Depending on where you are, please be honest with your therapist. Usually they can’t (and don’t want to) get you committed unless they’re convinced you’re in immediate danger of badly harming yourself or others. If that’s the case, maybe going to the hospital isn’t a bad idea. I’ve talked to my therapist about suicidal ideation, frequent dreams about suicide that I found pleasant, and about self harming, and she never even considered it. All she did was refer me to a psychiatrist, but I wasn’t forced to see her, let alone committed to a hospital.
Do look up whether the rules are different in your country, though.
As a therapist, I totally agree with what you’ve written above. However, I also have the unfortunate experience of working with mental health providers (mainly psychiatrists in pill-kiosk roles) who will send patients to the ER if they mention any suicidal ideation out of a paranoid fear of losing their license. Thankfully, ER doctors tend to actually assess the seriousness of said ideation and don’t admit people who aren’t seriously considering self-harm, but it’s still an ordeal.
So, I would simply add to your advice that if any mental health provider calls 911 at the mere mention of suicidal thoughts, get yourself a new provider immediately. That provider either hasn’t learned how to properly assess suicidality or is too chicken-shit to do it (far more likely, the latter).
CW self harm and suicidal ideation
Depending on where you are, please be honest with your therapist. Usually they can’t (and don’t want to) get you committed unless they’re convinced you’re in immediate danger of badly harming yourself or others. If that’s the case, maybe going to the hospital isn’t a bad idea. I’ve talked to my therapist about suicidal ideation, frequent dreams about suicide that I found pleasant, and about self harming, and she never even considered it. All she did was refer me to a psychiatrist, but I wasn’t forced to see her, let alone committed to a hospital.
Do look up whether the rules are different in your country, though.
As a therapist, I totally agree with what you’ve written above. However, I also have the unfortunate experience of working with mental health providers (mainly psychiatrists in pill-kiosk roles) who will send patients to the ER if they mention any suicidal ideation out of a paranoid fear of losing their license. Thankfully, ER doctors tend to actually assess the seriousness of said ideation and don’t admit people who aren’t seriously considering self-harm, but it’s still an ordeal.
So, I would simply add to your advice that if any mental health provider calls 911 at the mere mention of suicidal thoughts, get yourself a new provider immediately. That provider either hasn’t learned how to properly assess suicidality or is too chicken-shit to do it (far more likely, the latter).
Thanks for the professional insight!