[Psych hospitals]

I see a lot of people who are responding to calls to abolish forced institutionalization with "ok but what do we do instead??"

so I'd like to offer some thoughts

this thread will probably be short because I have oceans of trauma from psych hospitals

[Psych hospitals]

So first off, you basically only get hospitalized if you're in crisis

We could do A LOT to make treatment and care more accessible before people are actually in crisis

[Psych hospitals]

I'm not just talking "more psychiatrists who actually take your insurance and new patients"

But like, "material support because poverty is stressful af" and "completely reform psychiatry, possibly just rip it out and start fresh"

[Psych hospitals]

Like I would love it if we just connected people who were new to MH problems with people who have been dealing for awhile, and also compensated people for sharing their time and experience

[Psych hospitals]

Also if people are depressed because of situational stuff (homelessness, living with an abuser, unemployment)

Maybe we as a society could just give people money so they didn't have those problems

[Psych hospitals]

I also think that therapy *can* be helpful, but not when it's basically "oh you have trauma from this systemic problem? Let's try CBT because the real problem is your negative thought patterns"

[Psych hospitals, ABA]

Like I am also just trying to imagine how much better things would be if we stopped forcing Autistic kids to get ABA (spoilers: basically just conversion therapy with a different name) and gave people support for their access needs

[Psych hospitals]

I think we could make a place for people to go when they don't know how to keep themselves safe

But it would have to look radically different

Like, step one, you don't have to pay for it. Taxes do that.

[Psych hospitals]

Step two, nobody is forced to be there

Step three, your job won't fire you for missing work while you get treatment

Step four, there is no "quiet room" i.e. the padded room where they put people they've forcibly sedated

[Psych hospitals]

Step five, the facility is actually accessible for people who have physical and mental disabilities

[Psych hospitals]

Like think of basically a retreat slash spa, but you don't have to pay and anyone can take time off an go

[Psych hospitals]

I'm hitting my mental limits for talking about this subject before the flashbacks start, but I hope you get the idea

[Psych hospitals]

tl;dr I also believe that people in crisis should have access to care, but disagree that our current system of forced Institutionalization is actually "care"

[COVID, death, Institutionalization]

Forgot to mention: community care >>>> https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1278474138320060423?s=19