Newport Institute

Please stay away! A psych-ward stay is a 5-star vacation compared to Newport - and I genuinely mean that. There are entire websites filled with testimonies as well as countless one star reviews citing abuse that occurred at the facilities. Don’t make the same mistake I did and ignore them. There’s coercion, medical malpractice, psychological abuse, neglect, and assault going on at the Heritage location in Virginia where I was at. It was so bad that local law enforcement got involved while I was there. If a manager is reading this, I hope you feel absolutely embarrassed to be representing the walking lawsuit of a company you are. I hope you carry that shame to your deathbed.

I was a patient at the all women’s 18+ mostly OCD and anxiety house in Virginia. I was there for a month. My experience there was damaging, infantilizing, and honestly demeaning, for tons of reasons I can’t even go into or else this would be pages long. I’ll just say, there is no privacy whatsoever which they do not tell you before you drive or fly out there. You are never alone for a second, you are not free to even leave a room or use the bathroom without asking, if you try to talk to another patient without CO’s listening most CO’s will ask you to speak so they can hear you, there is no real time outside (you have to ask to go on a walk, sometimes they will take you if they’re free for 30 minutes sometimes not, horses only happen if it’s not too cold or hot and male house leader feels like you’ve earned it :)) and there are no private phone calls even though it’s written as a right on their little plaque in the entrance way. If the therapy was good, maybe all that wouldn’t be so bad (but it’s pretty bad!) The therapist I had, Sadaf, genuinely put me back in terms of my path toward healing. I informed her immediately that my OCD, diagnosed, was very treatment resistant, especially resistant to ERP. We went ahead with it and after 1(one) failed attempt at ERP, she informed me of the great news: I don’t have OCD! I was cured! This was 2 weeks in, after she had responded frequently to things I’d say in sessions (like when I’d talk about behaviors, past experiences, thoughts,) with a smile and the confirmation “yea, that’s OCD.” When she said I didn’t have it, I felt relieved but also confused and like, ok what now then. She went on to explain I had compulsions, but not OCD. Why not treat me for the compulsions then? I would have asked had I not felt so brow beaten against questioning any therapeutic methods there. I was told once by the other therapist, Alyssa, in a very rude way, during a weekly house meeting and “airing out” or something like that that me questioning therapeutic methods was just me fighting the treatment, and I would never get better as long as I kept it up. Sadaf then tried to test me for histrionic personality disorder! Which, surprise, I don’t have, but it sure did take away any trust I’d had that she was taking my pain and things I told her seriously! I also found out later from several other patients of hers that she had simply removed the diagnosis of OCD from their charts when their OCD didn’t respond to her treatment. I questioned for the past year if I really did have OCD or not, and why I have been suffering so much from compulsions, thought loops, intrusive thoughts, and ruminating if I don’t. I haven’t known how to deal with it or how to treat it, I’ve felt crazy. This has slowed my recovery process. If you like medical gaslighting, Newport is the place for you. PS. There were some really wonderful CO’s (people who are actually with us 24/7). It’s the institute and its policies, higher ups and therapists that are the problem. Therapists don’t seem to realize we are adults, not misbehaving teenagers, who just need mental health help direly, we are there because we are at the end of our rope, it isn’t just research and diagnoses on a screen to us.

I was just at Heritage House for OCD treatment. Proceed with caution because you're treatment will be entirely dependent on who your therapist is. If your therapist is Elyssa, pack your bags and leave. While she is very competent in OCD and ERP treatment, she is extremely rude to her clients. I was her only client at the time, and yet she was difficult to get a hold of, and when I was speaking with her she would roll her eyes, make sarcastic comments, and refuse to answer my questions regarding my treatment. I came into Newport very determined to tackle my OCD and work through my mood disorder in my individual sessions. Elyssa was a nightmare. She was cold, invalidating, dismissive, and unprofessional. Every other client in the house was assigned Sadaf, the other therapist in the home. I had the joy of working with her occasionally during ERP and the experience was like night and day. Sadaf was extremely knowledgeable regarding OCD and its treatment. She assured that ERP block was productive and that we were getting a good mixture of exposure and psychoeducation, while my ERP block with Elyssa was spent either sitting on the couch for 3 hours while she was on her computer or having to deal with her rude comments and unprofessional behavior. After my first meeting with Elyssa, I asked if it was possible for me to switch therapists as she was rude to me from the start. I was told that they "don't do that ever" and that I needed to give Elyssa a try. My individual and my family session that followed were quite disappointing. Elyssa failed to make me feel seen and validated due to her eye rolling, scoffing, and sarcasm in response to me attempting to tell her about my mental health. After being at Newport for a week and still being unhappy with my care with Elyssa, I asked again if a switch was possible, as Sadaf had a client discharging soon, and she would have some space in her caseload. I tried to speak to Elyssa herself, Sadaf, and all staff within the house, including the residential supervisor and every single person told me that what I was asking for was not in their control and that I need to speak to someone else. You have limited access to phones and computers which only became a problem when I wished to speak with a supervisor, as I had no way of contacting him. I asked clinical staff to message him for me and had to trust that they did. I had my parents leave him voicemails and emails explaining to him the situation for the second time. I expressed to every person that I could that I truly was motivated to continue treatment and stay at Newport but that my therapists treatment of me was unacceptable and worsening my symptoms. I went in for severe OCD and noticed that the longer I stayed there and was dismissed for that I became incredibly depressed as I had no one I could talk to because my therapist was nothing but cruel to me. After 11 days I reached a breaking point after a Care Coordinator witnessed more unprofessionalism from Elyssa to me during an ERP session where I as the client had to ask her to please speak to me with more kindness and to give me less attitude. Something a client should never have to say to her own therapist. I requested to speak with Sadaf, the other therapist and she yet again told me that she could not help me because she could not change who my therapist was and that I needed to stop trying to talk to her about it because she isn't my therapist. This is when I made the decision to discharge and find a new facility. This choice deeply saddened and upset me as I really enjoyed the staff. They were passionate about their jobs and always did their best to help us out and keep us entertained during down time. I truly felt that I could have made a lot of progress if I was permitted to switch therapists, and even asked a final time before heading out the door. Elyssa should not be allowed to speak to her clients in such a manner, and the design of their chain of command makes it impossible for someone in the house, to get in contact with the "higher ups" to report and poor treatment.

I stayed at Legacy house for adult women 18-35 this past spring. Having attended other treatment facilities and having poor experiences in the past, I was apprehensive of attending Newport, but upon my first 72 hours (please do give yourself time to adjust), I found the staff, clinical team and other clients to be some of the most supportive people I had encountered in a treatment space. The staff and clinical team were well-equipped to handle any issues from practical things/questions to intense emotional distress/triggers. Though I don't trust quickly, I saw just how much they cared and clicked well with my therapist. I've been out for almost 3 months now (the length of my stay), and I can say that, though I still struggle, I am truly in the best place I've been in years-- after having tried ketamine and TMS therapy for my depression previously. I still struggle, but I've been equipped with the tools necessary to help me support myself and reach out to others when I need it. Thank you Newport, for helping me save my life.

Keep looking. Do not go here. My daughter in an extremely severe OCD state was turned away on a Friday evening IN October because her anxiety was extremely high (almost uncontrollable) from a 3 hr car ride from another facility to another facility. The treatment admitting team “left” for the day. The employees at the home told my daughter she needed to stay outside of the residential home that evening, could not go in, at all, because she was not “admitted”. Could not even use the restroom. They told her she needed to find somewhere to go/stay until they could possibly admit Saturday. Now, “home” for her is 3 hours away. I got in my car went to pick her up, drove 3 hours and got a hotel room for the night. Got her from that horrible, disgraceful, UNETHICAL place and never looked back. This “treatment” facility is an absolute disgrace. Take my advice, keep looking……

they just dragged the admissions process for the VA location with me on for a full week just to tell me on day 7 that i won’t be admitted because of my mobility aids. i can’t begin to describe the ableism and injustice of what just happened. even if they had said no at the beginning id have been sad but moved on. i just wasted a week of trying to get admitted with them knowing the ENTIRE time that i need mobility aids, saying it should work, only to turn around and tell me today on day 7 that they will not take me and i can either try to go to their out of state location of find somewhere else. just wasted a week of my life. i needed this help. i’m so disappointed.

Their hard work and their commitment to marginalized populations is admirable