Objective. We examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 mitigation activities on patients’ experiences of inpatient psychiatric care. Methods. This was a retrospective cohort study of adult inpatient psychiatry patients (2016-2021). We conducted bivariate comparisons in structural quality (patients’ rights) and outcomes (trust and post-discharge engagement with care) between those hospitalized before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among COVID-19-era patients, we fit regression models adjusting for patient characteristics predicting outcomes of trust and post-discharge engagement with care, with total mitigation activities (e.g., masks, social distancing) as the primary predictor. Results. Compared to those hospitalized prior to COVID-19 (N=642), COVID-19-era patients (N=172) were less likely to report “always” or “most of the time” having access to visitors, group therapy, helpful treatment, a patient advocate, the outdoors, and peer support. There were no differences in outcomes. Among COVID-19-era patients, mitigation activity was associated with increased trust in mental health providers following hospitalization (OR=1.39, p<0.001), the hospitalization having a positive impact (OR=1.29, p<0.001), increased willingness to disclose distressing thoughts (OR=1.20, p<0.001), and increased 30-day follow-up (OR=1.10, p=0.05). Conclusion. Findings suggest that psychiatric hospitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with reduced structural quality (e.g., patients’ rights), but not outcomes of trust and post-discharge engagement with care. Mitigation was associated with positive outcomes of trust and post-discharge engagement with care. Robust mitigation could have protected against fear of COVID-19 spread and thus institutional trust and engagement, though use of mitigation strategies could have also been associated with baseline quality differences between hospitals.