Hospital length of stay is individualized for each patient, and is discussed as part of the treatment planning process. There is no mandatory number of days that a patient has to stay in the hospital.
I think it's different for everyone. During my stay I saw some people come and go within 24 hours. After my first day there and my first assessments, they estimated my stay at 7 days, and that's how long I ended up staying. I could have checked myself out earlier against medical authority/advice (AMA), but then you run the risk of insurance not paying for it.
When I checked myself in they told me it was for at least 72 hours, and they keep you until the psychiatrists see how you're doing with therapy and then they make their assessment on when you're ready to leave. Also, it doesn't hurt if they're full of patients and there's more coming in. You tend to get released faster if that happens. Worked out well for me.
If you have a record like I do for mental disturbances they have to by law, under severity of the issue, make you stay a minimum of 72 hours
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