Millions of people suffer from serious mental illness in one form or another. Unfortunately, not enough people seek treatment promptly. There are a lot of reasons behind this problem. One of them is that too many people who seek out the help they or a loved one need from mental health facilities do not get answers they find comforting. This leads to people giving up or just doing their own research online for how to improve their situations. Not surprisingly, this rarely works.
Here at SoCal Empowered of Idaho, we talk to people about their mental health challenges every day. We speak to people who are suffering themselves as well as those who are worried about a loved one. What we’ve found is that more often than not, people who are struggling are not really sure where to begin when they decide to get help. Even if they search for inpatient mental health facilities, they may not be fully aware of some of the best questions to ask.
We’d like to help change that for people who are currently searching for a path forward. Below you’ll find a list of questions to ask inpatient mental health facilities when you contact them. We’ll also include the types of answers you should hear in response. We’d all agree that the more people who get the help they need, the better, and we’ll never stop trying to aid in this regard.
Before You Begin: Make a List of Questions
When people are suffering through mental health crises, it’s a natural response to just search for inpatient mental health facilities and start calling them. This is a very difficult time, and the instinct is to jump in and try to solve it as soon as possible. While being productive is always a good idea, in this case it’s best to take a few minutes to write out the questions that are most important to you.
Make Sure You Go Through All of Your Questions
When you speak to prospective inpatient mental health facilities, make sure that you complete your list of questions. The best way to compare options is by having the same information for all of them, and if a question was important enough to write down in the first place, then it’s important that someone answer it for you completely.
Avoid High-Pressure Sales Approaches
Sadly, some people feel pressured when they contact facilities to get answers. They may be told that space is limited, that the situation is dire and that they need to act immediately or something else to prompt a person to make a commitment. Now is not the time to be sold, so if you feel that pressure, pay attention to it and don’t allow yourself to be pushed into something that doesn’t feel right.
Suggested Questions for Inpatient Mental Health Facilities
Now that we’ve covered some of the pre-screening ideas to keep in mind, we’re going to list out some of the questions that you may want to consider as you speak to different inpatient mental health facilities. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and obviously every situation is a bit different, but the list will help you cover all of the information you should have in hand to make the best decision.
What type of treatments do you offer?
Clearly, different mental health challenges are best served by different therapy approaches. A mental health facility should be able to serve many needs by offering several different types of treatment. For example, SoCal Empowered of Idaho provides a wide array of treatments to deal with different mental illnesses.
What types of therapy do residents experience?
If someone is going to stay at a residential mental health facility, it’s reasonable to expect that he or she will be undergoing intensive individual therapy. While that is almost always helpful and necessary, it’s also often beneficial to provide group therapy when it makes sense.
What does a typical day or week look like?
If someone is going to stay in a mental health facility, he or she is going to basically be living there for a period of time. As a point of reference, the typical duration of a stay at SoCal Empowered of Idaho is 30 – 45 days. There needs to be some type of variety included in that timeframe. That means people should be able to go outside, enjoy safe and supervised activities and get a break from the therapy.
Do you accept insurance?
These days, a majority of healthcare plans include coverage for mental healthcare. Therefore, you should ask any inpatient mental health facilities you speak to if they accept insurance, and if so, which carriers. You should also have your own insurance information handy so that you can provide it to the facility, as they should be willing and able to check it to determine your coverage before you agree to any type of stay.
How does your intake process work?
This is a very important question, as it will tell you a lot about how the facility operates. In order to provide the best environment and best opportunity for success to residents, inpatient mental health facilities should be thorough in this regard. There should be an assessment call after checking insurance that allows the facility to determine the severity of the problem and decide on the best course of treatment. If there is a fit at that point, then the planning can start. If a facility simply invites you or a loved one to come and stay there without finding out much about the person who needs help, that should be a red flag.
How SoCal Empowered of Idaho Can Help
If you find yourself in the position of looking for inpatient mental health facilities, we hope that you find the best possible fit for your situation, whether that includes SoCal Empowered of Idaho or not. In addition to the questions above, it’s highly likely that you have others that you want to ask. As we said above, ask them all. Be thorough with your search, as this is a brave and big decision you’re about to make.
We are here to answer any questions you may have, and we will help you find the right place, no matter where that may be. We will also speak directly to your insurance company to determine your coverage so that there are no questions about your financial exposure. Now is not a time for surprises or confusion. Instead, it’s about clarity, calm and results.
Contact our team today to learn more about how we can help you.
