Day hospital

[tifflehan]

I've been reffered but have no idea what it is!

HELP.......:cry:

[whirlpools]

I can tell you a bit about what my day hospital involved, if that would help.

It was a day-patient unit for people with any sort of mental health problem. It was supposed to be acute crisis care but ended up being long-term for a lot of people.

They had nurses and sometimes Occupational Therapists on duty every day, and you had a keyworker or allocated nurse so there was always someone available to talk to. You had regular appointments with the unit psychiatrist who could check your progress and make any necessary changes to medication, and if there was a crisis and she wasn't available, they could get the duty psychiatrist in.

They ran groups every day which you were strongly encouraged and supported to attend, on various things like cooking, art, exercise, mindfulness, mental health awareness, 'out and about', relaxation etc.

People didn't usually attend every day of the week.

Hope that helps a bit.

[what_the?]

Yeah, I've been going to the hospital as a day patient twice a week and I've found it helpful.

I got referred in a crisis, because I didn't want to go IP, but I wasn't coping totally in the community.

Disappear has pretty much covered what I was going to say, when I go I have individual therapy, a group in the afternoon and also a quick appointment with the duty psych, in between times you can chill, or take part in any number of more structured things. When I go, I'm there from 8.30-5, but that will probably differ depending on where you are.

Also, the ward where I go is the same ward as the normal IP one, but I think there are also specific day centres/hospitals.

Best of luck with it.

[Pomegranate]

The day unit I went to sounds pretty similar to the one Laura (disappear) described. Most people were there 10-14 weeks although there were some people that left early and some who were there a lot longer. You went Monday to Friday 10-3.30. You had a community meeting in the morning and the rest of the time was devoted to groups like 'coping with depression', 'anxiety management', 'assertiveness', 'anger management' and other things like art therapy, cooking, out and about, arts and crafts, playwork, some drama stuff, relaxation and there were trips out and to the gym and things like that. The staff were mainly nurses but there were occupational therapists, support workers, a general doctor and a psychiatrist who you met up with either every week, every fortnight or as often as needed. They alsoliased with the crisis team to get you support out of hours and on weekends etc. All in all it was pretty helpful. When it was coming to time to leave then your time at the unit was gradually reduced and they arranged other groups for you to go to to help you continue moving forward.

I would recommend giving it a go!

[PrincessVegeta_x]

My psychiatrist has mentioned something similar to this... I'm going to try it next month, I think. My team are not forcing me to go but they think it'll help me. It's the same as everyone else has described, only I'm not going in every day, just for a couple of days. There's art groups, creative writing groups, group therapy, opportunities to walk around the grounds, classes that you can attend to help manage anxiety... oh & they also have professionals you can talk to if you feel like venting your feelings! =]

It sounds quite good actually. I'm hoping to make a few friends there. It's going to be better for me than going IP, which my psychiatrist mentioned at my last appointment as a 'possibility.' He only mentioned this 'day centre' place when I declined going IP.

I think it would be beneficial for you. Give it at try, at least. It's what I'm doing - & it doesn't matter if it doesn't work for you, at least you tried, right? x