How Long Do You Stay in a Hospital for Schizophrenia and What Happens After?

A hospital stay for schizophrenia, also called inpatient care, can be a very different experience for each person. The treatment, length of stay, and goals will depend on what each person needs. It might feel confusing or scary at first, but going to the hospital can be an important step toward feeling safe and starting to recover.

Knowing what to expect can make a hospital stay easier. In this article, we’ll discuss the reasons someone with schizophrenia might need to stay in a hospital. We’ll also explain what happens while you’re there and what the process of leaving the hospital is like.

Why Would You Need a Hospital Stay for Schizophrenia?

There are two categories of hospital stays for mental health conditions. Someone might request a hospital stay voluntarily, or they might need to involuntarily enter the hospital based on the concerns of their healthcare provider or loved ones.

Every state has different guidelines for involuntary hospital stays. As a caregiver of someone with schizophrenia, mental health professionals are your best guidance when a hospital stay is necessary.

Whether a stay is voluntary or involuntary, here are a few reasons someone might need inpatient treatment:

• Experiencing a severe episode of illness or intense symptoms
• Having thoughts or plans of self-harm or harming others
• Experiencing severe side effects from medication
• Using alcohol or drugs that interfere with treatment
• Needing a supervised change in medication
• Receiving treatments that are best provided in a hospital setting

If you or someone you know is considering self-harm or needs support, you can contact the 988 Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or chatting online.

What Type of Hospitals Treat Schizophrenia?

Depending on your situation, there are different types of inpatient care facilities where you might stay. These include:

• General hospitals with a psychiatric ward
• Private psychiatric hospitals
• Public state-run psychiatric hospitals

The hospital where you’re treated may not be close to home. Inpatient psychiatric care is often limited, so people are typically assigned to the first facility with an available bed. Your location may also depend on insurance coverage. For example, public psychiatric hospitals often accept people who are uninsured or unable to pay, ensuring they still receive needed care.

What Is Daily Life Like in the Hospital?

A hospital stay for schizophrenia is usually predictable and routine after the first few hours. The intention is to create a safe space for people to focus on recovery and regain a sense of calm and stability.

“My job in working with people with schizophrenia is about trying to strengthen the parts of them that are connected to reality and help them shift their attention away from the things that are disorienting them,” said Naomi Frisch, a senior occupational therapist at Rush Medical Center in Chicago.

The activities you participate in during your hospital stay are designed to help achieve that goal. “I might help them if they’re getting an injection or if they are taking meds,” Frisch said, “or I might do something relaxing to put them in a better place so they’re able to engage with their treatment.”

Intake

When you’re first admitted to the hospital, you’ll go through an intake process. During this time, you’ll meet the staff who will be working with you. This might include nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational and behavioral therapists, and social workers. You’ll also be asked for information about yourself and your condition to help guide your treatment. This usually includes your medical and mental health history and family medical history.

Next, you’ll talk to a provider who will evaluate your mental health. This meeting is called a psychiatric evaluation. They’ll ask about your medications, symptoms, and side effects. This information will help your treatment team create a plan for your stay at the hospital.

Treatment

Daily life during inpatient treatment follows a consistent schedule. You’ll usually share a room with another person, and meals are typically eaten as a group three times a day. Throughout the day, there will be a variety of activities. These include:

• Sessions with your assigned therapist
• Support groups and group therapy sessions
• Skill-building workshops with behavioral and occupational therapists
• Visitation times — The times when people can visit you during your stay

Depending on your treatment plan, you may be taking medication at different times of the day. Hospital staff will give you your medication and make sure you’ve taken it. There will also be quiet time that allows you to rest in your room. Throughout your stay, hospital staff will do regular headcounts and checks to make sure everyone is in the facility. This also happens at night, which can be frustrating. The goal of these checks is to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for.

Discharge

Discharge is the process of leaving the hospital and transitioning back to outside life. When this happens is different for everyone. Regardless of how long you’ve been in inpatient care, creating a plan for after you leave the hospital is very important. Not all hospitals will have the resources to make sure your needs are met once you leave. You or a family member can ask questions about community support programs, outpatient care, and mental health services in your area.

When Can You Leave the Hospital?

If you’ve voluntarily agreed to a hospital stay, you can request to leave at any time. The specifics of this process depend on the facility and which state you’re in. In general, you need to notify the staff in writing that you want to leave. They’ll have three days to discharge you. Sometimes, your treatment team may think that you’re not ready to leave yet. In this case, they may petition a court to extend your stay.

If you entered the hospital involuntarily, your discharge depends on when your care team thinks you’re ready to leave. According to Frisch, “With inpatient psychiatric care, the focus is on making sure that someone is not a danger to themselves or a danger to someone else. And when that has been clear for 24 hours, they tend to get discharged.”

Once someone is no longer considered a danger to themselves or others and is stable, discharge planning typically begins, which may happen within a day or so.

How Long Is a Hospital Stay?

The length of time you’re in the hospital depends on the reason you’re there. For example, different care goals might include:

• Stabilizing your condition, if you experienced an acute episode of illness
• Evaluating your symptoms and managing medication
• Undergoing long-term treatment that needs to be done in a hospital

All these different treatment goals will require different lengths of hospital stay, and every person’s situation is unique. However, over the past few decades, the average length of a hospital stay for schizophrenia has decreased. A stay usually lasts about a week in the United States.

What Happens After a Hospital Stay?

After you’ve been discharged from the hospital, you’ll be connected with mental health care providers to follow up with. This might include appointments with therapists, social workers, and psychiatrists. In some areas, community-based programs are available that can help you rebuild skills or talk to others in similar situations. If you have a substance use disorder, you might be connected with addiction recovery services.

Finally, for people who are struggling with housing and other basic daily life needs, there may be social services in the area that can help. Following a plan after leaving the hospital can help you stay well and avoid setbacks.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On MySchizophreniaTeam, the site for those with schizophrenia and their loved ones, people come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their tips with others who understand life with schizophrenia.

Have you or a loved one been treated for schizophrenia in a hospital? What was the process like for you? Share your experiences in the comments below.