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Psychiatric Hospital
Also written: Behavioral health hospital, Mental health hospital
evolving-usagepreferred-term
At a glance
Source-by-source
“"Behavioral health hospital" or "psychiatric hospital" are the preferred terms to describe medical facilities specifically devoted to treating people with mental health conditions.”
NCDJ names "psychiatric hospital" (alongside "behavioral health hospital") as a preferred term for a facility devoted to treating people with mental health conditions, replacing "insane asylum," which it describes as having largely gone out of use as objectionable and inaccurate. The entry conforms to AP style.
“TERM TO AVOID … SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE … asylum … psychiatric hospital/facility”
APA's two-column avoid/alternative table lists "asylum" as the term to avoid and "psychiatric hospital/facility" as the suggested alternative, reaching the same preferred term as the disability style guides through its own person-centered framework.
“Mental health hospital or psychiatric hospital are the preferred terms to describe medical facilities specifically devoted to treating people with mental disabilities.”
The Diversity Style Guide's glossary names "mental health hospital" or "psychiatric hospital" as the preferred terms for facilities treating people with mental disabilities, replacing "insane asylum." DSG aggregates NCDJ's disability entries, and the two read in parallel.
Audience notes
- Journalists and editors
- "Psychiatric hospital" is the AP-conforming default; NCDJ and DSG both name it (and "behavioral health hospital" / "mental health hospital") as preferred. Reserve "insane asylum" for direct quotes or historical references to a named institution.
- Advocates and internal comms
- All three guides land on the same neutral, clinical term, so there is no contested call to navigate here — "psychiatric hospital" is safe across audiences. "Behavioral health" reads slightly broader and is common in U.S. care-system language.
- Watch the variants
- APA's table offers "psychiatric hospital/facility," and DSG/NCDJ add "behavioral health hospital" and "mental health hospital." These are co-preferred rather than ranked; pick the one that fits the facility being described.
Synthesis
This is a settled, use-this-term page. All three sources prescribe the same form: “psychiatric hospital” is the neutral, preferred clinical term for a facility devoted to treating people with mental health conditions. The form these guides reject is “insane asylum,” which NCDJ and DSG both describe as having largely gone out of use as objectionable and inaccurate. There is no dissent in the corpus.
The sources reach that agreement by two routes. NCDJ — the chapter’s disability anchor — and the Diversity Style Guide share near-identical wording, since DSG aggregates NCDJ’s disability entries; both name “psychiatric hospital” alongside “behavioral health hospital” (NCDJ) or “mental health hospital” (DSG) as co-preferred, and both note AP conformance. The American Psychological Association arrives at the same place independently: its avoid/alternative table simply pairs “asylum” with “psychiatric hospital/facility,” with no shared lineage to the journalism guides.
The remaining differences are wording, not substance. APA adds the more clinical “facility” variant; DSG’s older phrasing says “mental disabilities” where NCDJ says “mental health conditions.” Neither changes the recommendation. Use “psychiatric hospital” (or one of its co-preferred siblings) as the default and keep “insane asylum” for quotation or for naming a specific historical institution. This page pairs with the rejected form discussed at insane.
History note
The sources document a clear arc: “insane asylum” was once the common label for facilities that housed people with mental illness for long periods, and NCDJ and DSG both record that the term has largely fallen out of use as it came to be seen as objectionable and inaccurate. “Psychiatric hospital” (with “behavioral health” and “mental health hospital” as siblings) is the term that settled into place as the neutral replacement.
Related terms