Karla Smith Behavioral Health

“KSBH is a phenomenal organization and the work they do every day is evident as soon as you speak to their staff, families, and prior/current clients. Time and again they take the time to ensure that everyone who walks through their doors finds the care and resources they need, even if it isn't necessarily with them. If you or a family member have mental health challenges or concerns, all it takes is a judgement-free conversation to find help.”

“I strongly believe this institution is a danger to its patients and community. I first started attending an Intensive Outpatient Program here February of 2022. At the time, I was a medical student who was on a medical leave of absence due to an adverse reaction to a medication, so Karla Smith’s IOP was recommended to me to help support my mental health during a very vulnerable time. The medication was prescribed to me when I sought treatment in August of 2021 for chronic PTSD. In November of 2021, I cut contact with my abusers. From when I first started with Karla Smith, the IOP spent a lot of time teaching information that seemed to be very surface level. In individual therapy, we spent so much time skirting around my trauma and avoiding committing to EMDR. I think the only positive function was the structure to my otherwise mostly empty schedule. The dangerous part was how much they encouraged and even facilitated recontact with my abusers. First, they asked for permission to speak to them in order to gain information on my trauma. When they brought my abusers in and talked to them, my abusers spun a fantastical tale minimizing their actions and showing a display of victimhood and remorse. As an institution specializing in mental health, the professionals here failed to recognize and properly address narcissistic abusive personality traits. Instead, they spent time in my own private therapy sessions telling me how much my abusers seem to love me and regret their actions, going so far as to describe how much they cried. Not only was this extremely unhealthy for me, but I believe this constituted acts of therapy malpractice. The staff were active in trying to convince me that I was being cruel and avoidant by refusing to recontact my abusers and that they had my best interests at heart. The amount of systematic invalidation and manipulation was not only a form of secondary abuse in itself, but they active facilitated the restart of my primary abuse. I struggled with guilt concerning disconnecting again until I learned that any of their supposed “progress” was actually them guilt tripping the other victim into telling them what to say to convince me not to leave. I knew I wouldn’t be doing anyone a service by maintaining this broken system and after two years, gained enough resources to end contact. Regarding the timing of this review, it took me years of therapy to undo some of the damage done and trust myself enough to post this review. Even now, I am afraid of the invalidation and attempts at gaslighting this might face, but I finally have a team of providers I trust who have helped affirm that my experience was valid. For the whole two years that have passed since I started feeling this way and desired to leave a review of my experience, but I waited until I was in a very stable position and far removed enough to not let that be a form of invalidation. From the other patients I encountered, most of them being minors, the amount of abusive behavior from their guardians that I saw being excused and the blatant victim blaming was appalling and concerning. One of the things I learned from my abusers is that they tend to seek out people and opinions that affirm their actions and empathize with them, usually out of their own dysregulation. Of course, I know that the majority of these guardians come from a place of desperately wanting to help their families, but I don’t think Karla Smith is a place that’ll truly address and resolve these issues. I think they manipulate and guilt trip the victims into accepting the abuse and being agreeable until they hopefully make it out of a situation of active abuse, where the trauma will resurface. For those of you who are seeking help, I wish I had another recommendation for you. What I can say is that my providers across the years have truly saved me and that help truly is there if you keep looking. I just don’t want any more victims to go through what I went through, and I hope I explained my situation in enough detail for you to be able to make an informed decision.”

“Don’t waste your time or money. They were disrespectful and completely unprofessional. It’s no wonder so many therapists hvr left and started elsewhere.”

“KSBH has a very compassionate and specialized approach to providing therapy with a proven track record of families and individuals who are living their best life today. My family is grateful for all they have done. We highly recommend them to anyone who needs help.”