular hospital. long hallway and lots of heavy thick doors and small windows.

[meteor]

at my present rate of decline, i should completely lose my sanity in approximately 8 years. i can let you know then.

[shirkie]

Well I have spent time in a mental hospital for depression and there were no bars, no padded rooms, no people walking around with restraints on.......... I'll wait for the episode to point out more stuff lol.

OK-- you're allowed to wear street clothes, for one thing (minus belts and shoelaces). And no way in hell would the therapist let other patients taunt and laugh at Clark...
shirkie

[superhippie2000]

ya i was about to say i doubt they would let others make fun of you for being sick.

[jimmyolsenblues]

metal bars would never be accessbile to a paranoid skitosphrenic (sp?).
they would just hurt themselves on the metal. all the time.

[Nospam]

I can't believe I am telling everyone this, but I was hospitalized for depression when I was a teenager. Not fun. There were a few real loons in the place, like "Mr. Shuffles" who couldn't walk properly because he had one too many electroshock therapies and talked to himself, and this one lady that screamed all the time so she was kept in a special locked room. If you even just peeked into her room through the little window she would scream at you. There were quite a number of young people that were there because they were on suicide watch, but I can't imagine why they would put sad people into an even sadder environment. It was the worst place for a depressed teenager. :(

I had many, many adventures in my two weeks at the hospital. I hid from the nurses in the showers so I didn't have to go to the "uplifting" group counseling sessions, played around with the mechanical bed of my room mate who was so hepped up on barbituates that he couldn't stay conscious (I think he suffered from severe hallucinations and seizures and was effectively incapacitated). While he would lay in bed completely out of it, I would use the mechanical controls to raise the bed to the roof and back down (those beds can go like six to eight feet in air). One of the nurses, Nurse Ratched I called her because she was so strict, caught me doing it and told me she would remove my "privileges" if she caught me doing that again (what, drooling on myself and eating pureed food?).

Thankfully, my friends would visit everyday otherwise I think the place would have made me crazy rather than help me. I was placed on open supervision after a few days when they realized I wasn't a danger to myself and that I was just going through an emotional speedbump in my life. Of course, I took immediate advantage of the situation. The hospital effectively became my personal hotel. I was supposed to log out at the nurse's station if I wanted to take a "walk", and log back in again when I returned and be gone no longer than an hour. I often used this system against itself by logging out several hours ahead of time, i.e., I would log out at 6 PM but write that I left at 8 PM. Thus, when I returned at 9 PM I was only gone an "hour." I once hit a movie and McDonald's because I was bored of playing mechanical bed with my room mate, Captain Barbituate. I think I broke just about every rule they had in the place. I stole other patient's meals because I was so hungry (I was a growing teenager and a lot of patients couldn't or wouldn't eat their meals so they would go to waste), came and left as I saw fit, chased the cute Candy Stripe girls, and had visitors at all hours. Needless to say, I got better in spite of the place.

As Shirkie said, there were no padded cells, no one was locked in their rooms except for Screaming Lady, there was no forced medication or psycho, bow tie wearing orderlies, but there were bars on the windows and access was somewhat controlled. And there were a lot of sad, lonely people that could have benefited from love, companionship and understanding more than doctors, nurses and counseling sessions.

[jimmyolsenblues]

no spam, you are not alone.
Bergen regional medical center from 12/25/01-1/08/02.
I lost my brother in law in 9/11 and I was going through a divorce.
Happens more than you know.
Congrats for being strong, I know its not easy.

[meggy]

hey Nospam, thanks for sharing that with us...i know u must have thought it a bit risky..I appreciate the honesty...it's one thing to see it on tv, but another to experience it...

[shirkie]

Wow, it's good to know I'm not alone, although it's a shame you guys had to go through what you've gone through.

No way would Clark have shoelaces on his gym shoes. Those are like the first thing to go.

Were you guys in state hospitals or private hospitals? Mine was a private hospital, which may explain why there were no bars on the windows.
shirkie

[jimmyolsenblues]

I don't know if its public or private.
gained weight, had snacks all the time.
guess the antidepressents make you eat.

[Nospam]

Originally posted by jimmyolsenblues
no spam, you are not alone.
Bergen regional medical center from 12/25/01-1/08/02.
I lost my brother in law in 9/11 and I was going through a divorce.
Happens more than you know.
Congrats for being strong, I know its not easy.

I know I sort of make light of my time in the hospital, but it did force me to think about my life and confront some issues. I grew a lot closer to my parents, friends and family.

There were repurcussions though to my time in the hospital, I lost my drivers license for a year and had to speak to a psychiatrist every month for a year afterward. Stealing wheelchairs, raising beds, and chasing Candy Stripers also didn't help as I was also diagnosed as manic depressive and put on lithium, which really did no good. I was told that lithium is not supposed to affect those without manic depression, but I don't believe that. I stopped taking it after a year because I felt like a complete and utter zombie on it and I had memory problems. So it goes.

Almost all hospitals in Canada are public. Except for that one nurse that I described, everyone was friendly, helpful and professional. I was allowed street clothes, although not all patients were and more or less had time to think. I sometimes wonder if AlMiles are closet Scientologists because even though the hospital was a dreary place, mental health is a serious, compassionate science. The doctors aren't out to commit and medicate you against your will and take everything you have away from you, nor are they apt to volunteer you for strange procedures or surgery without a very good, and legal, reason for doing so.

jimmyolsenblues, I am sorry to hear about your losses. We need people in our lives more than we care to admit, I think.

[La_La]

I've been to a mental hospital to visit a relative and I tell you also that there's some major differences. For one thing Clark looks like he is stuck in a mental asylum from the 50's. The orderlies look like they are ready to fix him ice cream instead of meds lol. And as someone else already said Clark would be in regular clothes or pjs. And if they had to restrain him he wouldn't be walking around.

And has someone else has already said, mental hostipals look just like regular hostpitals or homes. And they aren't all grey and stiff looking either. The only ones that have bars are either Criminally insane ones (We once went into that one on accident and it was the scariest place I've ever been) or old abandon asylums.

[InLove_with_Chloe]

Wow, those are some tough stories.
:(
Thanks for sharing, guys.

Allow me to contribute: about the appearance of the mental institution in 'Labyrinth'.
IMO, the set was pretty much a copy of the one from the 1975 movie

'One flew over the cuckoo's nest'

Do you agree???
It's a movie by the great director Milos Forman, starring Jack Nicholson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_%28film%29

It's after a novel by Ken Kesey (which I can recommend).

Btw, Nospam briefly referred to the movie, by calling the mean Nurse he met 'Nurse Ratched' (in the movie: the incredible Louise Fletcher), I dunno if we discussed that point already...

I have started a thread about that fact earlier, but no one answered, I guess most of the kids around here don't remember the movie....

http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68019

[Jaded Wolf]

As part of my training in occupational therapy, I had to visit the San Antonio State Hospital. It didn't have bars and definetely the therapist had more control of the group. However, I think in Smallville, we have to remember the Zoner was trying to break Clark's mental capacity and therefore was not really going for accuracy in the design and layout of the mental facilities. Sometimes when you try to analyze everything you miss the meaning and purpose of the episode.

[al821]

its pretty funny that the orderlies were dressed up as waiters

[SpeedDemon77]

Originally posted by Jaded Wolf
As part of my training in occupational therapy, I had to visit the San Antonio State Hospital. It didn't have bars and definetely the therapist had more control of the group. However, I think in Smallville, we have to remember the Zoner was trying to break Clark's mental capacity and therefore was not really going for accuracy in the design and layout of the mental facilities. Sometimes when you try to analyze everything you miss the meaning and purpose of the episode.

I totally agree with this. In "Labyrinth" the Zoner was placing Clark in the worst of possible states of confinement. It wasn't meant to have a pleasant or peaceful atmosphere, by any means. I have been to three mental hospitals in my life. One was for my aunt, who unfortunately had a brain tumor that went undetected for years and made her suffer numerous psychotic episodes. She tried to go Lizzie Borden on my grandfather and stepgrandmother with an ax....and always used to hear people that weren't really there. She was really cool to me though. I used to defend her from a lot of bullies in public. People can be really cruel sometimes.

Another time I went to visit my cousin in a facility for mental depression and there was a lot of heavy security in that one. My cousin and I were only seventeen at the time and you know, that's a hard age anyway....so he was going through some major issues. Happy to say that today, he's twenty-nine, has a wonderful five-year old son and he's doing so much better....and we keep in touch regularly, because family support is a major, and being so close in age we're more like brothers than cousins.

The third time I visited was for my sister's boyfriend. Totally different atmosphere from the place where my cousin had been. State facility. They had some guy in a straight-jacket walking him down the hallway and he looked like a zombie. Completely stoned on meds....and one of the guys walking him warned us not to make eye contact with the guy if he looked our way because it would send him off. I think that was one of the scariest places I've ever been to as far as mental hospitals go. The other was a biker bar a few miles from one of the places where I grew up, but that's another story. :p

I do agree though that the mental hospital where the Zoner placed Clark was made to look more surreal. If he had been put in a pretty decent place with friendly encouraging people, he might not have wanted to leave. On second thought, why didn't the Zoner use a place like that instead? Duh, Zoner!

[Jaded Wolf]

Originally posted by SpeedDemon77
I totally agree with this. In "Labyrinth" the Zoner was placing Clark in the worst of possible states of confinement. It wasn't meant to have a pleasant or peaceful atmosphere, by any means. I have been to three mental hospitals in my life. One was for my aunt, who unfortunately had a brain tumor that went undetected for years and made her suffer numerous psychotic episodes. She tried to go Lizzie Borden on my grandfather and stepgrandmother with an ax....and always used to hear people that weren't really there. She was really cool to me though. I used to defend her from a lot of bullies in public. People can be really cruel sometimes.

Another time I went to visit my cousin in a facility for mental depression and there was a lot of heavy security in that one. My cousin and I were only seventeen at the time and you know, that's a hard age anyway....so he was going through some major issues. Happy to say that today, he's twenty-nine, has a wonderful five-year old son and he's doing so much better....and we keep in touch regularly, because family support is a major, and being so close in age we're more like brothers than cousins.

The third time I visited was for my sister's boyfriend. Totally different atmosphere from the place where my cousin had been. State facility. They had some guy in a straight-jacket walking him down the hallway and he looked like a zombie. Completely stoned on meds....and one of the guys walking him warned us not to make eye contact with the guy if he looked our way because it would send him off. I think that was one of the scariest places I've ever been to as far as mental hospitals go. The other was a biker bar a few miles from one of the places where I grew up, but that's another story. :p

I do agree though that the mental hospital where the Zoner placed Clark was made to look more surreal. If he had been put in a pretty decent place with friendly encouraging people, he might not have wanted to leave. On second thought, why didn't the Zoner use a place like that instead? Duh, Zoner!

Now the Zoner goes "D'oh!!!" :D

[GottaLoveHotSuperHeros]

Originally posted by al821
its pretty funny that the orderlies were dressed up as waiters


yeah, they just looked stupid imo


I have a question. Remember back in season 3 when Lex was at Belle Reeve (sp). this time the hospital was way different than that. which one is more realistic? besides meteor freaks...

[meteor]

i have a family member in one now. i have great empathy for those that have suffered having seen how difficult it can be.

[shirkie]

Well in a way it's kind of like a big sleepover. Everyone can just chill in pajamas, no responsibilities, no work or school, heh. At least that's the way I looked at it. :)
shirkie

[P@M]

Well guys, I recommend you to take look at this page www.cchr.com so you look at some of the real and documented facts of the real mental health, also there is some info on the treatments of hospitals.
I know some cases which can tell you that smallville hospital isn't so unreal

[GottaLoveHotSuperHeros]

eh, there's no way I'm watching that... sad

[shirkie]

OMG that link is VERY radical and NOT at all representative of what most mental health clinics are like!!!!!!!!!! Most of the statistics they cite have absolutely no documentation to explain where they got them from. They practically just say "24% of psychiatrists admit to eating their patients" and give no evidence for the claim. Ikes.
shirkie

[GottaLoveHotSuperHeros]

cannabalism = ew.

[P@M]

Well, it actually is documented, you just have to send them an e-mail so they show you where is the evidence

[RedPhoenix23]

Originally posted by P@M
Well guys, I recommend you to take look at this page www.cchr.com so you look at some of the real and documented facts of the real mental health, also there is some info on the treatments of hospitals.
I know some cases which can tell you that smallville hospital isn't so unreal

Why do I get the feeling that the creators of that site are sceintologists? :mad:

Anyways, I agree with whoever said that the institute Clark was in was susposed to be a bad representation. That was the whole point.

...... Even though, another show did the whole "you're life for the past few years has been a lie and you've actually been in an asylum" this year and they weren't forced to reducing the mental hospital's creditablity. Of course, that SGA episdode was really really boring as well, so.... I don't know. Eh, it was boring, but you know what? It was also much more believable then Laybrinth.

[InLove_with_Chloe]

Originally posted by shirkie
"24% of psychiatrists admit to eating their patients"
Whoever says that is an idiot, trust me guys...

[Nospam]

Originally posted by RedPhoenix23
Why do I get the feeling that the creators of that site are
sceintologists? :mad:

I know for a fact that it IS a Scientology front group. "Human rights." Pfffffff. Yeah, right.

A "religion" created by a second rate science fiction writer who died paranoid and insane? Uh huh. Even a cursory look into Scientology is a trip into the weird. It is beyond ironic that a man that eschewed psycho-active drugs would almost certainly have benefited from them.

[InLove_with_Chloe]

I agree. But let's be careful, I can hear the mods approaching already...
:(

[Khyla]

wow thanks for sharing Nospam


Originally posted by Nospam
but I can't imagine why they would put sad people into an even sadder environment. It was the worst place for a depressed teenager. :(
[...]
I think the place would have made me crazy rather than help me.[...]
Needless to say, I got better in spite of the place.

[...]And there were a lot of sad, lonely people that could have benefited from love, companionship and understanding more than doctors, nurses and counseling sessions. I have a family member who's been in and out of several different ones and sorry to say it's sad but true; When it comes to helping people with mental health problems they are seriously lacking... They're not allowed to medicate against the person's will unless the person is a danger, and they basically don't have a clue how to help other than by trial and error of a cocktail of various drugs, and as you said, completely useless "support" groups/ and counseling sessions, while family members bear the burden and watch helplessly at the loss of job, home, possessions, and relationships :(

I think the facility where Clark was looked more like a combination "Crisis Intake Center" and Locked-down section of a Psych. Ward.





Originally posted by InLove_with_Chloe
the set was pretty much a copy of the one from the 1975 movie

'One flew over the cuckoo's nest'

It's a movie by the great director Milos Forman, starring Jack Nicholson.

It's after a novel by Ken Kesey (which I can recommend). i loved that movie... and the book. :)



And now for a twilight zone moment:

when I went to visit the last time this person was hospitalized, the lock-down ward had a total of 3 rooms and a lounge. The orderly's name was Clark, the nurse's name was Lois, and a patient was telling us about her grandaughter, Chloe. I started thinking maybe I belonged in there :\

[ClLaLeChFAN01]

do the workers in the real mental hospitals wear bow ties just like smallville's.....or not? i thought it was a nice touch, it reminded me of ice cream and made me hungry

[InLove_with_Chloe]

Originally posted by Khyla
And now for a twilight zone moment:

when I went to visit the last time this person was hospitalized, the lock-down ward had a total of 3 rooms and a lounge. The orderly's name was Clark, the nurse's name was Lois, and a patient was telling us about her grandaughter, Chloe. I started thinking maybe I belonged in there :\
Wow, Khyla.
And your real name is...Lana?
:lol:
Sorry, just kidding...
That's scary indeed...

[SpeedDemon77]

I also think it's sad but true that our country's mental health system is lacking. And unfortunately it has almost everything to do with economical and social class. Just the vast differences alone between the types of facilities in which my cousin and my sister's boyfriend were placed was enough to confirm for me the biased that is given the wealthy, upper-middle class, insured and those considered more "productive" or worthwhile members of society.

Sadly, one is a lot less valued in our country and far more likely to become lost in the shuffle if they have a mental problem and do not have the financial means to seek care from a private mental health practice or facility. A lot of these people wind up homeless and the ones who are eventually placed in a state-funded facility because they become a public nusance or a menace or danger to society are pretty much locked away and forgotten about.

[Nospam]

Originally posted by SpeedDemon77
I also think it's sad but true that our country's mental health system is lacking. And unfortunately it has almost everything to do with economical and social class. Just the vast differences alone between the types of facilities in which my cousin and my sister's boyfriend were placed was enough to confirm for me the biased that is given the wealthy, upper-middle class, insured and those considered more "productive" or worthwhile members of society.

Sadly, one is a lot less valued in our country and far more likely to become lost in the shuffle if they have a mental problem and do not have the financial means to seek care from a private mental health practice or facility. A lot of these people wind up homeless and the ones who are eventually placed in a state-funded facility because they become a public nusance or a menace or danger to society are pretty much locked away and forgotten about.

While that seems to be true in the U.S., Canada is nothing like that. Everyone receives the same care. That's the law. At least, that is the situation in the care facilities. Mental health services are covered by the various provincial health plans, so access to a psychiatrist is covered, but if you want to see a counselor typically that will depend on whether it is medically necessary or covered by third party extended benefits.

It seems that few provinces maintain full sized mental health facilities anymore. Instead, almost all provinces have moved to a community care model where those that are not a danger to themselves or others yet incapable of caring for themselves are placed in group homes. It's cheaper, better for the patients and the community in that the patients act as members of the community and interact with others, supervised of course. Unfortunately, this treatment model often means that a lot of the mentally ill fall through the cracks, since those that are judged technically capable of helping themselves often cannot and end up on the streets relying on meager disability benefits. Still, it's better than just shoving them in sanitariums like we did 50 years ago.

I know in my home province of BC, the only sizable mental health facility is the Forensic Psychiatric Institute, a rather vague sounding name for what is essentially a prison for the criminally insane. It used to be called Colony Farm, Riverside Unit because back in the early part of the 20th century the inmates had to work the area like a real farm to keep them out of trouble. No longer a working farm, the facility now looks and acts like a real prison with barred windows, razor wire, etc. If you were going to see padded cells, restraints and forced medication, this would be the place. While the farm work disappeared long ago, patients now are required to make those annoying fuzzy dog tissue box covers you see on top of your grandma's toilet tank.

So it goes.

[SpeedDemon77]

Originally posted by Nospam
While that seems to be true in the U.S., Canada is nothing like that. Everyone receives the same care. That's the law. At least, that is the situation in the care facilities. Mental health services are covered by the various provincial health plans, so access to a psychiatrist is covered, but if you want to see a counselor typically that will depend on whether it is medically necessary or covered by third party extended benefits.

It seems that few provinces maintain full sized mental health facilities anymore. Instead, almost all provinces have moved to a community care model where those that are not a danger to themselves or others yet incapable of caring for themselves are placed in group homes. It's cheaper, better for the patients and the community in that the patients act as members of the community and interact with others, supervised of course. Unfortunately, this treatment model often means that a lot of the mentally ill fall through the cracks, since those that are judged technically capable of helping themselves often cannot and end up on the streets relying on meager disability benefits. Still, it's better than just shoving them in sanitariums like we did 50 years ago.

I know in my home province of BC, the only sizable mental health facility is the Forensic Psychiatric Institute, a rather vague sounding name for what is essentially a prison for the criminally insane. It used to be called Colony Farm, Riverside Unit because back in the early part of the 20th century the inmates had to work the area like a real farm to keep them out of trouble. No longer a working farm, the facility now looks and acts like a real prison with barred windows, razor wire, etc. If you were going to see padded cells, restraints and forced medication, this would be the place. While the farm work disappeared long ago, patients now are required to make those annoying fuzzy dog tissue box covers you see on top of your grandma's toilet tank.

So it goes.

Right. There's no comparison between the US and Canada in respect to mental and physical health care for their respective citizens. The US aka self-proclaimed "greatest and wealthiest nation on Earth" has allowed so many situations to get out of control on so many levels it's ridiculous. And none of this is to say that I'm not proud of the country where I was born, because there's a lot of good that's been done, too. But IMO it seriously lacks when it comes to taking care of many of its citizens and I just can't find a way to justify that at all.

Now I have to leap off the political path here before the mods come hunt me down with a ball bat and get back to "Labyrinth". :p Still totally agree with the assessment of the facility portrayed in that ep as having been done so for a surreal "nightmare-ish" quality rather than accurately portraying the institutions that many here have been witness to. But then you have to consider that Clark Kent is a Kansas farmboy who hasn't really experienced mental institutions on any level other than the occasional visit to Belle Reve and probably the ones he's seen in movies such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", so the Zoner was simply using whatever thoughts they had access to through Clark's own memories and in his mind.

[KryptonX81]

For those who were in real mental hospitols on this site.

You can't really compare you experiences to Clarks.

Remember that you guys were in there for depression. Clark was in there for severe dillusions, paranoia, and agression. Id imagine that they would put him in a much more secure place than you guys.

[GottaLoveHotSuperHeros]

have some sensitivity

[KryptonX81]

Im sorry, was I not doing so?

I was just telling the truth.

[Nospam]

Originally posted by KryptonX81
Im sorry, was I not doing so?

I was just telling the truth.

I took no offense. You are correct in pointing out that the facility Clark was in was in all likelihood a manifestation of Clark's fears and really nothing like a real mental health facility.

The hospital I was in contained a variety of patients suffering from all manner of mental disorders, from insanity and paranoia to depression and mood disorders. That hospital and others like it are now closed because BC, like many other jurisdictions, moved to a community care model. Someone like Chloe's mom would not be in a hospital anymore, but housed in a group home with similarly afflicted patients. Clark would likewise not be in a hospital unless he was a danger to himself or others.

The bottom line is that the alternate reality in Labyrinth was a manifestation of Clark's thoughts, feelings and fears.

[freefall]

Thanks for sharing guys. Those are really eye-opening. I myself have never been to a mental hospital in my whole life. How about the representation of that place where Chloe's mother is? Is that anything like a real-life mental hospital? How about Belle Reeve? I mean are there different types of mental hospital for different degrees of insanity/danger levels posed by the patients?

[GottaLoveHotSuperHeros]

I think that tptb should do another story about Chloe's mom, and visiting. as I recall, she visited once and that was it...

[KryptonX81]

Originally posted by Nospam
I took no offense. You are correct in pointing out that the facility Clark was in was in all likelihood a manifestation of Clark's fears and really nothing like a real mental health facility.


Actually, what I was saying was that since Clark was in there for being dillusioned to the point where he was a severe danger to himself and others, the place where he would be housed would likely be quite diffrent from someone who was in there for depression.

[Khyla]

Originally posted by SpeedDemon77
...But IMO it seriously lacks when it comes to taking care of many of its citizens and I just can't find a way to justify that at all. And money isn't even a determining factor from what i've seen. what's ironic is that individual's right's seem to play an important part in the refusal to provide help, they use the excuse that an adult must want help, it can't be forced on them, even when the person is delusional and doesn't know that they need help. Yet the trend in the country today seems to be to choose what's best for us in the name of for ex: Homeland Securtiy, etc. OVER our Rights and Freedom. :\ go figure :(


===============================================




ACTUALLY YOU ARE BOTH RIGHT:


Originally posted by SpeedDemon77
his[/i] mind.


Originally posted by KryptonX81
Clark was in there for severe dillusions, paranoia, and agression. Id imagine that they would put him in a much more secure place than you guys. and that would be a place from Clark's memory, such as Belle Reeve or other places when Lex had a psychotic break, and maybe where Ryan had gone for observation/therapy.

:)

[hanemg]

I’ve either worked in/visited/or toured 8 different psychiatric facilities in 2 states, 2 of them were state psychiatric hospitals, 1 a private psychiatric hospital, and the other 5 all psychiatric units in general hospitals and in almost 17 years of practice I’ve never even seen a strait jacket in real life. And I can’t even imagine a psychiatric unit that allows motorized beds let alone one that would rise several feet in the air allowing someone all kinds of ways to harm themselves. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen if it hasn’t already.

As for the rest, with respect to individual experiences I think group and individual therapy sessions along with psychiatric medications are the main benefits to hospitalization. If all you’re planning to do is check into a hospital and then stay in your bed all day then all I have to say is that it’s a real expensive hotel with lousy room service. The people I’ve worked with generally have positive feedback about group and individual therapy and find it helpful. I will, however, be the first to admit that “helpfulness” is unfortunately all too often a factor of the competence of the therapist leading the group and the make-up of the group itself which sometimes is a victim of hospital policy. Still, while I’m sure there are many facilities that are less than stellar, I think they are the exception rather than the rule, because I’ve seen quality work in facilities without a great deal of resources.

With all due respect to Scientologists and their unofficial spokesperson, Mr. Cruise, I think their view of psychiatry borders on the paranoid and from writings I’ve seen by Mr. Hubbard I would even venture to say that’s exactly what it is, paranoid. While I agree that diet, exercise, and positive behavior/habits are essential when dealing with a mental illness I also don’t think you can downplay the importance of medication.

Unfortunately, I do agree with the earlier statement in this thread that all too often matters of medication are trial and error. We still lack a lot of understanding regarding some brain chemistry, but we have made several advances over the years and a lot of new medications have been developed that work a lot better with fewer side effects than in the past. I think anyone that takes medication today is much better off then they were even 10 years ago.

In regards to the legal issues dealing with individual rights and hospitalizations, though, I think it’s important to realize that personal freedom shouldn’t be dismissed so quickly. The law offers the benefit of the doubt to the accused, but also has to be written to affect the rule not the exception. For every person that legitimately needs hospitalization, but refuses it there are a dozen more that have problems, but are truly in their “right minds” and don’t want the help offered for whatever personal reason. However, there are resources in each state for involuntary hospitalization of those individuals that people feel are not in their right minds.

Each state is different, but in mine a person simply has to contact the County Attorney of the county in which the individual in question is a resident and file a petition for involuntary hospitalization. You state why you feel that this person is in need of involuntary hospitalization and if the County Attorney agrees that this meets the grounds for the petition an order is written and sent to the District Judge who then reviews it and if he/she agrees with the legality of the petition he/she signs a detainment order and law enforcement will then pick the person up and take them to the community mental health center (a neutral 3rd party) where a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) evaluates them. This is a person with certain credentials and experience that make them qualified in the eyes of the state to evaluate the individual.

The QMHP then evaluates the individual in regards to 4 criteria. 1) Does the person’s behavior stem from mental illness (e.g. if someone is threatening someone else is it because they are mentally ill or is it a criminal matter and that person simply needs to be jailed) 2) Does the person present a danger to himself or someone else? (This can be an immediate danger or a possibility of danger such as if the person is neglecting himself, making poor decisions that could place him in harm’s way, etc.) 3) Will the individual receive benefit from the treatment proposed? (We shouldn’t be about confining people just to get them out of our way) 4) Is the treatment venue proposed the least restrictive environment? (This helps us from needlessly confining someone that could get just as much benefit in a more comfortable environment or even at their own home if they are safe enough for this).

Now admittedly there is one draw back to this method. Someone has to be willing to initiate it. I know I mentioned several steps, but to be honest it’s much quicker than it sounds. I’ve filed several on people in our ER and even some on our unit if they are in need of higher levels of care than we offer and I’ve filed, had the judge sign, and handed them off to the Sheriff’s Dept. all in under an hour. If you have a cooperative court system (and don’t be too quick to automatically assume you don’t) it flows pretty smoothly. The police sometimes have difficulty freeing up an officer to transport, but depending on the situation even that can be done quickly. I had a guy attack his mother with a hammer late one Sunday evening and we filed, had him assessed and had him on his way in about than 4 hours (he was under guard by the police the entire time by the way).

But, as I said, you have to find someone willing to file. Often family want to bring someone to the hospital and just dump them off saying essentially “You fix them.” I realize their frustration as they have often been dealing with the situation for several days, weeks or months, previous to this moment, but just so a problem that’s taken that long to come to a head won’t just go away just because you think someone else should now be responsible. And often they have gone through this song and dance before, but for some reason think this time will be different so they don’t follow the advice they were given from last time.

I can think of one situation where we worked with a family on the procedure to obtain guardianship of their elderly sister who didn’t want to get help and couldn’t live on her own. It took 3 times admitting this woman to the hospital, trying to get her to accept nursing home placement and finally having to discharge her to one of her sisters before the family finally got it through their heads that things weren’t going to change unless they took the time to go to the courthouse and file the paperwork as was suggested at the time of the first hospitalization.

Other times, I’ve had family members say that won’t file for involuntary hospitalization because they didn’t want the person mad at them. I can certainly understand this, but my belief is that I’d rather have someone alive and mad than not alive at all. And I’ve also seen people say a few days later that their family member taking the steps to force them into a hospital was probably the best favor that they could have done them.

I apologize for the long windedness of this, but mental health is my passion and I hate to see it get a bad rap. But, that said I think we have to realize that this is TV and is meant to show the “madness” as a chaotic and frightening thing so Clark would choose surrender rather than continue to live that way.

[freefall]

Thanks for sharing another very informative post on the issue hanemg. Truth be told, generally in my country mental health hasn't been given that much thought of. There's still a very prevalent stigma of people having problems with their mental health, depression etc. The usual preconceived notion is just like what you said, these people are chaotic, frightening and dangerous and we should stay far away from them.

But even if they're not, there's another equally disheartening situation. Family members usually opt just to treat them by their own methods, not admitting them to the hospital or seeking professional help, because of "embarrassment" and "shame" due to the stigma I've mentioned about earlier. And even if they don't care about what other people think and that kind of stuff, there's always the problem of money. Health services are in the process of being privatized here, and it's very hard to get proper treatment if you're having financial difficulties.

[Khyla]

Hey hanemg , I sent you a PM :)

[LowellCounty]

Thank you HANEMG for a wonderful post.

As a mental health professional, myself, you are right on all points.

Labyrinth was wonderful from Clark's point of view. Tom Welling really excells in these dark dramas and I hope he pursues those kind of scripts after Smallville. I am torn between the often wrong representation of psychiatry and mental health in TV and the movies and the freedom of speech and expression. Despite my career and passion for mental health, I ultimately fall on the side of freedom of expression in the arts. Yes, there are no straight jackets, no objects that drill into your head and there are people who really care. But, as a mechanism to advance the story and for the sake of creativity, I ignore those mistakes.