Havenwood Behavioral Health

“**Families considering Havenwood deserve to know about our experience.** My 19 yo son was involuntarily admitted following a serious mental health crisis. I want to be clear: I understand why hospitalization was necessary. I'm grateful there was a secure place for him during an acute crisis. This one star review is about the care, communication, professionalism and environment we experienced. We did NOT expect Havenwood to "fix" our son in a few days. We understood inpatient care was primarily for safety and stabilization with the deeper work happening through PHP/IOP and outpatient treatment. But we did expect meaningful clinical interaction, basic therapeutic engagement, family communication and appropriate discharge planning. Our experience fell extremely far short. Communication was extremely poor. My son signed a HIPAA authorization allowing communication with us, yet we received very little meaningful information. Calls to his social worker frequently went unreturned. I specifically requested to speak with his psychiatrist and was told it would happen. IT NEVER DID. I also requested a family/discharge meeting and was told it would happen. IT NEVER DID. Our son was discharged back into our care after a serious mental health crisis without the family meeting we specifically requested. The lack of therapeutic engagement was equally concerning. According to my son psychiatrist interactions were generally brief check-ins, less than five minutes. There was NO group therapy, NO family therapy, and NO meaningful individual therapeutic interaction he could identify. He reports spending the overwhelming majority of his days SITTING AND WATCHING TV! We weren't expecting magic. We were expecting treatment to at least begin. The meaningful work will now happen through PHP/IOP, individual therapy and continued psychiatric care. Even the PHP/IOP program he will attend was researched and selected by us, his parents, rather than simply accepting the referral Havenwood proposed. Staff professionalism was also deeply concerning. My son reported staff arguing with each other in front of patients, openly discussing personal matters, and making mocking/disrespectful comments about a former autistic patient in front of current patients.If accurately reported that is completely unacceptable in a behavioral health facility caring for vulnerable people. The facility conditions during family visitation were also unacceptable and this I personally witnessed.The area smelled unpleasant, tables were dirty, floors were sticky, and there were visible puddles of liquid on the floor that had not been cleaned. Some staff also lacked the kindness and empathy I would expect in behavioral healthcare. People experiencing psychiatric crises are at their most vulnerable. Compassion, dignity and professionalism should be the minimum standard. I recognize the importance of acute stabilization, but containment, stabilization and meaningful treatment are not the same thing. My son came home still needing the real work to begin: understanding what contributed to his crisis, identifying triggers, developing coping and emotional-regulation skills, addressing anxiety and relationship dynamics, building healthy independence and continuing psychiatric and therapeutic care. We always knew PHP/IOP would be where much of that work happened. What we didn't expect was so little therapeutic groundwork during hospitalization and so little meaningful involvement of the family responsible for him after discharge. Mental health patients deserve more than somewhere to sit and watch television until they're considered safe enough to leave. They deserve meaningful clinical engagement, compassionate and professional staff, cleanliness, family communication and thoughtful transition planning. I'm grateful my son is home safely. But based on our family's experience Havenwood fell extremely far short of what we expected from a behavioral health facility. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND HAVENWOOD!”

“i was involuntarily placed in this facility by an emergency room. during my time at springbrook, i received no proper therapy and only a few minutes to speak with psychiatrists. medication time was incredibly inconsistent and patient needs were often unmet. i did not feel safe or cared for at all, and i spent the majority of my time watching television as that was literally the only thing to do (big tv in the main room). i spent ten days here, and in those ten days there was not made a plan to discharge me. my mother had to call a higher up and beg them to release me because nobody was giving me or her answers about my wellbeing or when i would be discharged. i was supposed to work with a social worker to find a new therapist and psychiatrist to support me once i was discharged, but it was like they wanted me to stay forever.”

“First of all I was admitted here without my cognitive knowledge. This place is very unprofessional and the MHA’s are just glorified babysitters without any help to the patients well being or mental health. The MHAs are not professionally trained for mental health patients. l saw my doctor about 3 different times for 10 minutes each and I was there for 1 day shy of a month. I was treated for bipolar/manic depression disorder and given antipsychotics that made my condition worse. When talking to the doctor she had 1 or 2 extra people with her. Why? No clue except to say I was not ready to go home. I was asked about my speech as to if I got on my husband’s nerves and do I always talk that way. Well, come to find out I had pressured speech at the time and since then my psychiatrist I’m seeing now has prescribed Ativan during the day and not at night. I am now taking hydroxyzine 100mg cap for sleep and the Prazson (antipsychotic drug) has been stopped. The Prazson gave me a dizzy and unsteady feeling like I was drunk. Thank God my new dr stopped it right away. I just received a bill for my stay and it shows I saw my doctor every single day. That is a lie. If I did she would have known me and I would have been treated properly for my symptoms instead of rushing me in and out the room that she was supposed to treating me in. I even had to wait to come home to take my Montelukast for severe sinus allergies and was getting sick. Dr stated she didn’t know if I was taking then or not when she said she ordered it. Also, had a sore in my mouth that Dr denied there was anything wrong. She never looked in my mouth. After coming home and seeing my primary doctor I was prescribed Magic Mouth wash to heal it and saw a Oral Surgeon in regards to a cancer biopsy. While at Springbrook just about all the MHAs were constantly yelling at me like I was their problem child. I was told no cussing anywhere in the bldg. although new patients did as they pleased and a few tried to bully me into fighting them. I’m not a fighter. Night time was the worst because I could not sleep and was told I couldn’t come out of my room until 5:30am. Not caring that my sleep was a clinical problem associated with my mental condition. I even was sent to the quiet room one night because my pressured speech would not stop. I would give Springbrook a zero if possible. I definitely do not recommend for anyone to be admitted there or you may never get out. I was locked in until the Dr said so. Thankful to God and my husband that I am back at home and finally getting better. Btw, I am 57 years old. I should have been treated with respect.”

“Our experience with Havenwood has been worth every cent we spent. They took care of my granddaughter with care, concern, empathy, and honesty. The tough love she was needing. They teach the girls to stop and think about their actions, the consqences, and how it effects others. My granddaughter went in angry, no self-esteem, hating everyone, afraid of everyhing. She now is confidence, and have learn social skills that allows her to feel comfortable in crowds. The anger is gone and the hate is no longer her focus in life.”