Hi! Mental health social worker here- it’s for the patient’s safety, safety of other patients, and worker safety. Many people coming in are there because they’re at risk of harming themselves. Staff have to make sure (1) nothing that could possibly be used as as a weapon on themselves or others is identified and removed and (2) a thorough status of the patients needs documented when they come in. Oftentimes, people come in with injuries or conditions they either don’t mention or don’t realize are issues. If someone has that on their body and it’s not documented at intake then it could later be used as saying they received an injury while staying at the hospital. Many people coming in are depressed but are without a typical sense of reality and just need a safe place to be temporarily but some people coming in are having full psychotic episodes where they’re not in the same reality and information is misconstrued, they’re experiencing paranoia and making statements that people are hurting them, etc. I know that the process of everything must be really difficult especially when you’re there because you’re already going through something difficult but it’s kind of the only way to ensure everyone is safe. Unfortunately, staff can’t go strictly off what someone says or does to determine what intake process they have since there’s a large amount of people coming in who say one thing but you quickly find out a very different thing is going on with them. Hope all the best for you! I don’t work directly in our inpatient hospital but adjacent/work on processing their assessments for the state so still somewhat familiar and I worked in a residential setting with minors previously. If you hear someone in social work state that “anything can become a weapon,” they’re not kidding. I’ve had so many innocuous things become weapons in my time.
AlissaSameer@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I guess I get what you mean but it was still humiliating to strip naked for strangers and open up if you get my meaning. I still feel humiliated by it.
Maalus@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Okay, sure. But the alternative would be “someone gets stabbed”
AlissaSameer@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I’d rather be stabbed since I have a death wish
Apytele@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
FaceDeer@fedia.io 7 months ago
It's not just you that they're worried could get stabbed, it could be anyone.
I took some psych courses in University and one of my profs was full of anecdotes about patients he'd cared for, there were people who were perfectly nice and calm and then in a split second something would go unpredictably wrong and they'd be savagely attacking whoever they could get their hands on.
And then a moment later they'd be beside themselves with dismay over having "lost it", apologizing sincerely and profusely. He said it was really hard keeping on your toes in there. He permanently lost his hearing in one ear when one of his patients slapped him out of the blue one time, to both of their surprise. If anything remotely like a weapon was easily accessible it could go very badly.
I'm sorry your experience was unpleasant, and of course I can't remotely speak to it myself - it was your experience, not mine. But it could be that the stuff that was done was for everyone's protection.
NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 7 months ago
Touché salesman
Mango@lemmy.world 7 months ago
No, that would be the response.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 7 months ago
That's because, despite all of the excuses this person has made for themselves, the point is to humiliate you. They want to make sure you know your place, that they are in charge, and that standing up for yourself is futile.
AlissaSameer@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I havent made any excuses