Myself and every single person I’ve ever spoken to about their experience as an inmate at a psychiatric facility has had the same experience: Nurses will try and prevent you from exercising your right to place telephone calls by denying you access to the phone numbers of your friends and loved ones.
When I was admitted to the mental hospital I had a note card in my hand with the phone numbers of my closest friends and loved ones. The first thing the nurses did to me was take that card away so that I would not know how to dial the phone. I was never given access to those phone numbers.
If you have even the slightest suspicion that you might be subjected to psychiatric hospitalization organize a contact on the ‘outside’ who can relay messages and write their number on your skin in permanent marker. Write their number on an article of clothing that does not contain a cord and wear that article of clothing, also; in the United States it is illegal for agents of a psychiatric institution to deny you access to your own clothes unless the clothing poses a danger to yourself or others.
Also, if you are at risk of psychiatric violence at any time you should carry a letter on your person with instructions to contact one or more individuals in case you are admitted to an inpatient facility. The letter should instruct the hospital to inform these people that you have been admitted and to provide instructions on how to contact you. The hospital is legally obligated to contact a reasonable number of people on your behalf in this way. You can also include these instructions in your psychiatric advance directive which you can place in your medical records.
Wardens of psychiatric facilities can and will violate your rights in order to make things more convenient for themselves. The only way you have to protect yourself is to communicate what is going on to the ‘outside’ and to have someone there who can seek resources and who can put pressure on the nurses and staff to treat you properly.
Stay safe.
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