Ridgeview Institute

12/13/08

If you want to be further traumatized, this is the place for you. To anyone else truly interested in a safe, supportive recovery environment - look elsewhere.

by dasich at Citysearch

I'm going to preface this review with a disclaimer: one of the biggest - if not THE biggest - problems with mental health treatment in the U.S. is that simply being labeled "mentally ill" automatically throws everything you say and do under suspicion. The mentally ill are not stupid; many of us are quite lucid and brilliant, but the reasons why treatment never improves is because the people in the best position to point out the flaws - the mentally ill - are too often written off as being liars and exaggerators. Therefore, I understand that there might be people who will say that I'm making this stuff up, but I wasn't the only one at Ridgeview who witnessed what was going on.

I stayed at Ridgeview twice as an adolescent - in 1998 and 2000. As a point of reference, in the past 10 years I've been to 7 different clinics, so I have experience with what is good and what isn't. The first time, I was admitted for a suicide attempt. The second time, it was because my parents tried to k-ll me (and I'm honestly not joking about this). THEY BLAMED ME FOR MY PARENTS' ATTEMPT ON MY LIFE. Every time I would express anger, they would criticize me for being so "ungrateful" and "rebellious." I wish I were kidding. One counselor, Robin, was especially cruel. Several "groups" were held in patients rooms with people sitting on other patients' beds, which is neither sanitary nor private.

I did not leave better - I left even more traumatized. I also have a friend who stayed at Cottage B two years ago, and from her experience I know that things haven't changed in the slightest. Do NOT go here or send people you love here. Look around for other options. Slightly better for adolescents is Inner Harbour. It wasn't particularly good - when I went to the day program and couldn't give a urine sample due to an empty bladder, they wrote in my charts that I "refused to give a urine specimen" due to a "power struggle" - but it definitely wasn't on the re-traumatizing level as Ridgeview.

• Pros: Nothing. Not a damn thing.
• Cons: Apathetic staff at best, hostile staff at worst. Your patient rights as an adolescent are routinely ignored and subverted. This place is a joke for "recovery."