Southwood Psychiatric Hospital

“unless you want your kid to leave more traumatized, do not send them here!! i was only there for 14 days and it was horrible. i was on girls unit b and the staff constantly belittled us, girls physically fought constantly, and we barely had activities other than group a few times a day (depending on the staff). due to how "bad" our unit was during my stay we only went outside twice and the gym a handful of times. staff wanted us to just sit quietly and watch TV shows that no one ever really even agreed on sometimes the same one multiple times a day. once, i was having a panic bc i was under extreme stress and one of the patients had to walk me over to the nurses station to grab staffs attention (though in the staffs defense there was an active code). i then just got rushed to the comfort room where i never got even checked on while i was on my verge of puking due to how hard i was crying and i couldn't breathe. i would like to state that there was in fact staff walking past the door + staff in front of the comfort room by the hallway and not once did anyone even come to see if i was doing ok even though i was definitely crying loud enough for people outside to hear me even though the door was closed as the place is (obviously) pretty echoly and the walls nor doors are soundproof (at least for the comfort room). obviously it would sound muffled from outside the room though it would still be something you could hear if walking past or in the hallway. i have some good things to say though. the best staff in the building probably was - Ms. Ashleigh, Mr. Eddy, and all the night staff (typically). the nurses also are pretty kind. we did get snack time which was nice and we did have premium channels such as Disney, HBO max, Hulu, Netflix, etc (provided by staff) which was also cool. the food was also fire. (i really hate writing negative reviews it makes me feel like this mean person putting peoples jobs jeopardy though this is simply my experience and someones elses experience could be amazing so please keep that in mind!! thanks for taking time to read my review.)”

“I am giving this facility two stars solely because every staff member I spoke with—aside from the night phone operator and Mr. Brian in the adolescent boys unit—was professional. Unfortunately, my experience with Mr. Brian was deeply concerning. During one of the most vulnerable moments of my son’s life, he was spoken to in a manner that was not only inappropriate but harmful. He told my son, “If your parents beat you more, you wouldn’t be here.” That statement alone is unacceptable from anyone in a position of care, especially toward a child in crisis. Additionally, when my son’s only personal possession was stolen and he reported it while clearly distressed, Mr. Brian responded with, “What do you want me to do about it?” There was no empathy, reassurance, or attempt to address the situation. When I arrived the following morning, I was finally able to speak with someone about my concerns. Both that staff member and the doctor agreed my son needed support, but that this facility was not the right fit for him. Despite that, I waited six hours in the parking lot before he was released AMA. On the drive home, my son shared that he experienced racism and bullying during his five-day stay. As a parent, hearing that was devastating. I spent the entire time he was there worried about his safety and mental well-being. I had expectations that this facility would provide compassionate, trauma-informed care. Sadly, our experience did not reflect that standard. I hope leadership takes these concerns seriously so that other families do not endure the same experience.”

“This post is specifically about one staff member at this facility, and she deserves 10 stars if I could give it. Athena is a social worker at Southwood, and she is one of the sole reasons for my sanity and my son’s mental health during his 8 day stay in the older boys teen unit. She was in contact consistently, and I was always kept up to date through her. She helped us navigate making my son as comfortable as possible. My son’s psychiatrist at the facility was not very helpful and not very communicative. He did not have a good rapport with my son, either. Athena had an amazing rapport with my son! She helped communication between me, my son, and the psychiatrist. Above all, she had my son’s back and his best interests in mind, and she pushed until what my son needed (and I agreed with) was accomplished. If it wasn’t for Athena, my son’s stay would’ve been so much worse and possibly not helpful at all. I cannot recommend Athena enough. She was a total God send for us!!!”

“this place is actually a joke. i was only there for a week or something in girls B for suicidal ideation back in march, but staff was rude, and there was no help at all. there were several verbal and physical fights, between patients as well as staff. staff would curse and treat us HORRIBLY, “yall piss me off”. do not even say you strive to provide the best care like that’s actually BS. saying you provide group therapy on ur website and then not providing any is crazy work. the doctor gave me remeron which i should not have been given because i told him i did NOT have insomnia and started yapping about elon musk and autism like bru what are you talking about rn. literally ur staff sucks like oh my god that’s a prison, how many bad reviews is it gonna take before u fix it. i personally think the policy that if one person does something wrong everyone else has to suffer because having to sit in silence for an hour doing nothing for something i did not do isn’t okay. again its not a prison it’s a mental hospital. another policy i think should be amended is no cell phones. there should be supervised phone time instead of sitting in a room watching tv all day. that was all we did. the food was really good though.”