In recent years, numerous studies about the image of psychiatry have been conducted. However, to our knowledge, a significant part of psychiatry has been very little explored: the vision of psychiatric hospitals (PsH). For instance, “PsH” on google images reveals a long list of frightening pictures of ravaged places.

With such an image spread by the medias, we wanted to evaluate the vision of PsH and treatment modalities among general population in 2015, in 4 countries: France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

An online survey in 4 languages has been sent via facebook and emails. Two hundred and fifteen responses were collected during September 2015: 178 French, 11 Spanish, 17 Brazilians, 9 English.

Thirty-nine percent of participants consider PsH as a place of care, and 16% as an asylum. There were differences among countries: for example, asylum is more represented in France than Spain. Regarding patients admitted in PsH, they are not all dangerous (90%), nor all irresponsible (94%) and have specifics rights (66%). Concerning diseases: delirium, bipolar disorders, and perversity are to be treated in PsH, while depression, addiction, and autism are to be cured in psychiatric structures other than hospital. Moreover, 2% of participants believe abuses are common practice, whereas a majority consider therapeutic activities instead.

These results are quite different from the studies based on the perception of mental illness and patients. Here, on the overall, they are quite encouraging. So, PsH could lead the path on the improvement of the image of psychiatry.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.