How do you get put in inpatient treatment in the US?

My sister is really not doing well. She has dissociative personality disorder (NOT dissociative identity disorder), PTSD, and probably some undiagnosed stuff as well. She has been living in a truck in Florida, but she still has a NY driver’s license. So she is applying for Medicaid in NY. I really want her to get inpatient treatment, because she can not take care of herself at all, and she is pretty close to suicide. She’s already tried once last month, and a few more times throughout the years. I have finally gotten her to agree to check herself in. What do I have to do to make sure she gets admitted there full time? Does Medicaid cover the cost, or are there other expenses? How long will they keep her for? What are her options after she gets out? I can’t let her live with me, because she will just continue living a bad lifestyle and never get better. How does she qualify for a group home/assisted living situation?

Those are lots of questions I feel your anxiety.

I’ve been inpatient twice both my own decision. It’s like prison. And many times they put you in with MR. Patients. They don’t let you smoke so people chew tobacco. No caffeine though.

A doc and team comes around once a day for 10 minutes. It’s pointless. You get home and you’re more suicidal than before. And there is no follow up.

How long were you in there for? Even if they just used the time to try different meds and find one that worked, it would be an improvement over her current situation.

One week by my request they wanted me out earlier. Also about the caffeine they will tell you it’s regular coffee when you ask but it’s a lie. They do all sorts of things to deceive you.

I’m looking for more of a long-term care option. I think it’s different than just the short-term psych ward. I’ve been to the short-term ward before, and I actually had a pretty positive experience. i was really scared going in, but they got me on meds that helped, and they told me I could get better. A few of the orderlies were jerks, but the nurses were really nice and helpful.

I think it might take a long time for that to happen. She would have to get on disability first. I would start with basic shelters if she will.

There is no such thing as dissociative personality disorder. You must mean she suffers from dissociation or is in a dissociative fugue moving across the country or something

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I dunno. That’s what she said the doctor told her, but she does have a tendency to make things up sometimes. In that case, I have no idea what she has, but it sends her into violent fits where she just blacks out and starts beating the ■■■■ out of people. She definitely has PTSD though.

She must be a danger to herself or others to get committed.

  1. mortimermouse is correct; it’s DID, not DPD.

  2. Most people who have DID have PTSD. Of probably 25 people I have seen with DID (or BPD, as it used to be called), all of them had PTSD. But the PTSD may look like (or even partially be) bipolar disorder. In very recent years (the past five?) there’s been a growing movement towards treating those who have DID for PTSD from the medicinal standpoint. Psychotherpeutically, the #1 go-to is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; see http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm.)

My rec? Get her assessed at an ER, ASAP. If she “has a plan,” a good diagnostic assessor will catch it and get her into a lock-up for 72 hours. If she’s willing, they can keep her for two weeks in most states.

All of your other Qs will be best answered in your state by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Make an appointment. Go to this link and start digging around. http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/access-florida-food-medical-assistance-cash

And don’t forget that DID is 90% female as well. You shrink you. I bet you’re a shrink. You know too much and never explain where you learned it.