well the first time i went to a hospital/psych center it felt more like a daycare they always had the lights on at nightin the halls and all the doors to the rooms were open and a kid was throwin crayons at me the first night and whenever u wanted to go to the bathroom they would yell at u to go to bed and if u acted up during the daythey would put u in a padded room needless to say i was out of there in 6 days and the y assumed i was odd because of the fact that i was asked by the doctor there if i wanted meds and i said no the second time i was hospitalized it really di the treick everyone treated me with respeect and after 8 days of stayin there i was diagnosed with bipolar and adhd i was so glad t ofinally have a diagnosis even tho it took a year to get the proper diagnosis

My 12 year old daughter has been hospitalized three times in the past 6 months. We had different experiences each time. We are also in MD and she was in a different unit each time she was admitted depending on where there was availability. The first time she was in an adolescent unit which is 12 -17 year olds but other than her the youngest was 16 and it was a coed unit. There were good and bad things about that one, she got the medications she needed to get her stabilized but she was also exposed to some things that she shouldn't have been.

Second time she was in a child unit where all of the others were 9 or younger. Again got the medications adjusted to meet her needs but also didn't benefit much from the groups as the topics were not related to her issues.

This last time was probably the best as it was the most beneficial as she was in an all girl adolescent unit where she was still the youngest but there were several 13 and 14 year olds as well.

If you're interested in more specific information about where she was and more detail on the pros and cons feel free to message me and I will fill you in.

-Debby

my advise is never ever if you have to again admit her to streamwood behaveral center they sucked but the groups helped me a bit so it depends if she wants to change and how much she wants to and how good her support system is. another thing behaveral centers usually put their patients on meds during their stay there so is they ask you for approvel don't be surprised and one last thing my stay made me worse but im a cutter so it's different all people go the behaveral centers for different reasons so maybe this will help her a lot maybe not but just stay positive and never give up on her.

I was in one for one month the 2 weeks the next mounth then i lyied to get out cause it was hell in that place! i amoust got raped once. mabe it was just the place i went. some do help but its better for her to talk to someone. i know i hated to be alone at a place like that. if she really needs help u should watch her and how she acts it says alot about how shes feeling. if u understand how she feels u can help her alot more. try to keep her calm and dont yell back when she does im not saying let her get away with anything and everything but just minor things like yelling "i hate u" dont take it personal she probly regrets ever saying it. but right now she needs u so help her and listen to her. hope i helped! :) good luck