Inpatient Psychiatry: Not All Bad

I'm going to send you over to theWashington Postfor an article that was published last week, written by Stanford psychiatry resident Dr. Nathanial Morris:  please check out'Psych Wards' aren't what you think. Morris makes the point that the inpatient psychiatry units is portrayed something out of a horror show,  when really it is a place of healing.  He writes:These are places where patients put their lives back together, picking up the pieces torn apart by such illnesses as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Caregivers from doctors and nurses, to social workers and psychologists work to heal the sick, to guide patients out of the abyss. Families often reconcile with loved ones. Patients may find hope in one another, opening up in groups, sharing meals, discovering the comfort of shared experiences.Morris is right. People go in to hospitals in miserable states and they come out better.  They don't, however, necessarily appreciate the care they've received.  As we note in our book,Committed, some people come out feeling terribly traumatized.  If they feel better, they may attribute it to reasons other than the psychiatric treatment they received.  Perhaps they healed from time, or being away from their problems,  or the kindness of a nurse or their fellow patients.   Ah, yes, moments of healing.Morris points out that part of destigmatizing inpatient care involves acknowledging psychiatry's dark past.  Aga...
Source: Shrink Rap - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: blogs