I've been in a psych ward before, albeit around 5 years ago and in a different state. To preface, I don't want to freak you out, just want you to have an informed choice.

I'll not sugarcoat it, it's meant to do one thing. Keep you alive. Everything is built around doing that at a low cost. Your insurance may or may not cover a stay. If you're voluntary they'll probably still bill you. Involuntary can depend on the circumstances but they usually still bill your insurance. Apply for financial aid if you can.

Stay time will depend on the state, but for me in Idaho, it was usually one of two options. Suicidal people or people with shorter term issues like a bipolar episode will spend about a week in a short term ward. Not much to do. Shared Tv room, some books. You will not keep clothes with strings, belts, etc. no phone. They will likely not give you any meds you don't have an active prescription for. Because it's meant to be short term, and meant to keep you alive long enough to stabilize, they will probably want to try new or different doses of meds while you stay. They can try things faster than you could at home because you're essentially monitored 24/7.

They will likely search you. It'll usually only be initially in a room with a couple people (more than 1 is for accountability's sakes, if they don't have another person by default I believe you can ask for another person in the room).

Longer term stays usually require some kind of court hearing where you'd go to state and that's pretty hard to do. The state hospitals are usually pretty busy and so you really only go there if you can't care for yourself at all, or you're so actively suicidal that you're still like planning things out after a week or two. Even if you're on the path to state that can take a couple weeks at a short time term place and feeling better will get you out quick in that case.

You might see your doc once on the day you arrive and again once a week. You mostly interact with nurses or nurse assistants. All the staff I interacted with over quite a few visits were decent people who wanted to help. I know that isn't true of everyone, they're human after all, but I think most of them do want to help.

They aren't going to have many options to shave, at the short term facility I've been to you could ask but it was kinda a pain and it had to be approved and yes you'd be supervised with a razor. This depends place to place tho.

Transphobia is a real issue and yes I did experience some. Staff aren't trained for trans people specifically but they do see a lot of us. Lets say I met a lot of trans people in the psych hospital. Mostly suicidal. Imagine that. Staff can be hit or miss with name and pronouns, especially if you haven't changed name or anything. Usually a reminder is enough, if not mention it to a head nurse or even your doc. Most places will accommodate changing name where they can, it'll vary from place to place.

If somebody is a jerk to you, transphobia or otherwise, ideally staff will step in. Anytime anyone was shitty and I mentioned it they separated us where they could, and that usually resolved things. That will depend on how much space the facility has too. Staff was never outright transphobic. At worst they were ignorant and when I mentioned a preference or frustration they fixed it as possible.

Food was pretty fine. I'd describe it as a step above school cafeteria depending on the place. They accomodate allergies pretty well, and usually have some kind of option. So like burger or sandwich or chicken, but the burger option is always there, and they have like chips and sides and stuff, and cycle the chicken or sandwich options.

The biggest thing I'll say is that they exist to do one thing. Keep you alive, get you stable, get you out. So it will probably feel like a lot of lost privileges and rights, and a ton of scary meds or changes. They aren't trying to torment you, but because they deal with everything from suicidal to drug addicted to completely out of touch with reality, you're essentially given the trust level of a toddler. No sharps, no strings, no doors, no locks, no electronics, etc. It sucks, but it does the job(short term). A week is long enough to try new meds, or restart old ones. Long enough for a manic episode to fade, or a suicidal phase to pass. You still come back and have to put the pieces back together afterwards, but if you simply need a place to fall to pieces for a week, it lets you.

TLDR: (sorry im horribly disorganized)

• They likely won't let you do DIY HRT inside but I don't have personal experience there.
• Some places let you shave, likely supervised.
• In my experience I was only searched initially when I first went in.
• For me, staff was at worst ignorant and changed when I asked, some patients were bleh, but staff separated us where they could.
• Food was fine, not amazing, they did have some choices and they catered to allergies pretty well from what I saw, always had some alternatives.

I don't know anything about this, but you seem very aware of what your needs are, and so it's more a question about the specific facility and their policies - it sounds like you need a facility that would be able to accommodate your needs, and you would want to talk all this through with someone from the facility to ensure your needs can be accommodated reasonably, and then to have contingency plans if things don't go as promised.

I wish you the best of luck, I hope you are able to share your experiences to help others here - thank you for reaching out, I think this is really important to talk through.