Residential Mental Health Facilities Basics

Learn when it is necessary to use residential mental health facilities
By Gail L. Perry, Freelance Writer / MSW Life Coach Mental health residential facilities are places for inpatient treatment, typically a campus or facility, for serious emotional and behavioral disorders. At these facilities, food, shelter, counseling, and 24-hour staff are part of the provisions for intensive therapeutic treatment. Residential psychiatric facilities provide care for children, adolescents, adults and mature adults who suffer from mental illness and generally provide treatment for 30 or more days.
 

Many benefit from residential care or "out of home" care due to the nature of their illness. Inpatient mental health facilities offer patients time to stabilize and prepare to re-enter society as an independent, functioning member. When considering a residential program, consider the following:

1. Clarify the terms describing residential psychiatric facilities.

2. Understand when mental illness requires residential psychiatric facilities.

3. Know how to admit someone into residential psychiatric facilities

Get clarification on the types of mental health facilities

Many people use certain terms interchangeably for mental health facilities, such as: residential mental health facilities, inpatient psychiatric facility, residential mental facilities, psychiatric residential facilities, inpatient mental health facility, behavioral health facilities and mental health hospitals. The question is - do they mean the same thing? Inpatient and residential care mean the patient lives in the facility 24 hours a day. Psychiatric and mental health are the same; these specialized facilities treat mental illness to support mental health.
Try: For an understanding of the mental health field, see a glossary provided by Counselling Resource. Each inpatient psychiatric facility has specialties, so go to Mental Health America for an overview of illness and treatment options.

Identify when a worker might need inpatient mental health facilities

Mental health facilities come into play when a mental illness affects a person's behaviors, thoughts, feelings and relationships due to environmental stress, genetics predisposition, psychological or biological influences. The person is unable to cope with everyday routines or life pressures. Signs that show the need for extra care include: depression, anxiety, thought/speech difficulty, moodiness and cognitive disorganization. With the help of a professional health-care provider, consider psychiatric residential facilities if a person's symptoms become unmanageable and the person is unable to function within society.
Try: Before consulting with a professional, educate yourself in basic mental illness and mental health by looking at SAMSHA's National Mental Health Information Center website. Also, be aware of specific ideas to help with mental illness in the workplace by consulting Psych Central.

Know methods of admitting someone to mental health facilities

There are two ways to gain admittance into psychiatric residential facilities - voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary admittance is when the person is willing to sign themselves into the hospital and commit to stay for a certain time period for evaluation and recommendations, while an involuntary admission is when the person is committed into an inpatient mental health facility against their will. If you need to commit someone, check your state guidelines for residential mental health facilities basics.
Try: See the International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation for an overview of how some health-care providers determine the need for voluntary or involuntary admittance into a mental health facility. The American Psychiatric Association studied the methods used to involuntarily commit someone to a mental health facility and discovered nine elements in the process.

• Consult a professional to determine whether your employee or colleague needs inpatient mental health facilities or outpatient care.