A Self-Assessment: When to Seek Inpatient Mental Health Treatment

Mental health struggles are a common occurrence all over the world, with current estimates projecting that 1 in 5 adults in the United States is living with some kind of mental illness. While there are several options for where to turn for help, there are times when it’s important to understand when to seek inpatient mental health treatment for serious or dangerous struggles or a mental health crisis. In California, Resurgence Behavioral Health is proud to be recognized as one of the best dual-diagnosis treatment centers. While we’re known for delivering excellent treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, we can also help our patients address their co-occurring mental health disorders while they’re learning to overcome substance abuse. We know that it’s important to address all aspects of addiction, and that’s why we work with patients to manage and treat mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while they’re in our drug and alcohol rehab programs.

What Is One Reason for Inpatient Treatment for Individuals with Mental Illness?

While Resurgence Behavioral Health is equipped to offer mental health treatment to those with addiction, including through our program for inpatient dual diagnosis treatment for veterans, there are times of mental health crisis when someone needs immediate assistance to stabilize and no longer be at risk of hurting themselves or others. According to the University of Utah Health, there are several warning signs of when to seek inpatient mental health treatment:

• You’re at a high risk of hurting yourself or others.
• You’re experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
• You’re neglecting basic self-care. For example, you might stop eating or taking medications, not take baths or showers, skip important things like work or school, or struggle to sleep.
• Psychotic episodes, such as seeing or hearing things that aren’t real or obsessively worrying that someone is trying to harm you, are a major warning that inpatient help is needed.

In cases like this, getting help as soon as possible is essential. You can go to the emergency room or call a crisis line like the 988 Lifeline to find out where to turn for treatment — it could save your life.

What Does Inpatient Psychiatric Care Focus On?

If you’re wondering about when to seek inpatient mental health treatment, it’s helpful to know what inpatient psychiatric care focuses on and how it works. According to a 2009 report in the Annual Review of Medicine, psychiatric hospitals are now primarily focused on these main components:

• Crisis stabilization.
• Safety.
• Rapid discharge.

The goal is to remain in a psychiatric hospital for the least amount of time possible. Instead of being a place where someone could spend months or years, inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations are usually much briefer these days. They are meant to help address an active mental health crisis — suicidal thoughts or behaviors, for example, or psychosis. The goal is to stabilize patients, keep them safe, and then discharge them. However, ongoing mental health treatment is crucial for their outcomes, and that’s why continuing therapy, medication management, and treatment will happen in residential services, outpatient treatment programs, and the broader medical system.

What Happens When You Admit Yourself to the Hospital for Mental Health?

Now that you know when to seek inpatient mental health treatment, let’s explore what to expect if you go to a mental health or psychiatric hospital. The treatment plan will vary from patient to patient, depending on their needs. Still, you can generally expect 24-hour care and monitoring to ensure your safety until you get stabilized. The first step will be getting through an intake process, during which experts will assess your current condition and why you need help. It could also include physical screenings. After intake, mental health hospitals can offer a variety of services to help treat your condition, including medications, individual and group therapy, and connecting you with a case manager to monitor your progress and adjust your treatment as necessary.

What Is the Highest Level of Mental Health Care?

Mental health treatment is best thought of as a continuum of care, meaning the level and intensity of treatment can vary or change as a person stabilizes and responds to their medications and therapies. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, there are four general levels of mental health care. Let’s discuss these five levels from lowest to highest:

Inpatient Hospitalization: The highest level of mental health care, inpatient hospitalization is a more short-term and intense treatment option than residential treatment — typically, patients will only be in this hospital or treatment facility for a matter of days. During this brief stay, experts will focus on ensuring the patient is safe and helping them stabilize from a mental health crisis. After inpatient hospitalization, patients will likely step down to a longer residential treatment plan.

Outpatient Therapy: This is the least-intensive treatment type, with patients typically meeting with a therapist for weekly appointments and regularly checking in with a psychiatrist to determine if medications need to be changed or adjusted. While this offers flexibility, it doesn’t provide enough support for people who need a higher level of care.

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): This stepped-up version of outpatient therapy typically includes group and individual therapy sessions on a much more frequent basis. For example, an IOP patient might get three hours of treatment at a time, three to five days a week. They’ll travel to a treatment center, but they can live at home.

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP): This even more intensive form of outpatient treatment provides a strong level of support and monitoring, with patients typically coming to a treatment center for six to eight hours at a time several days each week. Medication management, individual therapy, and group therapy are common components of this treatment option. Still, patients can return home each day after treatment.

Residential Treatment: This is a more intensive level of mental health care, with patients living in a treatment facility for 30 to 90 days and spending the bulk of each day participating in therapy and psychiatric treatment sessions. Residential patients receive regular monitoring to ensure they’re progressing through treatment.

Resurgence Can Help with Addiction and Mental Health Treatment

While it’s important to know when to seek inpatient mental health treatment, people with addiction and a co-occurring mental health disorder like depression or bipolar disorder also need to know how to get dual diagnosis treatment that can help them address both problems at the same time. At Resurgence Behavioral Health’s addiction treatment facility in Riverside, California, our inpatient rehab increases the levels of success toward lasting sobriety by offering comprehensive programs to address the physical and mental components of addiction. We know that treating addiction should also help patients learn to manage their struggles with mental health, and we can offer the right treatment options to get better. Call us today at 855-458-0050 to learn more about how we can help you.

External Sources

• University of Utah Health — When to Seek Inpatient Mental Health Treatment at a Hospital
• National Library of Medicine — Goals of Inpatient Treatment for Psychiatric Disorders
• Anxiety & Depression Association of America — Understanding Levels of Care in Mental Health Treatment

David Rofofsky
After growing up in New York, David chose to get help with substance abuse in California because of the state's reputation for top-tier treatment. There, he found the treatment he needed to achieve more than nine years of recovery. He's been in the drug and alcohol addiction rehab industry for eight years and now serves as the Director of Admissions for Resurgence Behavioral Health. David remains passionate about the field because he understands how hard it is to pick up the phone and ask for help. However, once the call is made, someone's life can be saved.

Research | Editorial