Your Child Is in a Psychiatric Hospital: Printable Family Guide and Workbook (PDF)

Your child is in a psychiatric hospital. You are not alone, and you are not to blame.

The door locked behind you, and nobody had time to explain what happens next. Written by a registered nurse in plain English, this guide and family workbook walks you through the stay from the first night to the first month home: what the stay is for, what the words mean, what to ask, and how to bring your child home to a safer house and a real plan.

Instant PDF download. 128 pages, letter size, in color. Read it on your phone tonight and print the write-on pages.

What is inside

• At a Glance: twelve things to know first and what to do tonight
• The first 24 hours, the emergency room, and waiting for a bed
• Who is who on the unit and what a day looks like
• Diagnosis explained in plain English, and why it may change
• The kinds of therapy, and medications by group with what to ask
• The treatment plan, the family meeting, and the questions to ask
• Your rights and your child's rights, privacy, insurance appeals, job leave, and school
• Going home: the safety plan, a safer home, and the warning signs to act on
• You Are Not to Blame: a letter to parents about guilt
• A glossary, scripts with the exact words to say, checklists, and a 30-day tracker

Please read

This is a guide and resource book to inform and educate. It does not replace your professional care team. Follow the recommendations of your licensed clinicians. If your child is in immediate danger, call 911. In the United States, call or text 988 at any hour. The pictures are AI-made illustrations, not photographs of real people.

Digital product: nothing is shipped. Prefer a printed book? Paperback on Amazon · Hardcover on Amazon · Kindle