Quick Facts about John George Acute Psychiatric Hospital

• John George is an Acute Psychiatric Hospital in San Leandro, California

• Part of the Alameda Health System (Open 24/7)

• You can be admitted on a 5150 or voluntarily

• Provides services to adults experiencing severe and disabling mental illnesses

• Average stay: 7-8 days

My Experience at John George

Completing my level 1 fieldwork at John George was an important part of my journey to becoming an OT. I learned many things throughout my time there that I will utilize in my future practice and met many individuals whose stories changed my perception of how I see people and to an extent, the world. One of the main things that I left with was the ability to listen to people. Listen not just to diagnose or find an immediate solution but to gather the entire narrative and fully understand the patient. By taking the time to listen to individuals, my empathy naturally developed substantially. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to sit along side those experiencing mental illness and utilize occupations as a form of therapy. As a way to get back to a life that is meaningful to them.

While at John George we worked on helping our patient to find meaning occupations that help soothe anxiety, decrease stress, depression, and find wellness. We also helped with goal setting to prepare them to enter back into the community, manage their mental health in a way that worked for them, and advocated for their rights, just to name a few things.

While I believe that there are many things that could be improved upon at a facility such as John George, the most important changes an OT could make would being more client-centered and maintain occupation-based throughout treatment.