You’ve been struggling with your mental health, and you think you might need treatment for a depressive disorder. What’s the next step? Can you check yourself into a mental hospital for depression?
The Valor Behavioral Health team is committed to providing personalized depression treatment in an atmosphere of safety, compassion, and respect. For additional details or to schedule a free assessment, contact us today.
Learn more about depression treatment in Atlanta or verify your insurance now.
Can You Check Yourself Into a Mental Hospital for Depression?
Often, it’s difficult to answer a mental health question with a simple yes or no answer. The good news is that this isn’t one of those cases.
Can you check yourself into a mental hospital for depression? Yes, you can.
A mental hospital or residential treatment program may be the right choice if:
- You have severe depression symptoms and need help to achieve stabilization.
- Your symptoms have prevented you from functioning.
- Your struggles with depression are accompanied by anxiety, addiction, or another co-occurring condition.
- Your needs require more intensive services than you can receive at a less restrictive level.
- You can benefit from round-the-clock care and supervision.
But it’s important to know that checking into a mental hospital for depression isn’t your only option. And, depending on the type and intensity of the symptoms you’ve been experiencing, it may not be the best one for you.
What Are the Alternatives to Checking into a Mental Hospital for Depression?
Mental health treatment programs can be divided into two categories: inpatient and outpatient.
Mental health hospitals and residential programs belong to the inpatient category. While you’re enrolled in one of those programs, you will live at the hospital or treatment center.
After you’ve completed one of these programs, or if your symptoms aren’t severe enough to warrant 24/7 support, you may be best served by one or more of the three outpatient levels described below.
The answer to the question, can you check yourself into a mental hospital for depression, also applies to outpatient programs. You can voluntarily enter any of the programs listed below.
Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
The care you receive in a partial hospitalization program is similar to what occurs in a residential program or mental hospital. The main difference is that you won’t live at the treatment center. In the evenings and on non-treatment days you can spend time at home or in an alternative supported residence.
Typical features of PHPs for depression include:
- Full days of treatment, five to seven days per week
- Individual, group, and family therapy
- Experiential, recreational, and holistic therapies
- Educational and skills development sessions
- Breaks for lunch, snacks, or simply to relax and reflect
Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
An intensive outpatient program can be an ideal option if you need to work, attend school, or take care of other responsibilities while also receiving care. IOPs usually offer about three hours of treatment per day, with patients attending sessions two to five days per week.
Group therapy is typically the main method of treatment for depression at the IOP level, though many centers also offer group and family sessions as well as holistic services.
To give you greater scheduling flexibility, Valor Behavioral Health also offers an evening IOP and a virtual (online) IOP.
Outpatient treatment
Outpatient treatment can be a valuable source of ongoing support after you’ve completed treatment for depression in a mental health hospital, a PHP, or an IOP.
At this level, you can schedule sessions on a weekly or monthly basis, or at whatever other frequency is best for you. Regularly scheduled check-ins with a counselor or therapist can help you maintain your progress and address challenges that could cause your depression symptoms to return or intensify.
How Do You Know if You’re Depressed?
Before deciding if a mental hospital, PHP, IOP, or outpatient treatment is right for you, it’s important to identify the scope of your mental health needs. This includes determining if you actually have depression, or if you’re dealing with a different challenge.
People often use the word depressed as a synonym for sad, but there is a significant difference between having an occasional case of the blues and developing a depressive disorder.
Signs that could indicate you have depression include:
- Pervasive sadness that’s not tied to any specific events or experiences
- Often feeling exhausted or easily fatigued, even if you’ve had enough sleep
- Finding it difficult to summon the energy or motivation to get out of bed and get on with your day
- Abnormal sleep patterns, which can include sleeping too much (hypersomnia) or not enough (insomnia)
- Significant changes in your appetite, which lead to unintentional weight gain or loss
- Often having headaches, stomach aches, muscle tension, or other types of physical pain that don’t have an identifiable medical cause
- Having trouble focusing and concentrating, which can undermine your performance at work or in school
- Being uncharacteristically anxious, agitated, or angry
- Finding it difficult to be happy or experience moments of joy
- No longer wishing to take part in hobbies, social events, or other activities that used to be important to you
- Frequently canceling plans or otherwise isolating yourself from friends and family
- Wishing you’d never been born or that you could simply disappear
- Having thoughts about harming yourself or ending your life
On their own, none of these signs are definitive proof that you’ve developed a depressive disorder. But they all suggest that something is amiss. Even if you haven’t been thinking about checking yourself into a mental hospital for depression, you should consult with your doctor or schedule an assessment with a qualified mental healthcare provider.
The person who conducts your assessment can help you understand the challenge you’re facing and discuss appropriate treatment options with you.
Learn More About Depression Treatment in Atlanta
Valor Behavioral Health offers personalized outpatient care for adults who have depression, other mental health needs, and co-occurring substance use disorders.
Treatment options at our center in Atlanta, GA, include a partial hospitalization program (PHP), intensive outpatient program (IOP), evening IOP, virtual (online) IOP, and outpatient program (OP).
Call 866-859-3442 today to learn more, or verify your insurance now.
