The Brattleboro Retreat Reviews

Treatment needs improvement but overall it is a safe and semi comfortable atmosphere.

Uniform service program is good, but don't count on alot else being good, not afraid to get you for more money even if it's not your fault

Has great potential, just needs to prioritize and stop with poor policy making.

Not only was the receptionist rude when I came to visit my nephew, but the hospital discharged him after he found a way to harm himself the previous night and even though he told them he would kill himself as soon as he was out. Had to bring him to Concord to be readmitted.

After grieving a deep loss and questioning life myself, I was sent here. There were so many people involved in my check-in that kept saying I would get help. But once assigned to a room in the ward, there was no one that would tell me what was going on.
At the front desk of the ward (where all of the employees try to hide in direct sight) they ignore the patients. I had an asthma attack but they wouldn't let me use my inhaler because I wasn't "scheduled for it". I had to wait long enough for them to hook me up to a breathing machine.
Since I was admitted at noon, I didn't get a meal because there you have to order for food the day ahead.
I asked how I could be released, the associates told me that even though I came voluntarily that I could only leave if a doctor approved. Yet I had no nurses or doctors even available and was being treated like n infected zombie.
There were many people screaming that they didn't belong there, and threatening employees to let them out. Brattleboro is designed to make people insane. I felt the same as everyone screaming, but I knew I had to outsmart them with calmness.
Thankfully I convinced the deciding doctor (over Skype who I'd never spoken with before) that I was okay to leave.
Don't ever send someone you love here.

I was in osgood 2 and it was the safest most accepting place. the day staff care so much. the night staff arent my favorite but all together they care and they care alot. I loved Brett and Kelly the most. Steph and Wendy helped me heal and Thea stayed up and just talking to me God bless.

This place gave me safe haven and helped me so much. I chose to be there, to get off doctor prescribed pain meds. I was in the hospital building for detox, where I was treated kindly.
Then I moved to another building for a program called "The Birches." Here I had a wonderful therapist and went to classes all day. There was lots of bonding between patients. I learned so much that has helped me never go back on pain meds.
In the negative reviews here, I have no idea what these people are talking about. If you have very difficult emotional issues, such as bipolar disorder, and expect to get constant attention and be fixed, this is probably not the place for you. It's very supportive for rehab, for people who are somewhat self reliant and want to learn, it's great. I received excellent care.
I also observed a few patients having a hard time because they fought against everything.
Yes, the detox stage is no fun at all, and that building is not luxurious because of what it has to accomodate.
You have to be willing and able to learn new things, and I would say to drop your own story line and open up to change. It's not easy. Lots of addicts are scared and angry as they detox, and unwilling to go through a program that asks a lot of you, but then offers so much.
For me, it was a truly great experience. I have no idea what the vehement criticisms are about. But I did see a few people leave after one day, outraged at not being coddled, and at being asked to submit to a program with rules. It's not vacation for babies. But I loved it there and am so grateful for the education and help I received there.

A great place if you're looking for co-ed dorms with little to no supervision. My spouse of over 20 years was there for the Month of October for alcohol and drug rehabilitation. Within the first week of treatment, she had met her "soul mate" in one of their co-ed group sessions and was able to shack up with him for 4 nights in his dorm room. She's even going to spend this coming weekend with him while I care for our 3 children. Single guys, if you're out there and you're looking for ladies in their most vulnerable state, look no further. The Brattleboro Retreat will provide you with an environment where you can get to know a potential partner's deepest secrets, when thy're the most vulnerable and then have your own private room to get to know each other on a more physical level. And for the low price of $220 a week, it's cheaper than a hotel!

My wife is at Brattleboro Retreat. I went to see her and have never seen worse conditions for people to live in. No one down there seems to know what is going on with her and neither does she because no one will tell her anything. They make the place look good from the outside but the inside of the building I went to was horrible. I don't see where they are actually going to help her, looks like they just have people there to get the money. If it was my choice and I could I wouldn't have let her stay there and brought her back home.

DO NOT GO HERE. DO NOT SEND ANYONE YOU LOVE HERE. THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN! My friend was sent here due to trying to commit suicide. The staff was trying to hide her the entire time she was there from me and family. They would not let any visitors see where the patients were staying. BECAUSE IT WAS DISGUSTING AND SO UNSAFE. Staff was so sketchy and not concerned about their patients at all. This place is designed to just take your money. It looks great from the outside but once you step inside the building, you will truly regret it. There is no support for the patients or anything to entertain themselves with. Patients just sit there all day doing absolutely nothing. STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE !

They hold people illegally and withhold information making informed consent impossible. Numerous Human Rights violations. Beware

I was at Brattleboro Retreat back in 1993 when I was 18. It saved my life then, and I continue to live a clean and sober life all these years later. I owe my success to Brattleboro Retreat. They got me clean at a young age, and it is because of this awesome place that I continued to live a healthy life. The staff were so caring, and they didn't treat me any different than people with insurance.

I can't even begin to describe how traumatizing in patient care at this place is.

The change from whole body healing to warehouse treatment for those with mental health issues has led to a drastic decline in the services the Retreat provides.
Huge disconnect from the people who run the place and the people who care directly for the patients.
The administration under the new CEO is shameful at best.
The Retreat needs to go back to following the Mission Statement inspired by Anna Marsh.

It can be busy at times if you work here. You will get the care you need.

This place saves lives. They are spread too thin. The beds are coated in plastic in case people pee on them, which makes them not comfortable. It is like sleeping on a balloon. Good people, great service, don't drop the soap.

The Brattleboro Retreat has helped me cope with social anxiety, and depression. The staff have always been wonderful and they pointed me in the right direction after discharge. I highly recommend.

We sent our son there in 2010 when he was 19. DO NOT be fooled. They talked a good talk when we visited and the grounds are beautiful. But once there, they are miserably inept. They could not manage to complete testing in the 10 days that they kept him against his will (and against Vermont Law). He later told us that he had very little treatment and was not allowed to go outside as they had him in the drug rehab section although he was not drug addicted.
Brattleboro retreat made a difficult and stressful situation much worse. My husband and I used our one chance to get our son into a hospital after which our credibility was shot. After 10 days, we did not even have a diagnosis. In fact, the doctor at Brattleboro Retreat couldn't even rule out schizophrenia as they never completed the verbal exam! What a weight that was to live under. A couple of years later, we got a diagnosis and it was remarkably simple. Having known that our son's mental issues were exacerbated by marijuana would have been useful information, but after 10 days and tens of thousands of dollars, Brattleboro retreat could not figure that out. What a disaster.

We had a horrible experience here as a family, and I write this review to hopefully help other individuals or families in our situation. My family was looking for a rehab center for my dad, we had to go through certain centers because of insurance and found this place, we called and the woman on the phone was very friendly and explained to us he could do the detox program and then a step down program to focus on the mental health aspects of addiction. We drove down and got dad admitted, the staff made the whole ordeal uncomfortable and gave us little to no information about the detox or helping us get him into the step down program. After insurance ran out it felt like they just wanted to kick my dad out as fast as possible, and gave him a list of other programs (non residential). This is my dad life, my family worked so hard to try to help him, we felt like we only one shot with this. The lack of compassion was astounding, I couldn t believe the difference from the website to the reality don t claim to help people change their lives and do nothing. They did help my dad detox and keep him stabilized so I guess I m grateful for that, take what you want of this, hope it helps.

Poor mental health programs. Daughter was having issues with suicidal thoughts, she went in and 5 days later she was discharged. Only to return the next night for the same reason. It's all about the money here.

My daughter is there now, and the lack of attentiveness is a bit alarming. In three days, the social worker has only seen her once. No one seems to have any handle on her situation, nothing is being done to help her change how she is coping - seems kind of useless. So she may be leaving shortly.

Very unprofessional admissions staff. Seek help elsewhere. Rude and indifferent to someone in crisis who had no other means of contacting them but via cell phone with a working but less than favorable connection..

just visited seems like friendly staff very nice landscaping

The HUB program for opioid addiction is awfull you make one mistake and ur out and even 4 years later they won't allow you back. They have you do a 2hr intake just to say no and make u come in for them to tell you they won't take you back don't think that's right.....

i m so thankful this place exists! it s hard work to get better but this place makes it seem possible. the whole time i was there i felt supported. my favorite part was being with other patients who understood. i m happy to know this resource exists if i ever need it again

I went for medication change observation. It is very unclean. PA prescribed me medication that he's not authorized to precribe so now I'm without! They all lie on the regular.
I left in middle of night due to I'm a diabetic and for 3 days I went without proper food.
Bad place if your black!!

They helped me so much. I learned from both staff and other patients. I was there for anxiety, but most on my unit were there for addiction. Truth is, many times mental health and addiction go hand in hand. I am super thankful, especially for everyone on Osgood 3.

I was sent here from St.johnsbury Vt, hospital because I came to them suicidal, they took my even after the admin had left for.the day. I was put in I believe the Tyler 2 ward. Although this particular ward had not been updated, it was still clean. The staff was exceptional. The group therapy was amazing, they always took the time to talk to everyone. We even had a music class with one of the employees that was great. It brought alot of people . I was they for I believe 10 days for a mental evaluation and to keep watch because I was suicidal. They always took time to help me when I had bad days.

Rude, inconsiderate staff. Never send anyone you care about here. Waste of your time & resources.

I just got discharged from the Tyler 3 unit and every patient was so supportive of the other patients. We were aloud to wear our own clothes and wash them. We were only able to wear shoes with shoelaces when we went to recthe the big courtyard or the rec room (it has airhockey fooseball ping pong and basketball. The staff were really nice and all cared about every patient there no matter how frusting their jobs can be. The staff and patients on the unit kinda act like a family. We argued and then made up we played chess and other.games and got.really competitive and had fun. The group there was really helpful in teaching us coping skills and open topic was the best group

I was placed here when I was 12 years old, and stayed until I was 14 ( I am now 33). During my stay, my mother died of lung cancer, and four days later, my aunt who was to be my gaurdian after my mother's death died as well. The staff was very good to me. I learned so much from the programs offered and the staff at the time. I will never forget being taught assertiveness, what it meant, and when or how to apply it. I still use coping tools I learned at the retreat. They saved my life, and allowed me the time and support to grieve my losses. I will forever be grateful to them.

Looks like a prison inside and out. My son was here and I m a nurse and was disappointed of the dark non therapeutic environment this was

The only place that ever treated my Borderline Personality Disorder so well that after putting the tools to work day after day , I no longer have it.

Was only there for one day, the staff does not seem to care how you feel, I was anxious there and they all seemed to be getting frustrated rather than trying to help or listen, I was nervous about being there and their first and only question was asking if I wanted to be medicated.. having never been on anything, (which they were aware of) obviously I said no. Within hours of being there I discharged myself. It looked beautiful from the outside but the unit was disgusting. All the staff looked high out of their minds, no wonder #1 suggestion was to medicate me. Someone from the staff was outside smoking weed in their car when I left. -5 stars from me. Edit: many of my items were lost. Some were retrieved and had been mixed up with another patients items, and I never got my hairbrush or book back. Would not recommend.

I would not recommend this place whatsoever. My son was there and all they did was medicate him for 5 days. No other treatment involved really. I even received a phone call from his social worker who informed me that my son was showing signs of delusion. They released him after telling me this? WHAT? Unbelievable. This is so sad as he is mentally ill and still walking around aimlessly. I'm no doctor but I've worked for one over 10 years and am guessing my son has Asperger's and Manic Depression, Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, etc.. Sad a place like the Brattleboro Retreat cannot figure this out. Do your research people. Just checked out website as well and people have tried to commit suicide here. Kinda scary! GOOD LUCK!