title: Goals of inpatient treatment for psychiatric disorders.
abstract: The purpose of the psychiatric hospital changed dramatically during the twentieth century. Formerly the primary location for psychiatric treatment, the hospital now plays a more circumscribed role within a community-based system of care. Crisis stabilization, safety, and a focus on rapid discharge are the critical components of the acute inpatient stay. Subspecialized units focus on geriatrics, children, adolescents, dual diagnosis (substance abuse and mental illness), trauma disorders, eating disorders, and forensics. When integrated with the general medical system and a comprehensive base of community-delivered day treatment, residential services, and outpatient services, psychiatric hospitalization is a humane alternative to long-term institutional care.
authors: Sheppard Enoch Pratt Health System, Towson, Maryland 21285, USA. ssharfstein@sheppardpratt.org
authors: Steven S
authors: SS
authors: Sharfstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005853:Geriatrics; D006757:Hospital Units; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D010372:Pediatrics