‘Living in an alternative reality’: adolescents’ experiences of psychiatric inpatient care

Abstract

Background: To date minimal research has investigated adolescent psychiatric inpatient care from a service‐user perspective. Method: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 10 adolescents with experience of psychiatric inpatient care. Interviews were analysed using the grounded theory method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Results: A core category, ‘Living in an Alternative Reality’, reflected the unusual nature of the hospitalisation experience. Adolescents reported feelings of restriction and disconnection and used various relational and practical strategies to cope with hospitalisation. Conclusions: Results suggest that psychiatric hospitalisation can cause strong affective reactions in adolescents, and may affect psychological constructs such as identity and self‐esteem.

“Our daily life was mainly comprised of eating and sitting:” a qualitative analysis of adolescents’ experiences of inpatient eating disorder treatment in China

“…Previous work has investigated the lived experiences of this group of individuals requiring hospitalization using qualitative methodologies. Studies from the UK [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], The Netherlands [14], Norway [15] and Australia [16] all report themes of control versus collaboration, removal from normality, the negative and positive impacts of peer relationships, transition and recovery, disconnection from the outside world, the role of meals and eating, battling the ED and taking responsibility. In these countries, inpatient treatment tends to involve physical rehabilitation alongside psychotherapies including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family therapy [17] and individuals may be admitted voluntary or detained and treated using legal frameworks like the UK's Mental Health Act [18].…”

Changes in mental health outcomes with the intensive in‐home child and adolescent psychiatric service: a multi‐informant, latent consensus approach

“…Gowers et al, 2000;Harpin et al, 2013). For example, psychiatric hospitalization may cause strong affective reactions in adolescents and affect psychosocial dimensions of youth (Haynes et al, 2011), and may even lead to significantly worse mental health outcomes than in-home treatment (Gowers et al, 2000). Further, residential treatment programs are costly, and may not address the complex and multi-systemic needs of children and their families.…”

Youth with Serious Mental Health Disorders: Wraparound as a Promising Intervention in New Zealand

“…This movement was prompted by the realisation that institutionalised care was expensive and produced poor outcomes (Burns & Hoagwood, ). There is evidence that institutionalised care, in particular long term institutionalisation, can delay normal psychosocial development in regards to educational progress, entering the workforce, and developing the necessary social, behavioural, and relationship skills needed to function effectively within the community (Frensch & Cameron, ; Green, ; Haynes, Eivors & Crossley, ).…”

“…This has often led to youth experiencing problems with readjustment when returning to their community, as well as issues with self‐esteem, identity, and increased feelings of disconnection (Frensch & Cameron, ; Green, ; Haynes et al., ). When successes or gains were made by youth within these settings they were rarely maintained and tended to dissipate over time when they returned to their communities (Frensch & Cameron, ).…”