I was at Renfrew 6/11/24-6/13. I’ve included links for a weekly schedule, meal choices (rotates every 3 weeks, and some other info. Groups are good, it’s pretty there. I’ve been here before but I guess I blocked out the most important part. Food is inedible. I was starving. My first dinner was rock hard rice and the driest toughest piece of chicken with sweet and sour sauce poured on top. I don’t know how much cooking is actually done in that kitchen. I’m not being picky, I tried to eat as I want to get better. It’s impossible. Snacks are normal packaged food so I went to snack time because I was starving. Feel free to ask any questions. Check out all the links, I couldn’t find a way to upload images to this site.
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Ask any questions, I’ll do my best to answer.

Looking for recent reviews of the program

Does anyone know if they allow visitors for patients now?

Has anyone with a chronic or SEED (severe and enduring eating disorder) had success or a positive experience at renfrew?

I was at Renfrew April 2007-June 2007 so my review isn’t current. But I have been to a variety of centers since and I can say Renfrew was one of the worst. I remember needing to wear a nametag around my neck for staff to know my name because their patient population was so large (50 women at a time). To get my medications I would have to go to the nurse’s window and present my nametag because the nurses didn’t know our names. Super impersonal. I was told when I admitted to Renfrew I would get 42 days to get better. Even before they knew me or how I would respond to the treatment they chose my discharge date. I remember feeling very rushed through the program because I only had 42 days to get better and I had been struggling with this illness for many years. It felt kind of like a big sorority party and not like a treatment center. I relapsed the moment I walked out of the door of Renfrew and a few months later I ended up at Rogers which was a much better program. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd in a big program like Renfrew and that’s exactly what happened. Even over 10 years later I wouldn’t recommend them for someone who is chronic. Renfrew can treat a very basic eating disorder with their cookie cutter factory like program and that’s it.

When were you there:
november-january 2016-17

How many patients on average?
it really depends on if it’s “prime time” for treatment or not. when i got there, the pink house was in use, but by the time i left, it wasn’t. i’d say around 30-40.

Does it treat both males and females?
only females

How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
you see a therapist twice a week for therapy and once a week for family therapy (i didn’t participate in family therapy so i had three individual sessions a week)
you see your nutritionist once a week and your psychiatrist once a week too. however, since you live in the same building as they work, you can easily catch them at other times through notes or just knocking on their door. you see a nurse practitioner only when you come on your first day and as needed. however, the nursing staff is almost always available and if you asked to see a nurse, you’d usually see one immediately.

What is the staff ratio to patients?
not enough staff, i’d say, especially in the evenings. there were longer waits for nurses and counselors then. during the day it was a little better, but not by much.

What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc?
renfrew has its own UT (unified treatment) in all of their locations. it’s supposedly a blend of DBT, CBT, and ACT. however, unless you force yourself to engage with the packets, you won’t get anything out of it.
e stage – the introductory stage.
e* stage – a little bit more engaging. everyone had to go to e or e* daily because it’s right after breakfast.
to get to a stage and t stage, you had to fill out a packet and it had to be “approved” by the team. that team is the clinical team at-large, not just your individual team. a stage is two weeks, t stage is one. i was never deemed “emotionally mature” enough for t stage so i never filled out a packet for it and was on a stage for three weeks. t stage has a lot of exposures and outings. the central force of the UT model is the ARC, which is like a behavior chain on steroids, but very helpful if you do it properly
they also use art therapy and psychodrama. nutrition groups.
multi family group was “mandatory” twice a week but i never went and never got in trouble

Describe the average day:
vitals and weights from 4-6 AM every morning (jn the residence building). a lot of girls would go early, like 3:30, at the MAs liked that. vitals were every day until you were on routine (MWF). you could be routine for weights but not for vitals, and vice versa.
8-9 breakfast
730 smoke break
9-950 e or e* groups
10 to whenever you get done at the med window. med lines were long. i only had meds in the evenings so i’d skip the med line in the AM even though they make you take vitamins.
1030 a or t groups. if you weren’t on those levels there were several others to choose from. also, your therapist would generally schedule you during this time if you weren’t on a/t. there was also supplement group and morning snacks but often those were just eaten in the med line
1150 smoke break
12-1250 lunch
1-130 MST, unless you were on FO. then you could either go to MST or just sit in the ULR.
130 afternoon groups/med window opened
315 snack. if they said you were orthostatic during vitals, you’d have to drink gatorade at the afternoon snack.
330 and onwards free time. there were walks you could go on, sometimes groups, sometimes you’d have appointments. the computer lab would also open up at 4. most people just slept or watched tv or did various other crafty things. phones also came out at this time. smoke break before dinner
555 dinner, but it never, ever started on time
645-745 RAP group, “review and process” review the day and go over UT related things. lots of ARCing.
free time after that. sometimes there would be groups where you could paint your nails or craft, sometimes we’d have talent shows, sometimes watching a movie or tv. visiting hours.
750 smoke break
9 night snack
9-whenever, med window. another smoke break
11 lights out

What were meals like?
renfrew works with the exchange system. there are three basic meal plans, A, B, C. most people are put on B. then they would add snacks and supplements, making it B+1 (meal plan b plus a snack) and so on.
there were levels to meals. you got to pick all of your meals.
support: sat in a small, secluded room. all food laid out for you, you just took off a the plastic wrap. very quiet. very uncomfortable. a staff member was there but wouldn’t always eat at the table with you, which i found awkward. many girls stay in support for a long time since you have to complete three meals in a row to move up. supplements count for completion i believe.
trays: the same set up as support (there’s actually just a barrier between the two rooms that’s removable) but much larger. they played music often. girls are less likely to struggle here, but supplementing is still rampant and you’re supposed to work on stopping food rituals. barriers to moving up to the next level include food rituals, not meeting weight goals, not completing. there was some “amount” of meals you had to finish (14?) to move up, but i don’t think that was accurate and it was more individualized
IE (interdependent eating): you go through the line and pick what you want based on what your menu had on it that day. basically, you choose your sides and which entree you want. a staff member checks you off. you have to fill out food journals. you choose where you sit and it’s a big, open dining room. it’s usually pretty relaxed but there was always drama going on about people using food rituals in IE when i was there
FO (fix own): the final level. in FO you can pick whatever you want as long as the kitchen has it and it follows your meal plan. there were some guidelines (hot breakfast required, must choose one entree a day). you could sit in the private dining room if you wanted, but i usually just say in the IE room. the downfall to FO is you’re the last to go through the line and sometimes were rushed to eat. still have to fill out food journals but you didn’t need to be checked off. a lot of girls would abuse their FO privileges and get peanut butter sandwiches all the time, i’m not sure how long it took for them to get caught

meals were generally one vegetarian option and one meat option. think wraps, salads, and LOTS OF RICE at dinnertime. there is also the infamous “cheesy hump day” where everything involves cheese. breakfast is cereal, bagels, scones, muffins, etc. basic stuff. oatmeal was allowed on FO.
it’s a three-week rotation, and often people will celebrate their “mealaversary” (the meal they came in on)
snacks are also on a three-week rotation. snacks are 3-4 exchanges and included things like cereal/yogurt, pretzels/ice cream, and other things. FO could choose any combination of snacks they wanted and didn’t have to follow the snack list

coffee and tea are served 3x a day. you had to finish your meals to get hot beverages, and they’re only caffeinated in the morning

Did they supplement? How did that system work?
they supplemented in addition to your meal plan with ensure if you needed it. there were other substitutes for ensure if you couldnt have that
if you finished >50% of the meal, you got one ensure+. less than 50%, two ensure+.

Are you able to be a vegetarian?
yes, but be prepared for lots of cheese and TVP

What privileges are allowed?
phone access every day, but you had to have a phone card usually
computer access
you got your own bathroom in a suite-style room. i found this absurd. you can use the bathroom whenever you’d like, shower whenever you’d like, etc. it was easy for people to self-harm and purge but if you did those things you typically got put on locked bathrooms (which sucked for your suitemates).
passes, once you got to level 4
walking the labyrinth, being outside

What did you like the most?
my therapist. she was incredible, was always there, and really listened
many of the girls were great
being on level 5/FO. i had been to renfrew before and never made it, and those levels are really a privilege.
i wasn’t forced on any medication, it was a relief
they gave me a daytime pass on christmas day so my mom could come (passes are usually later in the evening). i thought this was the nicest thing and let me enjoy my holiday, since my mom didn’t want to drive at night
good discussion in groups, sometimes. for some of my time there, the girls i was with were really great
the chestnut hill neighborhood where many people go on passes was really really nice, especially around christmas
i felt like i really got something out of renfrew.
the MAs and the food service staff. they brightened my days and knew my name. it was incredible.

What did you like the least?
this was not my first time there. my prior experience was TERRIBLE but i won’t discuss it here
the facility. it’s old and dated, and only half or so of the rooms in the residence building have been updated, so you may get a room with a wonky shower while your friend has a pristine bathroom, like i did
the pass situation. you can’t have your phone at renfrew and you typically can’t have it for passes, either. you have to rely on a cab company that is ALWAYS late. it’s also hard if you want directions somewhere or want to know what it open. it gets you really stuck when you’re outside of renfrew but have nothing but a flip-phone they give one member of your group. you also can only have a car if you’re on level 5
the way they dealt with self-harm and the use of safety contracts and/or safety checks. everyone knew about safety contracts because everyone saw people getting pulled to sign one, and 90% of the time that’s all it was-“sign this paper.” they didn’t stop me from self-harming, and when you did self-harm they asked you to cover up any bandages they put on you, and most people didn’t follow that rule, which was frustrating
the lack of access to computers/outside world. it made coming home hard, and i was glad i was able to go on so many passes
yoga wasnt taught with a real instructor and there were no other exercise groups
the repetition in the packets

Would you recommend this program?
if you are local and have local friends, it’s great, because they can come see you and support you and you don’t have to pay for a cab
if you step down to other renfrew programs, its nice to have the same MPs and treatment modalities
if youre ready to recover and overlook the many negative things about renfrew

What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
yoga if you were cleared, walks a few times a week. the most activity i got was walking around on my passes

Do you get to know your weight?
yes, they encouraged it. my day treatment program (also renfrew) refused blind weights, you could just close your eyes but had to go on forwards

How fast is the weight gain process?
2-5 lbs a week

What was the average length of stay?
the program itself should take about 5-8 weeks, but people were there longer or shorter depending on insurance and other situations

What was the average age range?
depends. it was SO WIDE when i was there, many adolescents, 14-17. a big group of girls my age between 19-28. older women in their late 40s and early 50s. honestly most people hung out with people in their age groups, but everyone knew each other

I would definitely think twice before sending your daughter to Renfrew in PA or Renfrew in general. Their primary intention is to retain them as long as possible for financial gain. If you do go or send your loved one please make sure to ask plenty of questions. You will find plenty of resistance from the staff and therapists the more you ask or question their practices. Our daughter even signed forms allowing us to have full release of all information regarding her treatment status. However, it was like pulling teeth getting any information and they would continuously bring out HIPPA laws. They would even mention it while our daughter was present and we were asking questions. Our daughter actually passed out one day and we were not notified at all until our daughter gave us a call. However, you will find that they will have no problems contacting you or even divulging medical information when it deals with financial concerns or getting the insurance to pay.
You will find that they pretty much brainwash the girls in believing that they have to be there and stay as long as possible. Many of the girls there are repeat patience and relapse is very high which is what Renfrew is there to prevent. It becomes almost a social club for the girls and they encourage it deepening the reliance on Renfrew. Even after you leave they encourage and really coerce the girls to keep going to their local Renfrew to continue treatment and make them feel if they don’t it won’t end well. Luckily our daughter was an adult and was able to leave on her own but I would be so horrified to leave my underage child in their care.
The staff by the most part is unprofessional and really not there for girls. Please review sites like Glassdoor.com and Indeed.com so you can view former employee accounts of this place.
After my daughter left Renfrew in PA she wanted to keep going back, we almost had to deprogram her until she finally realized what was going on. They actually take advantage of a real mental health problem and all for money or to use them as Guinea pigs.
If you do send you loved one please stay very involved, they don’t like that but you have to. Call and keep finding out what the status and conditions are. They want to keep you at a distance from your loved one and Renfrew. They only want you to ask questions or address them on their terms.
Find an independent therapist that can help your daughter or loved one or someone that you know is really going to try to help. Remember that if all or even most of the girls in Renfrew in PA or your local Renfrew really took control of their disorder or even beat it Renfrew would go out of business. It is not in their best interest for them not to be dependent or Renfrew.

When were you there?
March – May 2015

How many patients on average?
It really varies, at times there were about 35, but at one point all the beds were filled so I would say about 50

Patients live in the residence building. This is mainly for adults or those that need medical attention (level 1 or 2) The Pink House was reserved for adolescents. Patients usually have 1 roommate, but there were people who were in rooms by themselves

Does it treat both males and females?
Only females.

How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
Medical Doctor you see when necessary and upon admission.
Therapist – you meet with 3 times a week. Twice for individual therapy and once for family therapy.
Psychologist – Once a week.
Nutritionist – Once a week. Or if you needed something, they would squeeze you in in addition to your regular appointment (in my case at least)

What is the staff ratio to patients?
Staff was short at times, especially when it would snow. However, I never really had issues when I needed to speak with a counselor.

What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc?
CBT, DBT as well as art therapy, psychodrama, and exposure therapy.

Describe the average day:
Wake up between 4-6 for vitals and weights daily (unless you were on routine weights and vitals)
Depending if your labs are stable or not, you will need bloodwork.
If you were orthostatic you would need a Gatorade in the morning as well as the afternoon snack that day.
Sharps iTuesday or Friday and if you are not on sharps restriction
8:00-8:50 Breakfast
9:00 – E/E* group – Everyone goes unless you are level 1 or 2 and are in the dayroom.
10:15 – Med window
10:30 – A/T group for those who reach that level, if not there are other groups (art, writing, psychodrama, cooking group, or meal planning)
12:00-12:50 – Lunch
12:50 – Meal Support Therapy where you would process the meal/feelings you were having etc.
1:30 – Afternoon Groups Once you were level 5 there were group outings 2 times a week (shopping, grocery group/free time/school time
3:15 – Afternoon Snack
Free Time/Scheduled walk on certain days a week
5:55 Dinner
Meal Support Therapy
Free Time
7:30-8:45 Night Groups to wrap up the day or visitors were allowed during this time
9:00 – Night Snack
Med Window
Lights out by 11

What were meals like?
There are 3 different dining rooms. Support – Meals were plated for you and you sat with about 3 people plus a staff member. Once you complete 3 meals you are moved up.
Trays: About 15 people plus 2 staff members. You are still plated your food, but here you work on stopping “food rituals”. This is more laid back, usually conversations and music and sometimes games for distraction to get through the meal.
IE or Interdependent Eating: Here you are given a food diary and you need to keep track of your meals and exchanges. You will no longer fill out a menu and will make your food choices in the moment when you go through the meal line. You are also allowed to choose where you sit. This was a very relaxed environment
FO or Fix Own: Here you picked whatever you wanted at meals from the kitchen according to your meal plan. Here you are not watched, you will still need to fill out food diaries and be honest. When the weather was nice you were able to sit on the porch for meals. Also once you reached this level, there was cooking group once a week at the pink house.

What sorts of food were available or served?
The food wasn’t completely horrible, it was better than hospital food. Food was based on an exchange system. There was no counting of calories.
Breakfast options included – cereal, toast, bagels, scones, muffins, waffles, pancakes, French toast, quiche, breakfast sandwich. Sides were normally, juice, whole fruit, milk, yogurt, almonds.
Lunch options included – grilled cheese, pasta salads, taco salad, wraps, sandwiches, hummus and pitas, sides included chips, juice, fruit, milk, yogurt. Also dessert was included with lunch 3 times per week (2 cookies, apple crisp, cake with icing, brownies, smores bar)
Dinner:
Veggie Burgers, Pasta, Enchiladas, Meatloaf, Pizza, Stir Fry, Fish etc
Snacks – Usually 4 options were available: Pretzels, Cheez-Its, Oreos, Ice Cream, Cereal and Yogurt, Graham Crackers with Peanut Butter and Fruit etc. Once you made it to FO you were able to buy snacks on the grocery outing to challenge during snack.
The menu is repeated every 3 weeks, so if you are there for a long time, things get repetitive. I went through the meal cycle almost 4 times.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
Yes they do supplement. Once you max out your meal plan with snacks, they start including an ensure plus. You were also supplemented if you lost weight. If you completed none/ or half of your meal, you were given 2 supplements. If you completed half, you were given one supplement. Few were tube fed, but that only happened if they refused to eat or take the supplements.

Are you able to be a vegetarian?
Yes. Tofu was available for vegetarians.

What privelages are allowed?
Level 1/2 you are confined to a wheelchair. You need to stay in the dayroom all day. You aren’t allowed to go to groups until you are stable.
Level 3 – most enter at this level. You can participate in groups, walk sparingly.
Level 4 – Certain weight requirements need to be met, along with being compliant. You can go on pass for 4 hours. You are allowed 2 passes per week. If you can, save them for the weekends, since usually everyone goes out and it’s boring.
Level 5 – You get 4 5 hour passes. Usually on Fix Own by this point
No phones are allowed, but honestly I think it is best to not have a phone to really focus on your recovery.

What did you like the most?
The staff and patients were extremely supportive and nice. I met some of my best friends from treatment.
You had a say in your treatment plan.
There was generally a pro-recovery attitude. Granted there were people that were negative, but that’s expected no matter where you go.
There was a levels system with rewards.
Fix Own was a good way to prep for the “real world” once you left. It really made me feel in charge of and responsible for my recovery.

What did you like the least?
I found the finance office was extremely rude at times. They ran it like a business, the woman really was not empathetic to anyone’s situation. However, they did work with me financially once my insurance ran out.
The adolescents could be extremely negative and immature at times. Most spent their time complaining, hating on the staff and other residents, they were basically there because their parents were forcing them. It was really exhausting at the end of the day. However, there were really amazing people there that were pro recovery, so as long as you surround yourself with them, it’s okay.

Would you recommend this program?
Yes, I would recommend this program. I’m not sure why this program got so many horrible reviews, because that was not my experience at all. I was anorexic and bulimic for many years. Without this program I wouldn’t have the life I’m living today. You have to work for your recovery and you get out of it what you put in. If you go in with a negative mindset and have no desire to change, then this program or any program is not right for you.

What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
There were scheduled walks 2-3 times per week. There was an exercise program while I was there, but then it was eliminated. I was never cleared to do it, but honestly not exercising was the best for me while I was in treatment.

Do you get to know your weight?
You can, however I was put on blind weights.

How fast is the weight gain process?
Generally 1-3 pounds per week.

What was the average length of stay?
1 week to 3 months. Depends upon insurance, whether or not you are medically stable, etc.

What was the average age range?
14-50+

When were you there:
May-June 2015

How many patients on average?
It varies a lot, but usually around 50 and I think up to 60
Patients live in either the residence building (mainly adults/people needing more medial attention) or in the Pink house(usually adolescents/those closer to discharge) you usually have one roommate

Does it treat both males and females? Only females

How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
Therapist biweekly and family therapy weekly
nutritionist/psychiatrist usually weekly but they typically contact you(via the “mailboxes” everyone has) to make an appt so it varies

What is the staff ratio to patients?
not really enough staff — many times patients ended up supporting other patients/ waiting in HUGE med lines/ being unsupervised

What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc?
The typical CBT DBT etc as well as art therapy were used, through spots at art were limited
There were stages: E E* A T (lol the acronym) and things got v repetitive bc once you got to A and T you still had to go to E/E* (I went to a few groups eight times– they could get very tiresome)
E/E* groups typically adhered to a packet and you basically filled out a sheet and discussed it or had a discussion (centered around emotions and stuff like that)
Groups could get very large (30 people or so) but dwindled at A and T stages as few made it to these before insurance gave out — most who did A and T found to be the most helpful groups as they addressed real life situations more w things like body image and outings/ exposures
There were groups from the stages on weekdays and few groups like origami and psychodrama over weekends (weekends got dull w/o a pass)

Describe the average day:
wake up at (GROAN) 4-6 am for vitals and weights daily — usually you were orthostatic and had to drink a gatorade following getting vitals as well as the following afternoon snack

Shower/get sharps if tuesday or friday and if you are not on sharps restriction
Breakfast around 8:15
E/E* group (everyone went)
Med window
A/T group (only people a few weeks into treatment could go) or sometimes art/another group
Lunch at 12
Meal support therapy
group/free time/school time
snack (if on mp) at 3 — if you dont have mandatory snack you can still come to snacks
group/free time
Dinner at 6
meal support therapy
free time
night wrap up group
med window open
bed by 11

What were meals like?
There were different dining rooms — support: you were plated your meal and sat with abt 5 people and a staff (this was only in v beginning and after completion of 3 meals you moved up)
trays: abt 15/20 ppl with a few staff watching; you were still plated your food but here you worked on stopping “food rituals.” this had a much better environment and often games/conversation/music
Interdependent eating: you made food diaries of the food which you were allowed to choose (there were 2 options) and plate. you sat in a dining room w a few staff and it was a pretty relaxed environment
Fix own: you picked what you want to eat at meals from the kitchen according to your mp. you still made food diaries but were not watched and could sit on a porch if you wanted

What sorts of food were available or served?
the food was not too bad, but it definitely resembled hospital food. you had very little choice on IE, trays, and support levels ex fish or tofu, almonds or dressing
It worked on an exchange system, and typical meals were:
Breakfast:
cereal, quiche, waffles w sides like oj and milk and almonds
Lunch:
grilled cheese, taco salad, gyro w sides like cookies (3x per week) and milk and fruit
Dinner:
bbq pulled pork sandwich, meatloaf, pizza
Snacks were chosen off a snack list of 4 options which changed weekly and was like pretzels and mustard and a cheese stick, juice and cheez-its, or oreos and milk

Things got v repetitive as menus repeated every 3 weeks and few people made it to Fix own

Did they supplement? How did that system work?
YES a ton. your meal plan began including ensure plus after a certain amt of food was on it, so often people had to drink many of them daily
you were also supplemented if you lost weight or if you did not complete a meal/snack (2 ensure+ per meal, one per snack)
Few were tubed — it was only a last resort

Are you able to be a vegetarian?
yes but it means you have no choice in what entre you want

What privelages are allowed?
level two/one confine you to a wheelchair and you have to stay in the dayroom for most of the day but most start at level 3, which means you can walk around grounds(sparingly), use their phones
Level 4 you can go on passes for 4 hrs for meals and youre usually let on Interdependent eating and A stage
Level 5 get 4/5 hr passes for meals and youre usually on T stage and Fix own

When I was there there was no exercise program, but supposedly they were starting one up that id imagine would depend on levels

What did you like the most?
-staff as well as patients were generally really nice and supportive
-you had some choice in your meals
-there was a reward system w the levels
-generally a pro-recovery attitude
-adults and adolescents were together (ive found when separeted adolescent programs get negative often)
-Fix-own was a great way to feel responsible for your recovery/actually get things you enjoy eating

What did you like the least?
-relied HEAVILY on supplements in cases of weight gain plans
-weekends were VERY dull w/o passes
-VERY repetitive groups that were based around worksheets
-it was such a lg program you felt lost in the shuffle at times
-disorganization among staff/not enough staff
-geared towards anorexia
-Runs like a business (they groom their image — the therapists often try to make the program seem better than it is to parents)
-waking up at 4 am
-staff had fast turnover and many were inexperienced/unfamiliar w the program
-you got contracts, which you had to read at community meetings, if you broke rules and these were honestly just humiliating and tore down already-low self-confidence in most cases

Would you recommend this program?
yes, its not perfect by any means and you definitely have to work for your recovery, but it is one of the better places out there in my experience

What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
none when i was there

Do you get to know your weight?
usually you could
How fast is the weight gain process?
3/4 lbs per week
What was the average length of stay?
2 days to 4 months — whatever your insurance gives you
What was the average age range?
14-55

I was at Renfrew Philly back in 2002 (ish) and had a very strange experience. Despite being an adult living on my own, I had to BEG for admission because they only admitted patients who had “a family support system”. What if your family is abusive? They could find ZERO aftercare resources for me back in my city, didn’t want to send me back to my abusive family, but basically shrugged their shoulders and said, “Move away from them as soon as you can.”

The therapist and I definitely did not jive. At the first appointment, I tried to ask her a bit about her credentials and background. She became defensive, and they told me I couldn’t switch therapists, and if I didn’t like her, I could go home (literally, they said this).

They had a substitute psychiatrist one day, and when I went for my appt with him, he looked at me and said, “I guess you’re here for the weight loss program?” Are you kidding me?? At an EATING DISORDER clinic?? When I complained to staff, they told me to keep it to myself so as not to upset the other residents.

On one occasion, I forgot to “check in” with my “staff support person” to have her sign off on my sheet. She was incredibly nasty to me and said, “You can talk to me, but I’m not signing your paper.” Just. Wow.

My thought was they were good at providing some semblance of structure, but there was a lot going on they weren’t aware of. One night, a group of girls turned on the movie Saw and they made it 1/2 way through before staff figured it out and went insane. They have people there with PTSD – the lack of supervision was potentially dangerous.

They were very much about the money, many of the staff members were unkind/unprofessional, and I wasn’t impressed by the mental health care offered. Granted this was a long time ago, but that was my experience.

Just wondering if anyone has an approximate amount for the out of pocket option for paying for residential at Renfrew? I think I have heard they do scholarships but I’m not sure

My daughter was at Renfrew Greenwich for 6 weeks, then Renfrew Philly for the past 3. After making regular trips from CT to Philly over a number of weeks, I found out today they reported my family to Child Services, told my daughter not to tell anyone, and told her not to talk to me for the next few days.

There issue was based on information confided to them in private sessions about my wife drinking at home, and my wife and teen daughter arguing a lot. Apparently, Renfrew did think the fact we had in in there program the past 9 weeks, or were driving 5 states across to be part of the program every few days demonstrated enough concern.

I will tell you anything you tell them can and will be used against you.