Hillside, inc Review

I went there when I was 17. One of the staff kept nagging me until I exploded. I went to hillside because I had lost my dad and was very suicidal along with being abused by my bio mom. Also, they right you up when you sleep during school or in sessions. I couldn t keep my eyes open because they put my on heavy meds and they made me super drowsy. I believe they put everyone on meds to control them instead of actually helping and doing what they need for the patients. I would not recommend going here because the a lot but not all staff are not helpful. There were a handful that actually helped me and talked to me.

i was in avrill and this place helped so much some days i just want to call the staff and have a whole convorsation w them. one thing was that if you were trans or non binary or went by a different name it would habe to go through your therapist AND parents which most arent completly cool with. so most of the time we would have to call people by their deadname which ik is very traumatizing in some situations. but otherwise it really helped me

i was there for around 2 months. i was in Kiwanis... it wasnt fun, staff was pretty rude and invasive. i wouldnt recommend unless it really is an emergency. doctors and psychiatrists were okay (the doctor was amazing, she listened to me and helped me write some grievances.) . im sure outpatient is amazing.

there were a few incidents involving staff being rude and sometimes physically abusive. i saw a fellow patient being thrown down by male staff. although sometimes restraining is necessary, sometimes it really isnt the best thing to do.

i filed a few grievances, and staff would make fun of me for it.
i should have filled out a review earlier (i was let out in october 2020, its now april 2021, but im sure that the situations are the same as when i left.)

the staff would split us up if we made friends, isolating us more. i had a roomate but they took me out of the room because i was 'a danger' to the other residents. which is untrue. i learned after a month that i cant talk about some things, but i was a bit rebellious in the beginning. i was never a danger and i never threatened, hurt, or talked about hurting someone. i never did anything with any other patients (sexual stuff), and i never talked about doing anything with other patients. they lied about this to my parents of course.

some staff would talk about how they liked restraining patients and talk smack about others. there was a lot of drama and it was unprofessional for the staff to talk about it. although the staff talked about a lot of unprofessional subjects.

i overheard (in a zoom call at school) the staff and a few patients talking about me. they then lied about it and told me i was overreacting when i confronted them about it. i cant believe they would talk WITH A PATIENT about another patient. they would also talk with me about other people there, staff and residents.

they made me feel isolated and bad for going there.
i feel awkward about my actual name going on this review but i guess it doesnt really matter. they would eat doughnuts, cookies, and other sweets in front of us, taunting us.

i had a lot of fun during the activities, especially gardening.
most of the staff really did try their best to control the situations that we found ourselves in. it just wasnt the place for me.

staff would lie about things to try to make us confess to things we didnt do. they believed who they wanted and definitely played favorites. i was not a favorite.

they did a very bad job at helping people calm down, usually resulting in them yelling and restraints. i wasnt there for very long but i finished my program.

they would read notes i wrote (which is understandable looking back on it) and then laugh and pass them around. they would limit my paper use because i would write so much, which i dont think is very nice.. they made me feel so alone and like i couldnt do anything to help the situation i was in. the staff probably remember me so i hope they dont see this. if they do im sure they are having a big laugh.
this place really stripped me of my confidence and feelings of security. it wasnt the place for me.

the DBT training was helpful. the cottage activities were fun, and most of the staff tried to be nice.
i havent been hospitalized (well i havent been institutionalized) since.

for real though, i wouldnt recommend sending your child here unless its absolutely necessary. any mental hospital isnt fun but this one is hardcore.
they really teach you to follow rules, so if your child has a behavioral problem i would recommend.
i would not recommend if your child has severe anxiety or an eating disorder. they dont really know how to deal with those problems.

honestly the food was really good. the chocolate milk was something else.

overall im giving it a 3 star rating, although if i was writing this a few months ago i would give it a 1 star.

i hope everyone has a good day.

and ms.chariece (idk how to spell your name im sorry, but im talking about the "manager"/head of the Kiwanis cottage), im still waiting for my cookies.
-thanks, maggie

My child was at Hillside for the last 9 months. Unfortunately, my child needs more intense care and had to go somewhere else. Everyone at Hillside did the very best they could. It wasn t a vacation but my child enjoyed doing art therapy, horticulture, drumming, school, and exercising. They met regularly with a skilled DBT therapist and we had weekly family sessions with an amazing therapist. Hillside also offers classes for parents. The doctor and therapists kept me informed on everything. I felt that everyone at Hillside genuinely cared; however, there were a few staff members in those 9 months that weren t the greatest. Issues with staff were addressed quickly though. As with any mental hospital, they have a high turnover rate so the not so great staff didn t stay long. My child has been in and out of mental hospitals for the past four years and this one was by far the most caring and helpful. I highly recommend Hillside.

I would NOT recommend this place. Especially if you have to travel far from another state, etc.The therapist was constantly telling me that my son didn't have behavior problems. However, he was there for a reason, she was negative and not helpful. She told me she used a behavioral plan from another former client, she should have kept that to herself. She was inexperienced too, while not her fault but don't sell this place as DBT exceptionally trained, when she was inexperienced at 1 year only. Also,, he came back underweight and the behavior plan was not explained or followed by them. It may help someone local but to pay out of state fees/travel/deductible is not worth it.

Hillside really helped me but isn't for everyone.

I went to Hillside when I was 13 (14 now), I was really sick, and was struggling a lot. I was at Hillside for about 4 months altogether (I was in and out of inpatient and day program for a bit). Now I am very happy and have a lot of good relationships and good self-control.

Hillside is very, very hard on you. It's really strict and tough. If you can handle that, it definitely has the potential to help you. And if it doesn't help with what you went for, it will definitely make you incredibly strong, like you can get through anything.
However, if you can't handle the level of push they put you through, please don't go (or make your kid go). If anything, you'll get worse. You'll stay in trouble and won't be allowed to do much of anything fun.

You'll either get better or get worse, I think you'd have a hard time coming home the exact same then when you came, unless you were there a very short time (basically if insurance won't pay).

The DTB they teach is very good, and if you are willing to work very hard, then you can really make a difference on your mental health.

During the school year, you have school the normal days (mon-fri), but you have the normal holidays off. The school there is fine, I must admit I don't know much about it since I was there during the COVID pandemic, and the school was quite different than it usually is.

Spending Christmas/the winter holidays at Hillside isn't too bad. There's lots of games and things, and everyone gets presents on Christmas day. Though if you don't celebrate Christmas, they try to help you feel included, but sometimes they don't do the best job at that. On your birthday you get presents, too, and sometimes cake, too.

So all together, Hillside can really help you if you can handle it.

What a great time with my roommates and college staff members. The curse was turned into a blessing. Really great staff during my stay.Great professionals. Like college dorm.

Very negative experience to date. Impossible to reach staff by phone. Slow responsiveness. Inflexible and highly impersonal intake process. It seems the pandemic was crippling for some of their processes. My friends advised me to engage Skyland Trail and Berman Center. Good luck to anyone navigating treatment for the littles in a pandemic. The quality leaderboard is certainly shifting in these very challenging times.

When I went there near Christmas I stayed in McBurney and I STILL have flashbacks and trauma I went through, the staff were awful and I should ve reported them, I had to sleep out in the hall bc I had sleep apnea so I had to have my CPAP and they WOULD NOT stop talking, and they trigger you in every way possible, now I don t know how it is in the other houses but TRY YOUR HARDEST to tell them not to put you in McBurney The first day I was there I sat in one of the chairs and the staff lady said No you can t sit there sit over there in the snarkiest tone..and I went to the side area and I was having a panic attack THEY DID NOTHING ABOUT IT but I hope the other houses aren t like that...PLEASE do something with the staff if one of the people in charge see this