Help would i get sent to the psychward?

[mumukio]

thinking about trying out therapy again but idk if i can talk about how im really feeling since im absolutely terrified of being sent to the psychward. what should i avoid mentioning to the therapist so im not sent?

 

[AngelTear]

Idk what country you're in
But as far as I know, in the USA your therapist can't send you to a psych ward (only circumstantial)
You can only be sent under certain conditions: You're a threat to yourself or to others, like an immediate threat
You should be able to speak to them freely about anything but I dunno for sure how everything works exactly

 

[mumukio]

Idk what country you're in
But as far as I know, in the USA your therapist can't send you to a psych ward (only circumstantial)
You can only be sent under certain conditions: You're a threat to yourself or to others, like an immediate threat
You should be able to speak to them freely about anything but I dunno for sure how everything works exactly

i'm in canada, the us might have similar rules. im guessing i cant mention that i think about suicide :/

 

[weallhaveourghosts]

thinking about trying out therapy again but idk if i can talk about how im really feeling since im absolutely terrified of being sent to the psychward. what should i avoid mentioning to the therapist so im not sent?

If possible see if you can find an anti-carceral therapist. My current one is and like she's not gonna call anyone on me just because I say I'm suicidal or whatever. She doesn't force me to go to places. I only go if I make that decision myself.

Be wary of the ones that make you sign an agreement to stay alive or whatever cause those are ones that will not hesitate to call the cops on you.

 

[UtopianSoliloquies]

i'm in canada, the us might have similar rules. im guessing i cant mention that i think about suicide :/

Canadian from BC here. I'm not sure how representative of the laws and regulations my experience has been but I've had three therapists and two psychiatrists whom I've been very candid about my suicidality with actionable methods, and I have never been sent to a psych ward. As mentioned by AngelTear, I'm pretty sure therapists in Canada are also allowed to send you to a psych ward if you express that you are going to kill yourself or hurt someone else immediately, but most don't use that power lightly. I've been deemed high risk by some of my therapists, mostly because I don't see my suicidal thoughts as intrusive or negative. Something that stuck with me was when my therapist from my university counselling service asked me if I could keep myself alive for the next week or so; where I said I wasn't sure and yet and she simply replied that she hopes things get better regardless of what I choose to do. Don't take my experience as a guarantee that if you tell your therapist that you're going to CTB today and you share your method, they're definitely not going to send you to grippy sock jail. I'd personally avoid talking about actionable methods if you want to be really careful, but it's honestly up to you.

 

[MyLastTour]

I'm from Australia but I can say I've been fairly forward about method and desire to CTB with previous mental health professionals. It probably varies between professions if I had to guess from my experiences. The pattern I've noticed is unless they genuinely think that you are in immediate harm of killing yourself or harming someone, they won't do anything. Probably depends on the person, whether they have lived-experience, just the overall context of you, etc.

i'm in canada, the us might have similar rules. im guessing i cant mention that i think about suicide :/

I'm 99% sure you'd be able to say that you think about suicide and not get hospitalised for that. If you're saying that you want to kill yourself, then it might be a bit different. If you start saying how you want to die, when you will, giving very concrete and actionable details, then they might get a bit more concerned.

Generally you'd be better off being honest with how you're doing if they are a good therapist.

 

[daruino]

Therapy started to help me when I started to be completely transparent. So if you're thinking about going again I definitely encourage you to go, but not with the mindset that you should "avoid certain topics". As some other people said, you generally aren't gonna get hospitalized simply for only thinking about suicide. Only if you're an immediate threat to yourself or to others.

I've told my therapist I was suicidal and planned to commit within a couple months. She asked some follow up questions to decide whether or not I would be able to go home safely or needed to get hospitalized. Such as if I had a method, whether I had an idea on when I wanted to do it, if it was possible for me to do, whether I could impulsively do it etc.
I was able to go home despite having a method/date/etc because I was also honest that despite really wanting to die, I wasn't going to do it in that week (before the next appointment).

I imagine if you share such feelings and subsequently refuse to answer questions they might believe you're in danger and it could lead to hospitalization. But it definitely takes a lot to get there. If you're honest and they trust you then it'll be okay.

Thinking about therapy is already a good step. Either way I wish you the best!!