Nasty Policy or No?

First off, I think this is a terrible policy. Some of you may see the good in it, but I certainly don't.

My friend was in the mental hospital last spring. I went to visit her with a bunch of other friends. We were all in a group talking with her in a room with some tables and a piano. Another patient came in and started talking to us. We were enjoyning her time very much. My friend had been very scared that day and the company of the other patient among her friends had eased that fear. A staff member came over and told the other patient she could not visit with my friend while we were there. Their policy was that if a patient has visitors, no other patient is allowed to visit with them. My friend was very drugged up, but she tried to scream "Let her stay Let her stay!" and all of us were saying we really enjoyed her company. It wasn't the same after she left.

Why can't a patient visit with another patient while there are visitors???????!!!!!!! I can understand if the visitors are annoyed or do not consent to it. But if everyone agrees, why can't it happen? Who is going to get better in such a controlled environment?!

It's about establishing power and exercising it. As if being locked in doesn't establish that already. I don't agree with it, it's tough enough if you actually end up in the ward, but it exponentially magnifies that horror when you're treated and talked to like a toddler.

I find that a strange policy. I'm sure they have a reason for it, probably avoiding some kind of liability or whatever.

I don't agree with it but unfortunately people make stupid rules all the time.

The few times I've been in, everyone met in the cafeteria. There would be several visits going on in the same room so it didn't really matter.

No doubt they had some justification (liability, control, etc.) that has some legal justification but no ethical justification.

A mental hospital is about control, not ethics or humanity. People are committed to mental hospitals so that they can be controlled and treated in a way where a therapist or psychiatrist can't be held liable. They aren't committed to treat a person in an ethical or humane way. A mental hospital, in my opinion, is the institutional method of abandoning a person but not having to feel guilt over it since they are forced to be safe.

A mental hospital is legally required to allow a patient to have visitors. They are also required to allow patients to socialize among themselves. But they aren't legally required to allow both to happen at the same time. If there wasn't a legal requirement to allow visitors or socialization among patients, I doubt even that would be allowed.

This is a stupid policy I think. I've been hospitalized over 3 dozen times or more. None of there rules make any sense and the use of restraints, is triggering and traumtizing to me the patients there. It's all about power and I've noticed that the higher paying nurses and shrinks (excuse me but those are doctors I call incompetent) like to exercise it. This is where most of my anger comes from. I've suffered from psychiatric abuse in the hospital, physical and sexual. It drove me mad and took away my entire life. Sorry if this is a little triggering but it gets me fired up that they can keep you there for 72 hours regardless if you want to harm yourself or not. In my state if someone has reasonable action to believe that you may harm yourself or another person they can get a warrant from the state and you become a ward of the state.

I always wondered how Against Medical Advice went? I wonder if you can exercise that power. I've heard it used before, but I think you have to have power of attorney.