Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Comprehensive list of US Treatment Centers for PTSD and Trauma

Updated 4/2/19
This is one of the most read pages on the site, so I guess there must be a need for more information of this sort. The Sidran Institute gave me the original list, which I have now removed because it was outdated.  Sidran keeps a comprehensive list of U.S. treatment centers but this list is static and may not be updated regularly.  Sidran has an excellent help desk. If you need help locating a treatment facility, contact them. If you have concerns about contacting a place over the net, they have a page explaining how the help desk works. If you want to help out, their help desk is currently without funding and run all by volunteers, so make a donation or volunteer once you are better. They will use it to make sure someone is there when you need them and to update their resources to make it easier for volunteers to find the information you need. They are doing great work.

Sidran is US-based.  If you are not in the US, you might find help at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies database. Along with Sidran, ISTSS has a lot of helpful materials available and is worth a look. GoodTherapy.org also has an international database

Before contacting any of the centers (unless you are in immediate crisis!) it would be a good idea to look at the post on how to choose a therapist for PTSD.

If you are considering one of these places, make sure you check for references to it in the comments below the main post too, as many readers have offered their very valuable personal experiences at a number of these places. If you have had good or bad experiences, feel free to share. I reserve the right to not publish if it seems there is disrespect or slander going on. Please avoid naming particular people, but saying the" director," "my therapist" and so forth is fine. Otherwise, keep it real and I'll approve the post no problem. There are some names in here right now because I did not put this policy into place until 4/29/2010, but I'll leave them unless I get complaints from the person named as the comments are still valuable and I cannot edit them, just publish them or not.


116 comments:

  1. Hi ptsd guy,
    This is one for the list: National Center for PTSD http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/

    Take care and good work. Holly Desimone

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  2. Wow,
    I never thought that I would find the resourses to finally help my fiance and I (as we both suffer from PTSD)to begin to heal with expert guidence!!!
    Thank you, Ronald frwlf55@aol.com

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  3. AnonymousMay 18, 2007

    I am sad to see that this web site thinks that the oaks in Austin , TX is suitable for treatment for PTSD . Mainly, because that is where I developed my PTSD . The entire facility is a torture chamber for adolescents . I know because I was there and I saw and experienced the horrific and disturding rituals that go on there . So if you are a parent trying to find help for your child , please look somewhere else . Your child will get worse if you send them there .CAUTION ! CAUTION ! CAUTION !

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    Replies
    1. Report this to child protective services and the medical associates that will investigate this facility and the problem effectively. These kids have no voice but yours. Your truth may save a kid from a life time of recovery and hardships. If you cant, tell your story to the authirities, please tell it to someone who can help you and others. Your in s powerful position to change lives by facing fears and being honest. Its a heavy tesponsibility snd the rewards are heavier on the yay you side!

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  4. I pasted your comment in below the entry for the Oaks above. If you read this, I would certainly welcome you telling more about your experience there so that others can benefit from it.

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  5. I went to Dominion Hospital and they were terrible to me. They did not treat my trauma issues, were unkind and abusive in their actions toward me.

    I like the Center's program at Psychiatric Institute of Washington DC. They are very comprehensive. intelligent and really care about their patients.

    ptsdgal

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  6. A caveat about Timberlawn from here in Dallas; one person who was in a therapy group I used to be in had some bad experiences.

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  7. I did the partial hospitalization program at Forest View in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The staff are very caring and helpful. They are experts in treating trauma and it was just what I needed for my treatment. I also know that the DID patients got a lot out of it as well...I have heard that it is one of the best in the nation for PTSD and DID, and that doesn't surprise me, based on the care I received, as well as the care I observed others receiving.

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  8. http://www.clinicalsocialwork.com/treatmentcenters.html

    some more... its a mix list but a good one... it might be helpfull for you...


    JayM
    ------
    Dual Diagnosis

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  9. AnonymousJuly 18, 2008

    I spent many months at McLean in Belmont, MA. They may be proclaimed as being the best hospital around but to me the tey were the best at causing me more trauma. I was about 30 seconds away from death by hanging myself on the unit, while on a one-on-one!
    I just got back from a great treatment facility called the Women
    's Institute for Incorporation Therapy (www.wiit.com) in Florida. It was amazing! They actually treated me like a human being! All those years wasted at McLean!

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  10. I just called River Oaks in Louisiana about their program-they said they need a therapist referral for eating disorders, no self-referrals so I said I was more psych/trauma than ED and she said (I thought )sarcastically, "you'd come all the way from the midwest just for general psych?. I felt really stupid for calling and then for some reason she again said, "yes. we need a referral from your therapist if you want to be in the eating disorders program". I have heard of that facility in Indiana and I thought they were actually kind of famous for treating PTSD types from all over. I would say don't even call them if you are at all sensitive or mabe they have plenty of patients and are discouraging callers. Lots of us do not even have private therapists.8/18/08 7;59 pm midwest time.

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  11. Timberlawn is masquerading as a facility that has a trauma program, but is a facility that has few staff and experience of those staff are not up to par. The partial day program, simply gave me the structure of having somewhere to go, while I was dealing with flahsbacks and depression. The only thing positive was I met 2 dear friends who were DID. 1 year later 1 friend killed herself and the other one was not able to manage feelings and began her addiction that was never addressed and ended up in prison for 2 years for forging RXs to feed her habit- it was simply never addressed... I could never tell anyone to go there for any treatment even if they were suicidal. They are better off mobilizing friends and family to help with the acute period of remaining safe and not getting worse and being bilked for poor services rendered and not having a sign that states enter at your own risk

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  12. Dominion no longer has a specific trauma program. All adults are put into the same unit. It is not a good environment for people who are suffering from PTSD, anxiety and trauma.

    PIW is the best program for trauma in the DC Metro area. They have a very small unit. It's a good program that is focused and they have a follow on day program.

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  13. Sheppard Pratt Trauma was wonderful. It is a very intense program. Therapy is 3x a week. Groups are structured and productive. The staff is amazing and well trained. Everyone works together in your treatment team. I highly recommend it.

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    1. I was at Sheppard pratt impatient for three weeks and it is the ONLY hospital out of my 17 hospitalizations that has ever been effecient in helping me. The staff actually know what they are doing dealing with trauma unlike any other hospital in the area (though I've not been to PIW) the best thing they do is provide 24/7 support to talk to them about something that comes up, meaning there is always someone assigned to "hall" that sits in a chair for anyone to walk up at any moment they are struggling and sit down for a 15minute mini therapy session! Everything they do at the trauma disorders unit A-1 is centered around not aggravating your trauma but soothing. I reccommend

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  14. I am a therapist looking for a patient's referral for a treatment center that successfully treats female patients with PTSD, addiction and borderline personality disorder. Please post your recommmendations on this site. Thanks.

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  15. anonymous from Feb 18th, the therapist looking for referrals...I am not qualified to do anything more than tell you my experience...I went to Life Healing Center (its on the list) in Santa Fe, New Mexico and it helped a lot, but it was expensive and insurance would not cover it. I was paying back friends for years! If you want professional advice, I'd check with the Sidrahn folks who provided me with this list. They were very helpful.

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  16. Hello & Help! - looking for suggestions. I am a 25 year old male looking for an inpatient program for treatment of PTSD (sexual abuse at ages 12-13)and the memories flooding back. I am not a substance abuser & note that most facilities are Substance Abuse first and PTSD 2nd or even 3rd. I am looking for a nurturing setting versus a locked hospital unit that claims they do PTSD/Sex abuse but really are Substance Abuse & General Psych. Any specific suggestions of facilities & experiences would be helpful.

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  17. Hello & Help! I am a 25 year old male with PTSD from sexual abuse from age 12-13. I do not have a Substance Abuse (SA) problem and I am presently dealing with a flood of bad memories hertofore supressed and the associated anger and depression associated with being sexually abused. I seek in patient assistance. Most facilities have Sexual Abuse or General Psych as their primary focus with PTSD a far behind 2nd or 3rd. I am looking for suggestions on facilities that are; (1) PTSD is primary especially sexual abuse survival (2) not locked units (3) is for men or men/women.

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  18. Anon, You are right, most places I have seen tend to treat PTSD along with addictions, as it turns out that they often go hand in hand and that PTSD suffering addicts tend not to get better when they just focus on the addictions and don't deal with the PTSD. That was definitely my problem. I would email the folks at Sidran, at the top of the page. They provided me with this list in the first place and were really helpful. You also might try to talk to the folks at Life Healing Center in Santa Fe (link is above) and explain your situation to them. They tend to treat people from a variety of backgrounds, but usually only after treatment somewhere else first...but they were very helpful when I spoke to them. I am not a pro, so can't offer any specific advice, only my experience.

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  19. You say you went to Life Healing Center? I am looking at going there, but am not sure what to do... (Which is brought me to this list you posted.)

    What was your experience? Did you feel safe? Was it helpful? Can you tell me more? Also, I will look at the rest of your blog.

    I am so grateful you are willing to share your journey - I am just starting to try to heal, and its so much harder than I ever thought.

    Its so nice to know that others (like you) have been through it.

    Jen

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  20. Jen wrote:
    What was your experience? Did you feel safe? Was it helpful? Can you tell me more? Also, I will look at the rest of your blog.

    LHC was not a cure, but they did give me tools to manage the PTSD much better than I was able to previously, and over time I have gotten much much better, at least partly because of what I learned and experienced there. It was safe and actually introduced to me the idea that I might need a safe place in order to get better, so the fact that you already know that bodes well! Looking at the rest of the blog would probably be the best way to get a better sense of what went on for me there, though I don't like to get too specific cuz I want to stay anonymous. LHC had a very good web site, and if you call them, they will talk to you to help you find out what to expect and whether it is right for you. Hope this helps and that you find it to read!

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  21. AnonymousMay 07, 2009

    I highly recommend Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore. I went to Del Amo in California and it was a disaster. They did not have the expertise to treat me and their "treatment" includes groups that traumatize you more! I would stay away from any of the centers on the list run by Colin Ross because of my experience at Del Amo.

    When I arrived at Sheppard Pratt two years later I finally found a place where I could get real help from experts who know what they're doing.

    You are assigned to a psychiatrist to help you with medication and a psychologist with a doctorate for treatment 3 times a week.

    All of the nurses and psych techs are trained to understand PTSD and DID. Some are better than others and you figure out pretty quickly who you will relate with. With the staff so well-trained you can get one on one help most of the day and night--even if it's just someone to talk to.

    At Sheppard Pratt they do expect you to use the skills you are taught while there. If you just participate and work hard, you will get a lot out of it.

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  22. I am a mother of a 15 year old boy who has ptsd, has self mutilated, has dissociation and depression. He is currently at UBC in Orlando and they have helped, but seem to want to send him home after only a week when he was suicidal and one to one a day ago. He needs help to get to the bottom of his ptsd and find solutions. Long term residential treatment would seem best, but I don't know. I am so worried about him coming home to kill himself. Please help
    Worried mom

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  23. I would talk to him and UBC and ask why so quick and how to deal.

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  24. I was inpatient at Sheppard-Pratt in 2002 for diagnosis of suspected DID. I had been in outpatient treatment for years because of PTSD and dissociation. Sheppard-Pratt Trauma Disorders Unit saved my life basically, it was "My Miracle."
    The staff are consistent; there is individual therapy 3 X a week; you see your assigned psychiatrist every day; many types of productive groups.
    Every patient is treated as an individual. Each patient has own room so it is possible to self-regulate and choose to be alone if the level of stimulation on the unit is too high.
    The structure is strong but adjustments are made for individual needs. Isolation and restraint are used only when absolutely needed for safety.
    You are expected to work hard and use skills you learn. I was there 6 weeks.

    In 2003 and 2005, when I had some disruptions in my life and symptoms that couldn't be managed outpatient, I went back to Sh-P for shorter stays.

    I am commenting tonight because I was looking through the list of places that say they treat trauma disorders-- I just had another big life-screw-up and really need help. The local psych hospital is not the answer.

    Sheppard-Pratt Trauma Disorders Unit can be hard to get into. I don't have much time to wait around for a bed to open up.

    I thought I might find something else here- I have heard that there are a couple other really good places in the US, but I can't find them on that list.

    Will call Sh-P in the morning.

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  25. Justina,

    I hope you are able to get the support you need whether it is Shephard-Pratt or someplace else. If there are places you have heard of that treat trauma that are not listed, please let me know the names and I'll update the list. There are some good, humane places on the list. I can vouch, though not all from personal experience, for the Meadows, Life Healing Center, and probably Caron Foundation, but your mileage may vary.

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  26. I realize everyone has different experiences, but I had an awful experience at Forest View Hospital in MI. Many of the staff (especially the psychiatrist Dr. Masterson) were unempathetic and downright mean. If anything I was more traumatized by being in the trauma program. I was there involuntarily and I felt that I was treated differently than the ones who weren't forced to be there. There were a few good staff, but unfortunately the bad ones overshadowed the good. I was locked in the "quiet room" for crying and then force fed an unknown medication and stripped of my clothes simply because I continued crying. It was inhumane and something I will never forget.

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  27. I also highly recommend Sheppard Pratt's Trauma Disorders Program. I was there for 3 months in 2003, and it did wonders for me. With the 3x weekly individual therapy and daily meetings with your psychiatrist, they really keep up with how you are doing.

    I also liked that you have your own room. Trauma survivors often need their own space. I know for me personally, I cannot sleep at all if someone else is in the room. I was actually awake for 5 days straight the last time I was hospitalized! I didn't sleep until they finally moved me to a single room.

    Oh, and the program has its own website now (as opposed to the little snippet of information on the old page listing all of SP's programs).
    http://www.traumaatsp.org/

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  28. The Trauma Disorders Program at Sheppard Pratt has really gone down hill in the last decade. Staff is hardly trained and unknowlegdable in trauma. Some are down right mean. Staff were allowed to mistreat me and humiliate me. They're very insensitive. There have been multiple suicides on that unit. They left me in the quiet room for 15 days straight without letting me out. I'm not the only one secluded for long amounts of time. I was humiliated there, and I felt worse there than out on my own.

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  29. I have DID and PTSD. I was in Forest View Hosp. in Grand Rapids, MI 3 times in one year (2007/2208) and had many bad experiences there. (I also had Dr Masterson for a pdoc while there, just like the other poster about FV) The third time I was in was so traumatizing that whenever I start to feel unstable and think I might need hospitalization again, I get really anxious because of my experiences there and start to panic badly. That is why I am looking at this site today, I might need to go back in patient and I would rather die than go back to that prison hell hole so I am looking for other options. The partial hospitalization program (day program) was okay (I was in that after inpatient discharge) They just go over the same trauma info and theories over and over though so once you have been there a week it is all repeat info. It is not bad info, it is just really limited in scope. The inpatient program was what was so traumatizing, they treated me like less than a person, the facility is inadequate, the “art therapy” is a joke…you are mixed with all other general psych patients, sharing rooms, and there is not one quiet place to be. It is horrible and lonely and no one cares about you. Please do not go there inpatient, you will regret it. It seems to me like they have lost their vision and only care about the money now. Some of the staff were so abusive!!!

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  30. I am sad to hear that someone had a really bad experience at Sheppard-pratt on the Trauma Disorders Unit. I do believe it is an exaggeration to say that the program has really gone down hill in the past 10 years.

    I was inpatient at TDU in 2002 for 6 weeks, and again in 2005. Both were very good experiences for me. I don't care for the new building. they did not build enough quiet rooms and there was a change in policy to allow restraining a patient to their bed- a bad idea, I think for trauma patients.

    There are always a few bad staff- but they usually get removed when people start complaining in the right direction- like to the head of Psychiatry, Dr Susan Wait, who is on the unit seeing patients every day, or to the Nurse Supervisor.

    I did hear that there was a "successful" suicide on the unit sometime between 2005 and 2007. The very first since the program started. This resulted in some more restricted policies regarding use of hair driers, CD/tape players and I hear that all the bathroom mirrors in the entire hospital were removed after that incident. There have been self injuries on the unit, as there are in all hospitals- I have not heard of more than the one suicide. Also I see in the photos on the new website that the glass partitions on the Nurses station have been removed.

    Dr Susan Wait has a mind like a steel trap. If a patient complains of bad care she is gonna remember it. If three patients complain about the same kind of bad care you can be damn sure she will DO something about the problem.

    Safety is always the very first priority because it is essential for healing to begin- for the individual- and for the community to be a safe place. We as participants in a community are responsible to BE SAFE. Safety is not something staff can make happen just by being nice. Although being nice is part of the basic requirments for decent care.

    No matter what- even if i got tied to my bed at Sheppard-Pratt hospital TDU, I would sooner go there than anywhere else.

    That prpgram has saved my life twice.

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  31. I have something to add to the post I wrote yesterday aabout conditions at Sheppard Pratt Trauma Disorders Unit. The space in the new hospital ward is not as comfortable as the old 'B4' Unit. There are only a couple of seclusion rooms and the common areas are not as comfortable or spacious.

    Back to seclusion.
    The way the progran is structured on the Trauma disorders unit No One gets secluded for no good reason. There are clearly stated steps of less restrictive intervention that are talked about daily- in groups and individualy.
    Everyone is held acountable for her/his own safety AND how personal behaviour affects the general safety of the whole unit.

    No one wants those seclusion rooms occupied for long stretches of time. Unfortunately the only alternative available, in some situations, is to be restrained to ones bed. No one wants to be restrained to her bed- no staff person on TDU wants to do the restraint.

    There is a State Patient Advocate who has an office at the hospital. She comes to the morning meeting 2 times a month and explains her role as an advocate.There is a very large notice on the wall, that gives the name and office # of the Advocate.

    If I had the need to go back to Sheppard-Pratt Trauma disorders Unit, i would go in a heartbeat. i do not care that the food is bad now and that the new cleaning service is rude and inadequate. I am merely inconvenienced by the changes in policy. If i need treatment, I WANT to participate in the treatment that is available at Shepard-Pratt Trauma Disorders Unit. treatment that has not been available at any of my previous 22 hospitalizations.

    It is true- people who do not want to PARTICIPATE, who just say "I want to die, I am suicidal' and do not work at any therapy activities, these people are on "Suicide Obs" and are required to all sit in one area so they can be observed, making the other staff available to the rest of the patients. That is not anything close to abuse.

    Sure there is an occasional power freak psych tech or bad nurse. They exist everywhere in the world- in every hospital- in every profession.

    If anyone thinks they are, or have been abused at Sheppard-Pratt TDU, call the advocate.

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  32. (This is being posted in two posts because of the character limit!) I have been to River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans twice - both in 2004. I got into the PTSD program right away both times and found it really helpful. I stayed fof 2 1/2 weeks each time - not because of insurance but because I was ready to go and there once I was contracted for safety, there was no reason for them to try to keep me.

    The PTSD unit at RO treats co-existing ED, though there is a separate ED unit for those whose primary issue is ED. I had to convince them before I agreed to go the first time that my ED was solely the result of the PTSD (which was true) and that ED focused treatment with PTSD secondary would not work for me. With a supporting letter from my therapist, they accepted that. My weight was up enough the second time that while I didn't have to make a case for not going to the ED unit, I was still doing an ED group everyday. I can't tell you anything about the food or cafeteria because ED eat at a supervised table on the unit and our food is brought in. We get to make menu choices each day. We had to do a check-in before and after each meal and got a chance to get group support through the meal. Non-eaters were 'threatened' with Ensure Plus, but I found it easy to avoid having to take it. The nutritionist when I was there was horrible - but she's gone now.

    Also related to food, there was an open kitchen on the unit that was usually fully stocked with snacks (crackers, ice cream, cookies, coffee, tea) etc. that we could go to whenever we wanted.

    The final note on food was that the kitchen staff didn't work on Sunday (I think that was the day) and the unit decided what food it wanted. Pizza, BBQ, whatever was brought in and for that meal everyone ate on the unit along with us ED types.

    Arrival was a little rough both times. I drove in from out of state after confirming that I had approval to come and a bed was available. Though the unit was full both times and I heard that others had difficulty getting in, that was not the case for me. That said, getting through the front door intake was pretty quick, but then there was a fair amount of waiting in the lounge on the unit until staff was available to take my medical info, do the requisite search through all my things and let me go to my room. Rooms are doubles, though I was lucky enough not to have a roommate the second week.

    After unit intake, I was given a big notebook on trauma, a schedule and journal. You are required to start in the schedule as soon as you settle in, so my recommendation is to plan for an early Monday arrival so that you can go through intake and get started on the program. Otherwise, you pay for a day of care in which you do nothing but sit around.

    I had great individual therapists both times I was there, and we met three times each week. In trauma group, people took turns presenting their trauma stories, but because of the size of the groups, I didn't get to present until late in my first week. That was probably good because it took a long time to be able to write it out and to have the courage to say it out loud. During trauma group, the therapist is watching for self-injurious behavior (like digging your nails into your hands, twisting a necklace, etc.) and points it out to help you stop. You can bring ice, silly putty or other things like that with you to help you focus and not dissociate.

    If something said in group was too much of a trigger and you were starting to fall apart, you could either choose to leave or the therapist would invite you to leave. At that point, you would sit with a floor counselor to talk about what happened and get help getting things back under control. You were not allowed to be in your room during groups. You could only miss them if given permission from your therapist, or if your meds were such that you couldn't stay awake. (There were always people sleeping on the couches). Rest of this in next post...

    Nashlyn

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  33. (rest of the post) I found psychodrama to be very useful, not so much with the CBT, which was the one group that was led by a very young and inexperienced person.

    There was also movement therapy and art therapy, but those tended to be more irregular than not because it seemed like there wasn't enough staff available to walk us over to the art center. When we got there, though, the facility and materials were fantastic. To be fair, there was a pretty major art cabinet on the unit that you could use anytime and if it didn't have what you wanted (craypas or chalks, etc.), you could ask for it. Obviously, scissors had to be signed out and were of the pre-kindergarden variety.

    I heard a lot of stories from people when I was there about bad they thought it was - they didn't like their therapist, didn't like group, thought it was too mental health focused (this is a hospital-based treatment center, not a boutique treatment center), and about every other complaint you could imagine. That wasn't my experience. Though I had PTSD, ED and DIDNos, I was still clear enough to be able to speak up if I thought something was wrong or unfair. For the most part, I felt that to be effective.

    Finally, I have wanted to write about my experience at RO for a long time and have long wished that I could locate others who had been there because it's an experience that was important to me and I sometimes want to talk about it. It's been 6 years since my treatment there, but I am starting to have a PTSD relapse. It seems that I'll be able to manage it with therapy and meds at home, but if I can't, my plan is to go back to RO. I hope this info may be of help to someone.


    Sincerely,
    Nashlyn

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  34. Key for the acronymically challenged in the next two comments: PTSD you know. ED=eating disorder. CBT=Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. DID=Dissociative Identity Disorder. NOS as in DID-NOS= "not otherwise specified" indicating that the full criteria for the disorder are not met but enough is present to go with the diagnosis.

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  35. Coast to CoastJanuary 13, 2010

    Its a little weird to realize that I probably could get a job reviewing mental health facilities for PTSD. My experiences at both Del Almo in California and at River Oaks were both pretty traumatizing and I will never go into an in-patient treatment facility again if I can avoid it.

    Although I work and have private insurance it seems like most of the people in both facilities were other women who were on Medicare and tended to act out vs shut down like myself. At River Oaks it was co-ed and even included a priest at one point and that threw the entire unit into chaos for days.

    The one advantage of both programs is that I got individual therapy on an almost daily basis but the cost and the stress of the unit out weighed any benefit of intensive therapy.

    If I could create the perfect PTSD unit it would be a safe bed and breakfast with multiple intensive therapists and body work (yoga, massaage etc) and would cost far less then the typical 1500 a day.

    Although it often felt like a hospital would be a safe nurturing place in general the staff are low paid techs who are just trying to make a living and you will be surrounded by people with pretty severe trauma histories which you will be expected to listen to and be supportive of in groups. Avoid psycho drama at all costs. There is NO evidence that it helps people heal and it can be as traumatizing as your original issues.

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  36. I appreciate Coast to Coast's comment and think it does a good job in pointing to the vast differences among the needs of PTSD survivors and the importance of a wide range of treatment options. The field is large and while there is at least a little consensus on types of treatment that should be offered, there are is no 'gold standard' and certainly no consistency in how treatment centers operate.

    When in patient becomes necessary, those in private therapy really need to get their therapists on board in helping them find the right program and prepare them, as much as possible, for what they can expect. They need to contract with their therapist to be their advocate while they are inpatient and to keep in mind that no matter what the inpatient treatment team says, the therapist is the primary caregiver. Your therapist needs to be in contact with you by phone frequently during your stay and needs to help you get out of there if it is not helping you.

    I don't believe inpatient is anyone's goal in life, but if it is important for your physical and emotional safety (it was such a relief to not have to put on the "life is great" mask every day), then you need to go into it with the appropriate expectations and armed with as much information as you can get. You deserve that. You don't deserve any further trauma.

    Best,
    Nashlyn

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  37. Nashlyn, thanks for your comments. I don't disagree with anything you said, but did have a slightly different experience that may be helpful to folks who might not have a strong, helpful therapist. My partner and I actually explored the inpatient options on our own. I think the therapist I was seeing, who was a nice guy, empathetic, and so forth, was only thinking of the local psyche ward should I need inpatient. Having done that route twice already and gotten very little out of it but big bills and keeping me out of harms way for a few weeks to get stable, I did not want to go there. I had a great advocate and ally in my wife, and between the two of us we scoped out a number of PTSD treatment facilities. I then presented that to my therapist who then thought it was a good idea and was fully supportive, but who had not taken the initiative to explore PTSD treatment beyond the local. Once I went in, I did not really keep in touch with my primary care therapist, though I think staff at the place I went were in contact about treatment plans, history, and aftercare.

    The point I am trying for here is that there are any number of ways of getting help, and the best advocate is not always or necessarily one's therapist, though obviously she or he can be.

    With that in mind, I want to thank Sidhran for supplying the big list, but more importantly all of you who have commented. I was fortunate in being able to find good inpatient treatment, but a list like this with all your experience included would have been a real help too in sorting places out.

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  38. Thanks for "the list." The ones that seem to have a program suited for me, I've read negative comments.
    It's a lot of money and I don't want to be throwing it down the toilet along with my life.

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  39. need help finding a place for my friend who is DID from ritual abuse. can someone help me....perferably in southern PA

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  40. The best thing to do would be to contact Sidhran Foundation, the people who provided this list. They have an excellent help desk. It might be a good idea to have a look at the help desk's page on how it works too if you have questions before you call.

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  41. The Oaks in Austin Texas was HORRIBLE, and I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who knows this. I was sent there to deal w/ my suicidal thoughts, self mutilation & lack of safe sexual boundaries (now realized to be caused by PTSD from childhood abuse). I am a female and was placed in a room on the male half of the unit. I was 12 yrs old in treatment for lack of sexual boundaries and they place me next to the guys with guys walking in and out of my room when ever they wanted...NOT A GOOD WAY TO REINFORCE THEIR 'HELP'. I know my mom has a huge laundry list of reasons she yanked me out of there which are unknown to me...but I'm sure she would have done everything in her power to close the whole place down if she ever knew I was on the guys half. At the time I thought it was weird, but now I'm just horrified that this even seemed like an acceptable option to the people that worked there.

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  42. In response to coast to coast

    I also had a few delamo experiences it was 12 years or so when masters and johnson ran the program, it dealt with did(mpd), and trauma and I know at that time it saved my life. They had a tremendous amount of compassion, and insight all staff in that hospital. I Do happen to work as an health care professional, and I know at that time I recieved nothing but the best of care.
    I did Have troubles that lead me to a place in my life and I needed to be inpatient in 2007 , my experiences were much as you spoke of , I called it a waste of my hard earned money, being put in trauma groups with the sexual preditors, was extremely damaging to me and lead me into a place of great despair, as it just told me what I had suffered and survived was less important, then making the cash from the preditors that pay to keep them self from prison and court rooms. I too am quiet, and the revolving patient on medicaid, and medicare often were given the time to talk and take most of the staff,s attention. I do agree I would not return to a place run by Colin Ross.

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  43. Sierra Tucson is not a place to go for trauma, unless you are almost fully recovered from it. I developed PTSD while at Sierra Tucson. You are not comforted, you are thrown into a mess of psychotherapy and medication and treated as a $$ dollar sign. This place is probably good for addictions but dont expect any warm fuzzy here. Very traumatic! Caution before going here. I was there for anxiety and left with PTSD. I had friends there for sexual abuse, rape and eating disorders who left there and tried to commit suicide. One succeeded!

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  44. AnonymousMay 05, 2010

    I need someplace to call. My fiance is a combat veteran suffering from severe PTSD. He has no alcohol or drug problems, but he is suicidal. He is currently at inpatient care at our local VA hospital, but he needs someplace to go after that. Please, anyone who has had success anywhere with combat related PTSD please please comment back. - christy

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  45. misunderstoodMay 11, 2010

    I have severe chronic PTSD. I have never met anyone that has experienced what I did 25/7 for over 5 years. Maybe that does not even matter if ptsd sufferers struggle with many of the same symptoms. I just feel like noone can possible understand me unless they lived it. A neurologist stated he was surprised I have walking around sense. The truth is that I don't!! It only appears as if I do sometimes. This is when I haved swallowed enough clonazapam to numb myself enough to fake it. I isolate myself for the most part for fear of losing it with someone. And I have lost it with people or in general many times. I especially avoid crowds. I try to function at night since there are less people to deal with. I cannot tolerate noises at all. I lock myself in my bathroom to try to block any noises and to be in complete darkness. This often times will calm me down but what kind of life is this?? I spend most of my time staring at blank walls. I cannot concentrate long enough to read a book or watch tv. My attention span is shot. This makes it difficult for me to help myself. The simplest of tasks become monumental for me. I am amazed I have made it this far with this blog. I have very little patience and feel like I am going to explode over everyday things. I have a difficult time controlling my anger and am prone to rages. No one around me seems to understand ptsd and/or care to help. Am I alone with these crazy symptoms? Is there anywhere I can go that can deal with my anger long enough to work on my ptsd? I feel so isolated. It is as if I am screaming on the inside for help. Hell I am screaming at times on the outside and noone including my family is listening. I have exhausted myself wrestling w this. I am barely functioning at this point well enough to eat and bathe. i have rambled on enough...I know I need help and I cannot go on like this much longer. Any suggestion from those of you that might can relate or have been at this longer than me?
    I appreciate your time.

    Misunderstood

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  46. AnonymousJuly 13, 2010

    I just spent almost 8 weeks at River Oaks in New Orleans, and I would highly recommend that program if you are serious and stable enough to really deal with trauma issues. You really dig deep and actually TALK about your traumas in detail in groups and in individual therapy. I have lots of highs and lows, and even some outside factors that just made me want to scream and run, but I am soooooo glad that I stuck it out. I feel like I can finally start living again in the outside world after years of programs. Most of the staff where really great and knew how to treat trauma survivors, even the psychiatric counselors, who were amazingly helpful. You just have to go in ready to really focus on yourself and what you need to do, and there are plenty of people to support you.

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  47. I would recommend staying away from Forest View Hospital in MI. Everyone there seems to think Dr. Colin Ross is a god or something. He convinced my roommate that she was part of a satanic cult and had DID. Fortunately she later realized that she was being given bad therapy and that none of the abuse had even happened. In group therapy I would get so annoyed because everyone would blame all of their faults on their alters and the therapists would reinforce it. I think it made a lot of people sicker. They also reinforce attention seeking behavior.

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  48. So far I am going with Sheppard Pratt, if I'm fortunate to be admitted, and appreciate all the feedback here. However, does anybody know if there is a treatment program on this planet that incorporates any of ALICE MILLERs philosophy and work? She passed away last April. She wrote Drama of the Gifted Child, but many other books, and was the first to point out mistakes in both Freud and Jungs theories about childhood trauma. This search for a program has been discouraging. In the 1990's, I went to a women only ward sexual abuse trauma program in a small hospital called Los Altos in CA. It is gone. I can't find anything closely resembling it. I know someone who went to Del Amo, run by Colin Ross, and informed me that victims and predators are on the same ward and came in contact with one another. I read about Colin Ross and his clinics. I did not like what I read, or Mr. Ross' demeanor on his videos. On Del Amo website it states that they do not utilize 'regressive therapies' or 'validate memories'. We don't validate? W O W. What does that even mean? I also phoned and asked at both Del Amo and The New Orleans Insitute (of Riverbank) and each said yes, both victims and 'offenders', let's call them what they are: PREDATORS, are treated in the same ward and overview program. That alone would traumatize me. I have insomnia bad enough. I find this unprofessional to say the least, and risky to the point of inviting disaster. I imagine there are 'small disasters' that occur in that setting. Maybe that's one reason they "don't validate". I think It's very suspect given the well studied high recidivism rate for sexual predators. ALSO, the leader of the Del Amo 'Offenders' programs is now selling his services to 'Celebrity Sex ReHab' the tv show, and even advertising it on the hospital program website. 'Celebrity Rehab and Celebrity Sex Rehab' programs PAY patients to participate, while filming their so called 'treatment' and private sessions. Frankly, if I were a 'Celebrity Sex Offender' (Gee, doesn't that have such a kind of positive fun ring to it?!), I'd buy a ticket for Del Amo fast. What GREAT PR that could be for a career falling apart from abusing women. I am fine with treatment for predators, but in JAIL. But treatment in a ward or program where victims are?!! That is crazy at best, just plain mean, and sinister at worst. What has happened to this area of care that is SO BADLY needed by so many? Anyone with info on victims especially women only programs, or Alice Miller, please reply.

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  49. I've been fortunate to be in the Trauma disorders Unit program at Sheppard-Pratt 3 times. It is not a Women-only setting, but in a 25 bed unit I only ever saw 1 or 2 males at a time there (usually no males.) there are both males and femaes on the staff but i never met anyone creepy - not even food service guys.

    As for a specific persons writings being used- mmm, TDU is a very inclusive place. If something is important to you that will be included in your treatment. Dr Wait has a once a week Q&A called "Ask Anything"- you really can but it's Q&A not discussion. There really is lots of time for talking, both in groups and individual and there is 'un-scheduled time' too.
    I hope that helps you.

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  50. Hi

    Does anyone have any info on PTSD outpatient treatment centers? I have complex PTSD and I really do NOT want to be admitted into a hospital type of place. I need my freedom and I need to be able to do what I want especially since I don't have probs with addiction or suicidal ideation (thank whatever's out there). Also I was in a boarding school run by an abusive cult so I get really nervous about having to stay in a restrictive environment and be isolated from the outside world and follow someone else's rules.

    I am looking for a place where I can get intensive therapy, (group and individual, and any other forms of therapy), during the dayand in the evening, I can go back home and sleep in my own bed.

    Also I would really appreciate it if someone could recommend any life skills centers for me. I was abused from a very young age by my mentally ill mother and my nasty father. So it's very hard for me to organize my time and my stuff. It's super hard for me to figure out what I want to do and how to do it. Everything is super chaotic and I don't have any job skills. So if someone knows any life skills centers where you can go and learn how to figure out goals for yourself and figure out how to set up a daily routine and follow it, I would love to hear. Thanks!

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  51. Hi

    Does anyone have any info or recommendations on outpatient treatment centers/ I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

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  52. I am looking for a treatment center for my 22 yr old daughter w/PTSD. She has been in 4 in-patient programs in the past, not specifically PTSD. We are looking for a program with young professional backgrounds 20-40’s, focus on individual therapy, accepts insurance, with a good reputation. Also a facility that has recreational activities and does not lock their patients up like animals. Sidran help line said it may take 2 weeks for a response...thank you.

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  53. AnonymousJune 11, 2011

    Hi PTSD Guy,

    My stay at Life Healing was a nightmare. It was 2005 and I was so further truamatized that I left. In my primary group was a woman who had been raped recently at age 35 by her father. Daily, in the group, the therapist would have her scream Mother^&*()er at her father.

    The presence of male perpetrators and ones with sexual addictions further added to the traumatization.

    The acupuncture, the bodywork, spirituality group, the co-dependency group were great. The DBT was creepy videos and my primary therapist developed some sort of chronic illness and I was passed around without consistent care.

    As far as I am concerned, they are focused on addiction and trauma is secondary.

    The benefits and tools I got from the good parts were robbed from me by the traumatizing parts. They are a treatment mill just processing people through there for the money just like Sierra Tucson. It is a huge industry. I was referred there by Cottonwood who had traumatized me with their psychodrama and lack of support during the surrogate family work I did because I knew that working with my actual parents would not help, since they are so toxic.

    I went to Cottonwood to quit smoking and ended up severely traumatized. I would not recommend either place in any shape or fashion.

    Life Healing Center was a boot camp and a crucible of some of the sickest people I have ever encountered, which, for a sensitive person with PTSD who needs solitude and nurturing, was a nightmare.

    I am glad you got help there but I have been advised by a former counselor there that it would be detrimental for me to return.

    Good luck to everyone here looking for help. The proper care for your situation is the difference between getting help and making it worse. Make your decisions carefully.

    Local psych units are the absolute worse and so incompetent when it comes to trauma. They diagnose everything as bipolar and pump you with meds and do not even screen for abuse. Stay away from them if at all possible. Even less than optimal outpatient therapy with a private therapist and pdoc are better. I did a search for PTSD psychiatrist in my town and came across the most amazing pdoc who is unlike any I have ever encountered. Most pdocs have no trauma experience, nor any compassion or empathy for it.

    Anonymous

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  54. Hi anon,
    I agree with some of what you said about LHC, but I had a different experience. Elsewhere I had experience with perpetrators being in recovery and creeping me out with stuff they thought was nothing, so I was kind of protective on that front. The thing with being a guy and having abuse issues with my lot was that the other men in my group got all threatened about my issues and things got weird as hell, with some of them going after me (emotionally, not physically) rather than dealing with their own stuff in group. That sucked.

    In other areas though, I got basic PTSD management skills and some actual attention to what was going on with me in EMDR, art therapy, individual and especially with meds DR who actually listened instead of just pumping me up with this week's stuff. I had a fairly huge breakthrough doing art while no one was around...the paint is probably still on the walls, lol. Som of the most therapeutic stuff I did was with the other clients I made friends with outside of group.

    I agree they are focused on substance abuse and 12 steps, but they actually told me to stop going to meetings because they were causing the flashbacks. I cam e in having been in recovery a long time already, and they actually helped me realize I wouldn't get struck drunk or high if I quit hanging at meetings, especially if they were the source of so much of my trouble (see elsewhere on the blog for that). I think the experience in such a place, because of the high turnover in both staff and clients, is really a hit-or-miss affair. My "research" (i.e. commitments) to local mental hospitals were close to identical to yours. They are really warehousing you until you are stable enough, then back out you go. Sorry you had a negative experience at LHC, either it was a bad conjuncture of people or they have gone downhill. I also agree that it is a huge and very profitable industry that preys (and prays!) on people's vulnerabilities using methods that vary from new agey crap to untested but dogmatically followed to actually pretty useful.

    I did not come back from LHC cured, or even much better, but it got me out of my partner's hair for 6 weeks, and when I came back I had enough tools to deal. over the next few years I slowly got better. But they were sure to tell us all at LHC when I was there not to expect anything quick...about five years of pretty consistent work was the usual trajectory. I still struggle with some stuff, but I have a much bigger and better toolkit to do it with now.

    Glad to hear your path of outpatient and individual worked out. Finding a non-abusive, competent, knowledgeable, and COMPASSIONATE therapist was huge for me too once I was able to. Bad ones are worse than useless though!

    Anyway, thanks for visiting and writing.

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  55. Wow, I just looked...55 comments on this thread...what a collection of wisdom and experience! Thank you all.

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  56. Hi,

    So happy to have found this website. I need information as soon as possible. Can you give examples of a therapist who is creating a trauma bond in therapy. Is this exploitive or part of the process. Please explain this in detail if possible and give as many examples as possible. Also, why would a therapist create a bond where you find yourself extremely attached.... to the point of an inablility to function properly. Is this under their control or part of working through PTSD. or a part of transferece. Also, if you have a deep transferance for the therapist...should you move on or work through it. I have heard both sides for this, but still not sure what to do and cannot imagine not seeing them. I tried once for a few weeks and felt like I would lose my mind and had to return because the feelings are so strong. I appreciate any feedback...thank you.

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  57. Hi,
    I can't give any advice about what to do, I can only share my experience. Talk about your situation with some neutral outside party...maybe contact the Sidhran institute at the top of this post. Trauma Bonds are not something you want to have. If you need more on how to pick a therapist, or on what trauma bonds are about, check some of the other posts on this blog. the best place to start is by reading the index post on the main page.

    Hope this helps and that you are able to find supportive professionals and friends. They can be a big help, but the wrong ones can make things MUCH worse, as I unfortunately learned the hard way.

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  58. AnonymousJuly 15, 2011

    Hi, I had a horrible experience at The Hill Center for Women at Mclean Hospital last year 2010. Uncaring and abusive staff, Depressing and unsanitary living conditions.

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  59. AnonymousJuly 29, 2011

    I don't have much time to comment, but I came across this blog and I felt the need to say that my 29 day stay at McLean's Proctor House II (the trauma/dissociative disorders building mentioned) completely saved my life. The staff were so kind, and the groups (once I actually got up and started going to them!) were helpful. Though two years ago it brought me from the brink of death, I'm at the point where a relapse is lingering, and there's no other place I would chose to go to for the help.

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  60. Shout out for some help?
    I am in the Dallas/Ft.Worth Area, and have P.T.S.D. In my experience with many counselors, they seem to completely ignore my disorder, I do not think the free services have qualified Counselors, despite they have formal education, a Master's etc... They are not smart enough to counsel people w PTSD, and if you are intelligent, that gets even trickier. I am looking for a support group and/or and referral to a trauma specialist. Not being arrogant, I am serious when I say this:
    One has to be very intelligent to understand and comprehend PTSD, let alone counsel a person with it...Geez! I don't want to be smarter than my own counselor re PTSD, that defeats the dang purpose...lol Help anyone?

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  61. I was in the S-Pratt trauma disorders unit three x's. Two times inpatient and once partial hospitalization day program. I'm from PA and I can't say enough wonderful things about the program. Dr. Lowenstein runs a well oiled unit and all of the staff were pretty incredible. I would go there again in a heart beat. I have learned an amazing amount of info about my diagnosis. I still use the reference material that was given to me and I haven't been able to find anything else that even compares to their material. The program is well structured and there is more than ample one on one time with psychiatrist and psychologists every day. Also, if you have any other medical issues, you are well taken care of during your hospitalization.

    Trauma Veteran
    Central Pennsylvania

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  62. to the shout out for help person...Your best bet is to call the Sidran.org number. THey are equipped to get you started. Good luck, and I hope you get the help you need.

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  63. New at ThisOctober 25, 2011

    Any comments about Cottenwood in Tucson, Arizona?

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  64. For consistant, compassionate, comprehensive care the place to go is THE CENTER at Psychiatric Institute of DC. Contact Florence Hannigan. These people are the real deal and know what they are doing. Staff meets daily for intensive rounds and it is a collabrative effort in treating the individual in groups and individual therapy sessions. It is intense, difficult, and rewarding at the same time. One has to remember at the same time, one inpatient stay will not be the cure all but what they give to you can be life changing. They truely care, take you where you are at and help to bring you forward in dealing with trauma. It is intense. They care and know what they are doing. The CENTER

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  65. I am in search of residential facility whom can deal with PTSD/trauma and schizophrenia type symptoms. I was attempting EMDR on an out patient basis, was referred to another Dr. who explained how risky this procedure was for me. That I needed serious intensive help.

    She recommended Shep. Pratt and Sierra Tucson in Arizona. Shep. Pratt does not take insurance but Sierra does.

    The problem is I am terrified! I know I must do this but how?
    I have been told by 3 of my doctors, if I don't do this, the next time I disassociate I may not make it back.

    Does anyone have a list of trauma facilities that accept insurance?

    Thanks kindly,
    Ali

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  66. Hi:

    Every comment is helpful. But no one says anything about the costs. If you do not have insurance what do you do?.

    when you guys talk about ptsd should be more helpful (in my opinion) to talk a little about your trauma/symptoms as well as mentioning if is Complex or just PTSD.

    I have had so many traumas in my life and they keep on happening. in 2011 alone i just sexually molested AGAIN. in combination with oother traumatizing events. as of today. 2012 i am soooo depressed. and isolated. i HAVE NO support system. and no job. i am TOTALLY ON MY OWN. trying to see what i can do with my life before i go and buy a shotgun and end it.

    i read about a facility in palm beach florida called WIIT. the women;s institute for integration therapy. i only read one comment about it. and i read another post in a different website about it.

    does anybody know anything about it?

    when you talk about the progress you have made. what do you mean by that? what are the changes or improvements? relationship wise, financially etc.

    i can deal with the flashbacks if i could. i just want to stop being scared of living. i am afraid of everything. the only thing that i have is my relatioship with my husband and i feel i will lose it if i continue with my depression. and suicidal thoughts.

    everyday i feel more and more isolated and hopeless and traumatized. i do not want to do anything because everything has become a triggered that makes me have suicidal thoughts. i cannot longer deal with this. i need a ray of light. some hope to grasp.

    i am in florida. i do not know what to do. is emdr supposedly the most effective method for CPTSD? i have been in CBT for many years and i think it just made things worse. at points because i am know aware of my disorder and i feel hopeless the more i learn about it. because it affects your brain and it can not be reversed. i do not know what to believe anymore... thats why i contemplate the shotgun option as the best. and i am getting to a point that i am starting to plan it. i am afraid.

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  67. Here is another one
    http://www.prlog.org/10139864-brain-state-tech-helps-veterans-with-ptsd.html

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  68. I was also at LHC, santa fe last year and plan on going back it is a great program I just wish I would have worked it better. I plan to go back and really dig my heals in. Everyone was great but I fought my treatment, and after leaving I know if I would have tried harder instead of fighting the unknown I would be in a better place. So now just working out my insurance and getting some things in order before I leave. I have PTSD, childhood trauma anxeity,& depression. Hope this helps for anyonelooking for a place yo go. PS I am a female

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  69. Anonymous, with no insurance, I write a little about this problem here, not sure it will be much help though.

    http://ptsdme.blogspot.com/2005/11/ptsd-race-class-homelessness-and-money.html

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  70. I work for a residential treatment center called The Refuge-A Healing Place in Ocklawaha, FL. Main focus being on Trauma and Addictions. If not treating the trauma, addictions will continue to occur. Just wanted to put it out there as this is a successful program. They take some insurances and private pay. Good luck to you all.

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  71. I spent a month at Del Amo Hospital in CA. You have to be prepared for harsh things to get through it. It wasn't easy and it didn't "cure" me but it was an eye opener.

    I'm currently frustrated because I cannot find any support type group(s) or group therapy that's not associated with Military trauma where I live - SLC, UT

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  72. To the one looking at "WiiT" you should call and talk to the intake therapist. I am currently looking for a place for my wife who suffers from ocd (hair combing, borderline trich) ptsd, depression and some others. We have exhausted our community services and this talk,talk,talk does not work. I called WiiT @ Hollywood Pavillion yesterday and they were very supportive and seemed to live up to their website. I have been through the thick of it with my wife and will always support her w/all I got but we will not go to a place that we have not researched fully. We have not yet (i know there are many) found any place yet that claims to be as good as WiiT but we will keep trying due the fact we are thousands of miles away but if this is the place...we will go. They also take insurance and medicare. They seem very compassionate and it's for women only. 2 week program with extensions and aftercare options. Although, without all the info and testimonials we would like more info from anyone out there. PLease let us know. And to the shotgun method...if this is what I think it is please don't and give them a call and you are in Florida...that's great. I hope you find help and I hope we do too...

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  73. I have experienced so much of what you describe, I could have written the same story myself. I hate these captcha things-i write my heart out, enter& check five times and still get "entered it wrong". Plus the whole how to participate in website confuses me. wasting time is like a voodoo hex on me & getting to age that computer bothers my eyes before long. AAAANNND I am so desperate for help after years of exhausting search and ravaged finances. Let's see how far I get with this effort.

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  74. Anonymous posted a message saying: Hello has anybody had experience recently with Hollywood Pavillion, Womens Institute for Incorporation Theraphy. Dr XXXXX use to run their program but has parted with them. My daughter has been diagnosed with acute PTSD and Dr XXXXX states that he has great success in dealing with PTSD. So does anyone have any experience in using Dr. XXXXX..

    Sorry, we cannot get into naming individuals if possible (I may have let a few slip in before) because this is a public forum and it raises legal issues if people start making statements about specific people. There are PTSD forums where you have to register for an account and the posts are not public. Just google "PTSD Forum" and I am sure you will find one. They would be able to talk about specific doctors, not being in public. People have benefited from the comments on their experiences in a general way at various treatment centers, so I will continue to risk allowing those posts as long as there is nothing slanderous.

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  75. Do not go to Wekiva in Jacksonville FL. A lot of people with DID are highly intelligent. I found myself teaching the therapists and the other patients came to me with problems before they would go to their own therapist. There was also a rich girl coming in who was going to be on Intervention. I had no therapy for the last week because she was so much more important than me. Also I do not recommend WIIT in Ft Lauderdale FL. They do Incorporation therapy. They will ask one of your guys, (mine don't like the word alter) to do all of the talking and repeat what the others say. I am not going to have a white guy from NY repeat exactly what an African American guy from Atlanta, GA has to say. This didn't work and we had to left. We had a lot more guys than other people and some people got irritated and yes we found out all multiples are not smart and some are very mean. Once again, a patient begged us not to leave because we understood her better, knew her different people apart and the staff didn't. It is hard to find a good place.

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  76. I recently enrolled in the trauma program at Timberlawn in Dallas, TX. I believe the intention of the staff and approach used by Dr. Ross to treat PTSD could be effective, it did not help me. The staff was poorly trained and more like jail wardens than treatment partners. It is a private facility and tends to be expensive, they are driven by money. The Drs. want you to fudge the truth so that insurance will keep you there. My pain is growing and i am in search of a new program because regular therapy isnt helping. Patients at Timberlawn tend to return because they did not receive successful treatment the first time around and still have issues with suicide. self mutilation and chemical dependency. Transformations in FL has been suggested so i am researching their program. My prayers are with everyone battling such a crippling disease.

    Always Hurting

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  77. AnonymousMay 19, 2012

    I just found your site tonight. I wanted to say that where I live (Pacific Northwest) I have had horrible experiences. I have no local therapist and forget inpatient -- they'll lock you up and throw away the key if you hint about DID. But I found the most wonderful place that I've been to three times. It is my safety net and I can honestly say that I trust the staff with my self -- with all of us. So here's a big shout out the The Center at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington. Hope that helps someone. You know - want to pass the goodness around.

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  78. PTSD treatment for Veterans found ineffective.

    Eli Lilly made $65 billion on the Zyprexa franchise.Lilly was fined $1.4 billion for Zyprexa fraud!
    The atypical antipsychotics (Zyprexa,Risperdal,Seroquel) are like a 'synthetic' Thorazine,only they cost ten times more than the old fashioned typical antipsychotics.
    These newer generation drugs still pack their list of side effects like diabetes for the user.All these drugs work as so called 'major tranquilizers'.This can be a contradiction with PTSD suffers as we are hyper vigilant and feel uncomfortable with a drug that puts you to sleep and makes you sluggish.
    That's why drugs like Zyprexa don't work for PTSD survivors like myself.
    -Daniel Haszard FMI Google-Haszard Zyprexa

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  79. Just found this site and read through most of the posts. I live in the WDC metro area and strongly disagree about recommedning The Center at Psyc Inst of DC. It USED to be a great helpful caring safe place, but a few years ago the unit was moved to a much smaller area, new staff hired, and long story shor, 3 years ago I needed help and checked in there and had to get self out right away it was so screwed up there. They didn't have meds on hand, someone ruined an artwork I did and no staff intervened, and in general the whole staff was kinda out of it and cold. I had had 2 very helpful stays there previously - one in 1996, the other in 1999, lasting only a few days each b/c they could help me get grounded very well then. Now, sadly, I found it a completely different place - and oh yea, Florence Hannigan less than honest with me. Too bad b/c I am in rather intense if not desperate need right now. (that's why I'm here) Wishing everyone good luck, peace, and ability to take life one day at a time.

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  80. AnonymousJuly 03, 2012

    I went to the Oaks in Austin also. Terrible place. I was just a child. =\ That was hell. Drug up kids, emotionally abuse them, don't allow them to look at anyone or talk to anyone, no contact, walk to the bathroom without permission at any time and get tackled and restrained and injected with tranquilizers.

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  81. AnonymousJuly 28, 2012

    I would not recommend the Center at PIW. I had heard great things about it and went there for help with my DID, but was disappointed. The space is very small. Sometimes you are basicaly in a closet for one on one therapy. I didn't mind it being co-ed. You get to sign out your phone and ipod at certain times, and you have access to the internet. Also, the arts and crafts cabinets remain unlocked at all times. There is hardly a place to have a visitor. But, if the unit agrees, dogs are allowed on that unit.
    But every time I got upset, even just crying and saying I wanted to go home, I was taken to the quiet room and given so much medication that it knocked me out for hours. And you are discouraged from dissociating, as if you are in full control of it. It's as if they don't want to deal with alters, or just don't know how to. And if you start dissociating, it's almost as if you've done something wrong. The groups were not intense or helpful enough, and we had to be super vague when discussing our past. Vague to the point of almost ignoring what caused the problem in the first place. Sadly, the most helpful person I encountered there was an intern, and a male at that.

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  82. Just wondering if anyone has had experience with Intensive Trauma Therapy in Morgantown, West Virginia? They use a team approach from a different perspective than the other programs that I have researched.

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  83. Just got a spam post from a place called inclusive recovery/inclusive rehabilitation, and several other names. The chief operator seems to be one Ken Dengler from Boise Idaho, and the web sites for the rehab are all generic with no descriptions of the facilities and just random 12speak. Seems like a scam to me, and the comment was definitely a spam post that was meant to lure people to the website for the rehab. Beware anyplace that is this vague. maybe ok for addictions, though I doubt it, but pretty inappropriate for trauma and PTSD. Probably falls into the more harm than good category. These people have no conscience, feeding of the most vulnerable in society and trying to trick them out of their savings for a treatment plan they could get for free---looks mostly like don't drink and go to meetings with a generous helping of pablum thrown in. Avoid. Ken, if you read this and I am wrong, show me. some description of the facilities, the number of counselors and their training, a general location and setting...urban/rural/scenic/hellhole in the middle of nowhere? Give me a little more than "love your blog on X" with a link to your scam site.

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  84. PTSD suffer for 8 years. What you need to know, is that there are psychs that have no experience, they eat up your approved sessions, not realizing it will take months and months, to years before you get another approval.
    The Vets get more results. The problem is they don't treat civilians.

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  85. I went to the WIIT institute for 2 weeks and it changed my life. Since I went, the head Dr. left, so I don't know how it is now. But the program is amazing. The nurses are amazing. I couldn't recommend it more.

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  86. TraumaSurvivor111March 07, 2013

    McLean Hospital: Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Disorders Inpatient Unit - Proctor 2- left me with extraordinarily severe PTSD from being secluded in ways that were illegal, broke state regulations, and were extraordinarily emotionally abusive - This was in Spring/ Summer 2011. I had a friend who was just in this unit last week and said that male staff kept touching her and grabbing her for no reason and would not stop when she repeatedly told them she did not want to be touched (and she was not posing any risk to herself or others.) Other people have had good experiences in Proctor. They let you have your phone and computer- you get to go on walks once you reach a certain level- the groups aren't bad. But they left me with very severe ptsd and then decided to commit me to a state hospital because I had told them I was feeling really suicidal on the unit and at the very last moment changed their minds and discharged me back to another mclean program.

    McLean Hospital- Women's Treatment Program/The Hill Center - Residential Program/Partial program- I was in residential at this program for 2 weeks and then partial at this program for 2 weeks in august 2011. Over all it was an ok program. It has a foundation in DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) which wasn't all that useful to me because I already had done a ton of it in the past. They didn't really have groups that were about processing the trauma- which is what I really needed. Most of the staff at that time were ok- there was art therapy which I liked. In terms of the residential- out side of the main day when the partial is running the staff basically just stay in the office and aren't really in the milieu or all that willing to talk to you and help you. You can leave the unit on the evening as you wish as long as you are back for the mandatory groups- you can walk or take the shuttle to the bus stop and get into Harvard Sq (cambridge) and from there cambridge and boston is at your disposal on the weekends.

    CONT in next comment

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  87. TraumaSurvivor111March 07, 2013

    Comment Continued...

    Timberline Knolls - I was in this program as an adolescent in 2010. On the website they advertise as if they are especially trained to deal with trauma, borderline personality disorder and mood problems. They absolutely are NOT. I went to the program and told them I had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality disorder- the therapists laughed and said "Dont say that- you're too nice to have BPD- besides if you have BPD you'll be in hospitals for the rest of your life". There program is for Eating disorders and substance abuse. Period. those are the focuses and they use a tiny tiny amount of DBT and other wise are a 12 step based program. Personally I think 12 step for eating problems isn't useful- but 12 step for mood disorders or trauma is totally irrelevant. The adolescent program really tries to use punishment/reward as modification for behavior problems- if your kid doesnt have a behavior problem and their problem is mood or trauma based- don't send them there. They did have a good horse therapy and art therapy components.

    The Princeton House Programs - I have not been in inpatient at a princeton house facility. I recieve adolescent partial hospitalization and IOP at the cherry Hill location in 2008 and 2009. The program wasn't curing me but it wasn't a bad program at all at that time- the staff were good- the groups were decent- I had heard from adults and adolescents who had been in their inpatients and said it was ok but I have no more specific info than that.

    *****Does anyone have expeirence in the princeton house programs? *******


    Sherpard Pratt I had a friend who was in shepard pratt for 5 weeks in spring 2012 and had pretty positive things to say about it. She was diagnosed with DID which hadn't been able to be diagnosed in prior treatment.

    I have very severe trauma from past mental health treatment but am in desperate need for treatment for mood problems and being in crisis which stems from PTSD. I am getting put on the waiting list at shepard pratt- it really looks like the best bet- but currently there is a 4 week waiting list.

    Best wishes to everyone

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  88. Thank you for this website and for all the folks who commented.

    I didn't see any comments on The Meadows so thought I would add that.

    It is an excellent program -- primarily private pay, but they'll help you get ins. reimbursement -- and I do mean really help.

    They are heavy 12-step because they started as a substance abuse facility. But they have developed their own model based on the reality of thousands of patients they served and it connects trauma, mood disorders, and addictions and deals with all of them in an integrated way. The staff are awesome -- totally there for patients, and patients support each other. They have a relationship with some of the leading experts in the field of trauma (John Bradford, Peter Levine, Claudia Black ... so they stay up to date on the latest research. They are supporting one of their psychiatrists in his research on using mindfulness techniques to address trauma from attachment disorders.

    For trauma, their extended care facility is excellent. They provide group and individual EMDR and/or Somatic Experiencing, art therapy, tai chi, equine therapy, some yoga.

    For folks who have attachment issues that result in sexual addiction or avoidance as a result of trauma, their Dakota House is excellent.

    March 30, 2013

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  89. Man this is all intense! I am looking for legit and life changing recovery centers in Seattle WA. Not to directly say anything to anyone but does anyone have any tips or advice?

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  90. I think you’ve made some truly interesting points. Not too many people would actually think about this the way you just did. I am really impressed that there is so much information about this subject that have been uncovered and you did it so well, with so much class.Thanks.

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  91. AnonymousJune 23, 2013

    I was an outpatient at the HILL CENTER at MCLEAN hospital for three weeks in 2012. It was a neutral experience. Some of the groups were helpful, some of them were pointless. I really needed help processing my trauma and there was no outlet for that; in fact, making anything too personal was against the rules. The staff seemed cheerful enough and there was some progress, but a yer later I'm more dysfunctional than ever and am seeking a different program to help me with my issues.

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  92. I have experience both as a patient and as a mental health counselor trained in trauma which may be helpful.

    1) i attended life healing center this past February and it was the worst experience of my life. i met some wonderful people (patients) but the facility is severely understaffed even when taking severely self-harming individuals who really need inpatient treatment, who they keep because of $$$. i was discharged after three weeks the DAY i did my largest piece of trauma work and was fully dissociated. i was initially refused even a ride to the train (minutes away) and left next to a bar with four hours left for my train. needless to say i spent the next week in a blackout - the first of my life. they use patients in lieu of kitchen staff, forcing them to handle huge burning hot pans crammed into an oven heated to 500 degrees, under the guise of "participating" and "being responsible." their professional staff are working from decades-old trauma treatment modalities, and routinely violate rules about confidentiality and other ethical considerations. i left in far worse shape than i arrived.

    2) McLean hospital. this is a great *research* facility that does accept medicare. that's about the nicest thing i can say for it. understaffed, completely focussed on money. while i worked there as a per diem direct care staff member, i witnessed severe understaffing, and the retention of a per diem employee who was suspected (and ultimately fired) for sexually molesting the patients. they were more concerned about not being sued by him, than about protecting a severely traumatized young woman he had accosted. i worked with him and he was a total scumbag who also attempted to sexually harass his coworkers (not me, but some of the friends i had there showed me notes he'd written to them).

    3) Cambridge Hospital *had* a great outpatient program using body-based group therapy (instead of CBT or DBT which i hate and don't profit from). don't know if it's still there. Cambridge/Somerville, MA

    4) Arbour-HRI in Brookline MA has a very good partial women's program. Not the best trained as most of the therapist are doing their internship, but i had a very good, supportive, nurturing experience there. Any other program at Arbour, avoid!!! they've had many problems with their inpatient units, including male staff molesting female patients and giving them illicit drugs. I found this out while doing MY clinical internship.

    5) sierra tucson would not accept my BCBS.

    6) decision point center in Prescott, AZ forced me to go to detox (where i did not detox since i am NOT ADDICTED to alcohol) for medical clearance, which wasn't horrible, but then refused me ON THEIR DOORSTEP when they found out my fibromyalgia might prevent me from attending each and every group -- information they had before i showed up. the guy who was responsible for my intake initially denied he had been told, then admitted he had but insisted he had "no idea" fibromyalgia might interfere with my participation even though my social worker at the detox had specifically contacted him with my concerns (another point he denied until i contacted her and confronted him), and even though his "girlfriend has fibromyalgia and i know all about it."

    (continued next post)

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  93. (continued from previous post)

    i have been in therapy for 20 years, been hospitalized twice and been in a large number of outpatient programs. many were retraumatizing until i learned enough about trauma (as a therapist) to understand what to look for. i got a lot better at finding what i need after that. the criticisms i posted here are based on both personal experience and professional knowledge. i am NOT the kind of person who refuses help, but i AM the kind of person who will self-advocate and am knowledgeable about both the ethics and standards of care in the industry. be VERY CAREFUL. i did my best to vet LHC and Decision Center before i went and still failed, where i have been successful in the past. my opinion is that the PTSD population is both underserved and seriously exploited. FIND OUT THE CREDENTIALS OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE TREATING YOU - and i'm not talking about the initials after their name, although that can be important. find out where they've trained, what they trained in, and LEARN ABOUT PTSD AND THE VARIOUS MODALITIES OF TREATMENT; know that there are MANY and IT IS OKAY IF SOME DON'T WORK FOR YOU!!! It's important whereever you go that if you don't already know what works for you, a wide variety of types of therapy are offered for that very reason.

    i'm trying to move from my small town with no mental health resources to another part of the country that has the kind of providers i need. still looking.

    my personal experience - and i know some people really profit from cognitive-behavioral and DBT - is that body-based treatment and animal therapy are the best for me. EMDR did absolutely nothing for me except leave me incredibly upset.

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  94. Virginia beach psych center does not claim to (or I don't think they do) treat PTSD or DID, both of which I have, but they did a great job of respecting me and keeping me safe. I have been there twice fire about a week each, the first time was not harmful, just boring, buy went about a month ago and find it helpful! They had a new president or something who put a new emphasis on the importance of groups, and tried to offer information relevant to everyone, despite the patients being there for many different reasons. They even told is if we were interested in something not offered to let them know and they would try and have a group on the topic! The nurses especially as well as the techs realty seemed to care, I even had to be restrained fort my own safety and it was done a kindly and respectfully as possible, and as soon as it was clear I was safe they let me up. I didn't find it at all traumatising and they involved me add much as possible with the process and letting me know as well as they could that it was to keep me safe and explaining what was going on, I ultimately was able to give consent for the restraints to be used- I kept dissociating and was kinda relieved a of a that sounds. I felt like it not only kept me safe but helped nee learn coping skills- which of a big deal cause I am a bright college grad- 25 years old, female.. Most groups would bore me but I really felt my last stay was helpful!

    Riverside behavioral health center in Hampton Virginia is just trying to take your money. I got molested by another patient and they really just babysat us, avoid it if you can!

    But if you just need somewhere to go to be safe and have meds worked out and get some good skills- VA beach psych is a really good safe caring facility.

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  95. I see there is a post above for The Refuge in Florida and I have heard nothing but awesome things about them. Also I would recommend The Ranch in Nunnelly, Tennessee. Both of these have excellent trauma treatment programs and would be good options if you are stable enough not to need psychiatric hospitalization.

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  96. I have been to Shepherd Pratt multiple times from1998-2003 and then again in 2007. I was there when it was B4 and there again as the new facility. There are comfort changes in the unit, but treatment modalities and the skills they offer haven't changed! I was diagnosed with my official DID and PTSD. Richard Lowenstein and Susan Wait are two of the most amazing psychiatrists I have ever worked with. They have saved my life more than once and have given me the life I have today. I wouldn't hesitate to go back if I needed to. They also have day treatment program to supplement after discharge..

    I would also recommend the Hills program at McClean. It is the partial hospitalization program. This is not a warm and fuzzy but a DBT based program, where they expect you to use the skills you are learning. I have found that DBT has moved me to the next phase in my therapy and that I don't need the warm and fuzzy. If you have a specific issue and you need solution based resolution this is the place. I wouldn't suggest this be the place to go if you are just beginning your journey into PTSD AND TRAUMA OR DID.

    BOTH have been extremely helpful to me and I would recommend either depending on where you are in your therapy.

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  97. Just returned from a stay at THE CENTER. Would not recommend. I would say that the therapists and social workers were qualified and had very good knowledge about PTSD/dissociative disorders, but the facilities were TERRIBLE. The building is undergoing construction and on the already tiny unit even the windows were covered. Also, there was not enough structure for me-only an "art as therapy" group on Saturdays and Sundays, and three groups during the day. This would have been ok with me of there was a group at night (my worst time), but the treatment day ended at 4:30.
    I arrived and was unable to get my meds for 72 hours.
    The strength of the program was definitely the therapists, but if you care at all about the environment this is not the place for you.

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  98. TIMBERLINE KNOLLS formerly The Rock Creek Center (Acadia Healthcare http://www.acadiahealthcare.com/locations-by-state/ )

    Has anyone ever worked there? Has anyone made it thru their admissions process - how detailed was it? Did they complete the entire process over the phone or what? Please tell me anything you can about this center.

    BrighterDays

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  99. TraumaSurvivor111May 21, 2014

    McLean Hospital- Belmont MA Trauma and Dissociative Disorders Inpatient Unit - Proctor 2
    This is from my own and close friends stays multiple times in each year 2010 - 2014. On this unit the staff threatened to sexually assault me to get me to comply with their abuse towards me. The head nurse at the time informed me their abusive actions towards me were to "punish" me. Remember- If you go to a residential or day program at McLean and are suicidal- YOU WILL END UP IN INPATIENT- IN THIS OR ANOTHER ABUSIVE UNIT. They threaten commit you to state hospitals for any disagreement with their abusive decisions.

    McLean Hospital - Gunderson Residence- Residential Private Pay Adult Female Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment
    This comment regards stays by multiple patients between 2011 and 2014. If you have complex ptsd you could be unlucky enough to think this program would be your salvation. They are extremely emotionally abusive to their patients, blame their patients for trauma, and endanger patients physical health. A person I know got a concusion by slipping on ice and falling on concrete- the program told her she wasn't allowed to go to the ER to be seen -that was "treatment interfering behavior" and they would kick her out. (she did end up in fact having a concusion.) In 2013 I was aware of a female therapist romantically involved with a patient.

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  100. AnonymousJune 21, 2014

    I am NOT a Colin Ross fan, but I was in Timberlawn trauma (inpatient and PHP) 3 times this year. I had a very good experience. It has improved greatly over the years and although I'm sure there are those who will say that it was horrible (honestly, there are reasons that were created by themselves) but most of the people I was there with had a good experience. Inpatient has individual therapy 3x week and PHP is 2x a week. Group therapy is the norm for the rest of the time, although I found the groups in PHP to be MUCH better than inpatient, but sadly that Dr. (psychologist)moved. All in all, I'd go back in a heartbeat. You get out of it what you put into it.

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  101. I am trying to find a Partial Hospitalization program for my 16 year old daughter suffering PTSD, complex trauma (from abuse), dissociation, social anxiety, depression. (she's now in a general psy hospital getting stabilized after suicidal ideation risk, and we'll need a Program in a few weeks)

    Has anyone heard anything about the Princeton Behavioral Health Sage Program?

    Any suggestions best program for her on East Coast?

    Are there any programs that offer both DBT followed by TF-CBT.

    Need help

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  102. I was at McLean Hospital for the past two weeks.......I feel more traumatized and victimized now than I did two weeks ago.......do not, I repeat, do not go there....unless you want to become suicidal or bullied by their staff!!!!!

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  103. Sidran's link is dead; dunno if you have a cache, or something to replace it.

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  104. Okay, so I checked to make sure there were no other comments about this center already referencing the problems there and I don't see anything, so here goes. I just checked myself out of Affinity at Camelot in Vista, California. The ways that the director was verbally and emotionally abusing the patients there was disgusting. There were problems with not receiving all of the prescribed meds, receiving too many of prescribed meds, and being forced to take PRN (as needed) meds when they were not needed for example, I am prescribed a medication for water retention which I only experience rarely, maybe once a month, but was forced to take the med or be marked as non-compliant. But the main reason I left is because the house and program Director walked into the bathroom of one of the patients while she was showering, opened the shower doors and turned the water off saying she had been in the shower long enough, when she had only been in there a few minutes (I know because I was her roommate), and that is such a bunch of bull because I would take 10-15 minute showers every day. Anyway, it wasn't about the water it was that she invaded her personal and private space with no announcement, no warning or opportunity for the girl to turn the water off herself. WTF?!? Don't go there. You will not get treatment, you will get babysat. It did absolutely nothing to help. Be warned, do not trust the Affinity programs in Southern California!

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  105. AnonymousMay 02, 2015

    Forest View Hospital was terrible for me. I was in the "trauma" unit. The psychiatrist was rude and uncaring. NEVER go to Forest View for trauma treatment.

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  106. I have severe complex PTSD and I guess only a few of you on here share that with me. I noticed back in 2012 that ISTSS published a paper by "experts" stating that the minimum length of a comprehensive program to treat C-PTSD would be 3 phases in 15 months. Now maybe I'm just slow finding things on the 'net but I've been all over and have yet to find either an individual therapist or clinic offering such a comprehensive program, I guess that means "here's what our experts are telling you that you ought to have, good luck actually finding something like that"...so are they just all classic hypocrites, or does anyone actually know where this mythical program might actually exist??

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  107. AnonymousJune 24, 2015

    I've got severe complex PTSD. Back in 2012 ISTSS published a paper stating that the minimum length of a course for successful treatment for this would be at least 15 months in 3 phases. Of course now that I need to find myself such a course offered by either an individual therapist or in a clinic setting I seem to keep finding that no course of such length actually exists! I think what I'm really looking for is someone who understands the techniques Pete Walker offers in his book on C-PTSD because I think he really "has it together" but the ISTSS method would probably be close enough and I don't really have lots of resources ("medi-medi"in CA) and will have to make do with what I have, does anyone have any suggestions?

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  108. Hi Jeff, the timeframe I learned is that once you are actively engaged in your own recovery, the ptsd will take about five years to get to manageable levels. For me that involved about a month and a half of inpatient treatment at a place specializing in PTSD And then weekly or when things were bad, which was often, biweekly, meetings with a therapist I trusted. I went through a major move in the middle so had different therapists. I also grudgingly submitted to meds, and there is where the most caution and vigilance needs to be exercised. Many of the prescribing doctors pay little attention. It took a lot of communication And tweaking to get my meds minimal and right, but they helped and help me a lot. So five years id's not inpatient or some recovery plan, it is how long it takes a person to dig out with good support and an effort on the sufferers part and some good resources.

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  109. Thank you for this web site. I've been reading it and coming back to it for years. I just got an email from the Sidran Help Desk.

    WOW. Just when I though there was no where to turn...WOW.

    Thank you for the time and energy it takes to do this.

    Mike

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  110. AnonymousJuly 14, 2016

    Hi. I read through this page and really appreciate the info. I have not found another site like this-that is, where people can be HONEST about their experiences.

    I feel terrified to admit myself to any facility unless I know they are stellar. I have CPTSD, depression and TRAUMA BONDING issues. I also BINGE drink, exercise, and more. I think I really need inpatient treatment.

    I have been researching treatment centers, but it's really hard to tell from a website if they are any good. I live in IDAHO, which is one of the WORST states mental health care-wise. We don't have specialized treatment centers for PTSD. We only have a few of what I jokingly/sadly call "CRAZY JAILS" or "JESUS-Y" type 12 step addiction camps. (No offense, religious people)

    So I'm looking for places in the WESTERN U.S. (I'll go wherever the best treatment is, though) that have programs that specialize in PTSD treatment.

    Here's the catch: Since my trauma I have been on MEDICARE. So that probably narrows my options. Today I found a place called RESNICK NEUROPSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL at UCLA in Los Angeles. They are supposed to be one of the best in the nation. Does anyone know about this place?

    I would be so grateful if anyone could give me info on any good place that would take Medicare. Thanks in advance.

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  111. Hi anonymous,

    We can't really help you with recommendations, only our experiences. Your best bet would be to contact help@sidhran. they do great work and provided the info on this page so they should have the most up to date stuff and they are confidential so no worries there. I hope they are still in operation, as I noticed their web site got hacked, but the email should be fine.

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  112. Sheppard Pratt was the worst hospital I've been to for PTSD, and I've been to two others, but I can't imagine it getting much worse than that. I was there for five days in the summer of 2013. We did nothing all day, no therapy, no groups. The assistants sat in the main room just watching us as if they hated us and their jobs. I've never seen anything like it. It made me feel ashamed and insecure about being there. I talked to an administrator about it, but she brushed it off. I had lost everything to PTSD and was homeless at the time, but I still had insurance. They told me they were transferring me to another trauma program, so I packed up and got into a van, and the driver dropped me off in front of a building in the inner city of Maryland and drove away. Turns out it was a homeless shelter. I had to walk for miles to find a bus to get back to DC. Thankfully, I got to The Center at PIW soon afterwards. It was a great program and really helped me understand trauma. I met other women like myself and was able to open up and feel hopeful. My only complaint is that there was not enough one on one therapy. I am now looking to go inpatient again. Medication hasn't worked and I haven't found a psychiatrist who can help me, or a therapist who seems to understand PTSD well enough. I think I need a longer term, really intensive program. The problem is I'm on Medicare, which limits my options. I've looked at a list from Sidran Institute so I'm going to make some calls. Some of the programs that look amazing, like in NM don't take Medicare. Medicare sucks, by the way.

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  113. Hi. Thanks for all the feedback. I'm considering a residential trauma treatment center in the UK called Khiron House. Does anyone have any information on this center or experience to share?

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  114. I went to River Oaks in New Orleans in 2013. I was petrified when I got there, but the nurses and therapists were amazing, always available. The mental health workers were in process of getting their MSW and well versed in dealling with trauma patients. I loved psychodrama and the process groups were very helpful. I dealt with a lot of deep stuff there.
    Food was meh. I'm not Southern and trying to get low fat food was really hard.
    I was there in the summer and there were a ton of thunderstorms, which had half of us under the tables. And although it was hot outside it was freezing inside. They take air conditioning very seriously there.
    My biggest complaint would be the garbage not being emptied often enoough, and I did see some cockroaches.
    When my insurance ran out, I appealed with my psychiatrist for more time and I got a week , and then paid for another week out of pocket.

    Now I'm trying to get into Sheppard Pratt. I still have more to process. My PTSD symptoms are interfering with everything now. I need more help. The packet is almost complete Donny fingers are crossed.
    Shell

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