My 15-year-old nephew was obviously in need of some help. He was skipping school, running away from home, using drugs. He’d been diagnosed with a mental health disorder and was receiving psychotherapy and medication but matters seemed to be getting worse. I was concerned for his safety.
I did not want to take him to the local hospital, even though they have an adolescent psychiatric unit, because I knew they do a lousy job on the adult psych unit and assumed the adolescent psych unit would be no better. My therapist told me about Windsor Laurelwood Center for Behavioral Medicine, a private hospital about an hour’s drive away. I phoned them and was able to schedule an intake for later that day.
The counselor with whom I spoke assured me that they had a bed available and could admit him provided it proved medically necessary. Windsor Laurelwood accepted Medicaid, so all costs would be covered in full. Since many private hospitals do not accept Medicaid, I was relieved to hear that.
My partner and I feared that my nephew would refuse to make the trip to the hospital if he knew he might be admitted. Instead of telling him that, we told him we were going to talk to someone about his medication. He agreed to go for that purpose. I figured by the time he figured out he was going to be admitted, we’d be behind a locked door and that hospital staff would be accustomed to dealing with angry adolescents that did not want to be there and they would know how to handle things.
Everything went as planned. My partner and I described my nephew’s recent behavior and emotional state to the intake counselor, and she also spoke with my nephew about what had been going on. She agreed that he should be admitted so that he could be stabilized and his medication could be adjusted.
At that point, my nephew realized what was going on and become very angry. He was threatening hospital staff and refusing to walk to the adolescent unit with staff. I could tell the staff was taking him very seriously. A number of staff members came into the intake waiting area and I was afraid they were going to have to physical restrain him and carry him to the adolescent unit. That did not happen, however.
One staff member spoke to my nephew, calmly and quietly, trying to convince him to go up to the adolescent unit. The other staff members all stood by quietly, ready to provide assistance if needed, but giving my nephew his space. I was very impressed with how well they handled things and eventually, my nephew did agree to go with them to the unit.
That was only the beginning of my nephew’s one week hospital stay. My first impressions were good and my subsequent views did not change. He was angry about being admitted against his will and he was angry that we had not told him the truth about where we were going that evening. Staff allowed him to express his feelings and spoke to him in a respectful way. They helped him keep his anger in control and express his feelings in appropriate ways.
There was a lot of structure on the adolescent unit and I think the structure was good for my nephew. The rules were reasonable and very consistently enforced, which helped him fit in and feel comfortable, since he knew just what was expected of him. He attended school on the unit daily, so he could keep up with his classmates back home. He also attended group therapy and various other therapeutic activities. His medication was also adjusted while he was in the hospital.
I highly recommend Windsor Laurelwood Center for Behavioral Medicine to anyone in need of psychiatric care in North Central Ohio. Windsor Laurelwood provides adult psychiatric services as well as adolescent psychiatric services and while I have no personal experience with the adult services offered there, the adolescent services are excellent and I have every reason to expect the adults services would also be top rate.
Sources: Windsor Laurelwood Center for Behavioral Medicine www.windsorlaurelwood.com