Fairwinds Treatment Center is located in Clearwater, Florida. Fairwinds is a dual-diagnosis treatment center that offers inpatient, residential, and PHP/IOP for eating disorders, substance abuse, and mental health. Any current reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
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The most fun I never want to have again
(3/5 stars)
I was ED/ dual tracked.
for a private facility, they are seriously substandard. But hey, it’s better than sitting in county jail or being Baker Acted to the psych ward. I went in 2016, and met some of the most amazing people there. (Other patients, not staff). The most therapy you do is CBT/DBT. Bad things went on there, but none directly involved me. But at the end of the day treatment is what you make out of it. You get out of it what you put into it I know people in Recovery, who have literally built their recovery from nothing. I took what little they were giving us in groups and in individual sessions, and I started to lay the foreground of what would eventually turn into a recovery after several relapses. I learned two very important things in treatment. 1) make your bed every day. 2.) 12 step meetings are free.
I made amazing genuine, long, lasting friendships in there that I am eternally grateful for.
The building itself was in desperate need of some upgrades back in 2016. I don’t wanna know what it looks like now. Im pretty sure Fairwinds used to be a motel. The plumbing constantly had issues. The carpets were moldy, and you could just tell it was an old building that was falling apart. It had that “old building smell”
PLEASE A CURRENT REVIEW…I may be headed there this week and know no one who has had any experience with the program (i.e I’m an older adult with an ED and co-occuring MH diagnoses).
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. place is so run down and no one knows what is happening ever. there is no actual mental health unit or “groups”. they are grouped in with the drug dependency groups. therapists are extremely controlling and have not learned enough about eating disorders. dietician is great but the staff never listened to her so treatment plans were constantly compromised. instead of allowing patients to catch up with their meal plans, you are forced to eat until you are uncomfortable. there are so many better options.
when were you there? they can take me because of having an ng at the moment. I know no one who has been there, so I know nothing about the program. They seem quite eager to admit, which makes me nervous as well. IDK. I was just at Oliver-Pyatt, but had to leave because my depression is so bad right now.
what is a typical res day like there?
where else would you suggest?
If you are in Florida and have an NG you might look into ViaMar. They are residential but take NG tubes and are really good at treating co-occurring disorders like depression, PTSD and anxiety.
Agreeing with the Anonymous. Schedules are never aligned and nobody ever knows what’s going on, patients never receive a full 2 sessions with their therapist a week, therapists offices are so messy.
If you have a child with an eating disorder and/or chemical dependency, do not turn to Fairwinds.. Adolescents aren’t allowed to contact their parents if they don’t finish 100% of their meal plan and the staff calls it an “incentive program”… To me that seems inhumane. That is not the right way to encourage recovery, especially on a child in a city far from home.
They say they allow dual diagnosis for adolescent patients, but when you arrive you’re not allowed to attend NA/AA groups.
Employees are rude and gossip about patients to other patients. Agency was taking selfies on their phone in a patients’ room?
During my stay there were med mix-ups. The nurses are never there and they have Agency substitute for them. Agency would mix up patients’ meds, completely give meds to the wrong people at wrong times, and give PRN meds on schedule. So dangerous and unprofessional, would give 0 stars if I could.
I was just there 1 year ago and had to leave early for my mom’s surgery…But despite the building being in desperate need of a wrecking ball and a dumpster….Fairwinds was an overall great experience. The people you meet, the staff that care, and a nutritionist who is bomb, who has rocked that place for decades now. I am also dual diagnoses, so I personally found the AA meetings/ED track extremely helpful AND Max, while I was there, were like 15 beds usually less, so you really get attention, rather than getting “lost in the crowds” vibes “like renfrew coconut creek and recovery village waaaay too many clients)
The negatives were definitely the rotation of therapists but like I said, the [positive] consistency comes from the head hainch C*******. The new psychiatrist was amazing though.
You move up pretty fast of you are eating and or supplementing (they WILL) tube you though! I never understood this, it’s just gonna make your stay longer and harder. But they don’t tolerate not eating as we can all go home and do that ourselves.
They also have a coffee bar and coke zero vending which usually you have to wait a few weeks for canteen but I always snuck coffee and a coke zero once in awhile. It’s such a nice simple pleasure to have that option!
Also, C******* the nutritionist is really accommodating and sits with you the first few weeks and helps you complete the next weeks food..the OPTIONS are endless and the food is homade everyday by chefs (salad bar for self-platers). They would have a few options a day for lunch and dinner. They ALWAYS have like burgers, wraps, omlettes, pancakes for dinner, pita pizzas, grilled chicken made to order, veggie burgers…anything you could make yourself at home.
You can make phoncalls everyday on this 80s payphone (probably an original lol)
They also take medicaid!which is amazing and hard to find!
They have so many privileges you can work on while your there (walgreens, restraunt outing exposures, laps around the property: the building is practically being held up by the beautiful lush florida everglades lol, . I mean weekends were kinda boring, but we would all play games in the family rm with all dual/single diagnosis. I actually really miss comraderies and care. My fear OBV that I’m not “sick enough”…that’s all ED talk and I’m going do a robot mode right to the front doors lol.
If anyone has any specific questions feel free to email me 🙂 🙂 🙂
I have an intake tomorrow and I’ll probably be going back this week…
hey im might be admitting next week what is it like do you guys go out cn you choose your food or is just given?
Has anyone been to Fairwinds recently? Recent information or reviews would be much appreciated!
Any recent updates? Looking into their PHP/IOP
Excellent dietician. Good group therapy, and each patient has an individual contract so you get your needs met. Could use alot more activities. Eventually let you go on outings or for walks,, etc.
This place is so awful how do you get places shut down? There has to be more people that have had a run in with this “treatment facility.”. I was 13-15 when I was a “patient” here. The doctor was fishing buddies with my mom’s boyfriend and I continuously told his he was physically abusing me and he said he would lock me up in the inpatient facility and “throw away the key.”. My mother was just outside the door but could not hear. This particular day I was hoping to tell him about the sexual assault that had also been going on but instead I quickly changed my story, apologized and got the hell out of there, my heart was racing and I was terrified. Finally halfway home I broke down into tears in a parking lot, it took my mother almost an hour of talking and calming me down until she started crying too and I told her the horrific truth of my life, she knew something was off instinctively already with her then fiance so we went straight to the police. I had saved my shorts and underwear (thank you CSI) but this monster forced me to shower and cleaned EVERYTHING up afterwards. It took me years of gaining his trust for him to not watch me shower. Shame on this place!!!!! I had PTSD the entire time along with all kinds of problems from what was going on!!!!! This person my mom’s fiance was not only his fishing buddy but his sister was a receptionist and his mother did all of the medical transcription for the office.
More reviews please. 😊
Please advise if there are any updates reviews on Fairwinds
After a 12 year struggle with my ED (I’m 25), I decided to take a chance with Fairwinds, it came recommended by my trusted therapist so after a lot of deliberation, I signed up. The experience was terrible (of course I was NOT expecting it to be easy) but this place was a living hell. I don’t feel the staff, particularly the psychiatrist heard anything I was saying. If fact, when I asked up to repeat back to me what I had said, his response was very inaccurate. Furthermore, he seemed unconcerned with my assertion of that. The other thing is that EVERYONE smokes cigarettes which ruined any outside areas. Despite the pretty pictures on the website, ‘residents’ are not allowed to enjoy the grounds. I feel this place does NOT support motivation to recover and instead creates an environment is unhealthy.
I have been through many programs, and feel that this one suited me the best . While reading through the reviews prior to treatment i was nervous about what they offered, but after going through the program I feel like I have gained so many valuable tools towards my recovery. Throughout my struggle I have come to find out that all of these programs are merely tools for me to use as I see fit. It is very akin to each his own when it comes to programs. When you find a connection that works for you and you can work the program it is like magic. However I saw many that weren’t ready for recovery and all the blame was placed externally. There we’re many families who were not willing to accept that this is truly a life long struggle and would scream at the dr and therapist. The staff realizes this is not an easy fix and is there to provide throughout the entire process. I am grateful for the help they provided from admission through after care plnnning. I felt obligated to post this since many people are more likely to bring up the negative, and I had such a positive experience.
My daughter spent 5 weeks at Fairwinds from Mid March to April 2014. I feel the entire 5 weeks was overall a waste of time and money. In my opinion, my daughter left Fairwinds worse off than when she was admitted. She was diagnosed with a serious mental health condition within 2-3 days of admission, which is not a long enough time to get to know anyone well enough to label them with such a diagnosis. She was subsequently started on meds to treat this condition. After 5 week, when we were transferring her to another facility, the psychiatrist retracted his diagnosis and my daughter arrived at the next facility over-medicated in the opinion of the new treatment team. They had to take time away from therapy to adjust her meds so she could actively participate in counseling without dozing off. Communication at Fairwinds is extremely poor. I requested to talk to the psychiatrist as soon as possible and our first conversation with him was two weeks after she was admitted. He said he did not have anything to tell us since he just met her yet he diagnosed her with a major psych illness within days of her admission. In my opinion, that alone is worth a conversation with the parents. Even though he felt like he had little medical information to report, a simple reassuring phone call would have gone a long way with us. We talked to the psychiatrist a total of 2-3 times during 5 weeks and when questioned on her current meds, he was not very sure on the meds because he did not have the chart in front of him!!! By this time, there were red flags flying all over the place!
My daughter reported to us that she was offered cough medicine and alcohol on many of the field trips and outings. She saw other clients shoplift on a regular basis including abusable items like alcohol. She was able to convince her psychiatrist that she needed benzos for her anxiety (her drug of choice to abuse) and was able to share prescribed drugs with other clients. I feel the staff is not able to adequately control the inpatient substance abuse clients, especially those with complex mental health challenges. Her eating disorder was unchanged upon discharge. She was still acting on symptoms and had very little new insight on ED. There are many excellent rehab facilities in Florida. Do your homework and look beyond the pretty websites and nice facilities. Research like your loved one/child’s life depends on it because it does! I will be happy to provide further information if requested.
Jill, I am sorry about your daughter. My daughter was also misdiagnosed while at an eating disorder treatment center (actually twice). The first time the psychiatrist diagnosed her with bipolar within 45 min. of meeting her. It was so ridiculous. I know many people have bipolar and there is no shame in that, but if my daughter has bipolar, I am the Queen of England. We got her out of that place fast. (Fortunately, the place is now closed.) But the 2nd time was awful. The owner of an ED treatment center (an MFT) sat us parents down and told us that our daughter did not have an eating disorder but rather had a serious ‘thought disorder’ and that set off the insurance company to take her out of ED treatment and recommend a very serious psych place. My daughter is now fortunately in recovery and clearly does not have a ‘thought disorder’ and clearly had ED as she was diagnosed with it at four other treatment places that she had been at. These types of places should be brought to the attention of the authorities and shut down. Don’t give up on your daughter. Where there is love, there is hope.
Hi, my daughter spent 5 weeks at Fairwinds from March to April. She was primarily on the substance abuse treatment unit with the eating disorder as a secondary yet significant problem. As a parent, I feel the entire 5 weeks was overall a useless experience. The counselors did not appear well trained and do not hold advanced degrees. They concentrate on the 12 steps over-riding much needed individual counseling for mental health issues. Communication with the psychiatrist is extremely poor. We spoke to him twice but requested a conference starting the first week. We were told he did not have anything to report to us early on yet diagnosed my daughter with a serious diagnosis after only 2-3 days. She was subsequently treated for this diagnosis and then he retracted that diagnosis before she was transferred to another facility. She arrived at her next facility, over medicated in the opinion of her new treatment team. The new facility had to immediately adjust my daughters meds so they could adequately assess her which took time away from needed therapy.
During one of our phone conversations with the psych doc, my husband asked what meds my daughter was on and he said he was unsure as he did not have her chart in front of him at that time!!!!! We are from out-of-state with limited access to this psychiatrist and he does not have the chart with him!!!! We never really knew what meds my daughter was taking until she arrived at her next facility.
During the 5 weeks my daughter was at Fairwinds, she experienced clients shoplifting on outings including cough syrup and alcohol. She was offered alcohol during outings via theft. She was able to obtain prescribed medication while inpatient from her roommate and friends to abuse. I did not feel the staff had adequate control over the patients, many of whom had complex mental heath issues as well as substance abuse/eating disordered behavior. There are many excellent facilities in Florida for rehabilitation for ED/SA. We have learned the hard way. Do you homework and research the facility like your loved one/child’s life depends on it because it does. I would be more than happy to provide further information if needed.
When were you there? September 2013 – March 2014
What were meals like? 3 meals eaten in the Art Room (7am, 12pm, 5pm) and 3 snacks eaten in the Cafeteria (10am, 3pm, 7pm). They are all planned one week in advance on Friday morning, for the following Saturday through Friday. The kitchen staff is all very friendly and pretty good at what they do.
What sorts of food were available or served? There is an extensive daily menu and optionals list. During the weekly menu planning group, supervised by the dietitian, you are able to choose pretty much whatever you want from those lists, as long as it fulfills your daily calorie requirement. They do not work on an exchange system, more just fulfilling energy needs in general, although she does encourage balancing food groups. They are rather accommodating, as long as the requests are reasonable, medically sound, and not disordered.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? If you do not complete your meal and/or snack, you are expected to immediately supplement with Ensure or Boost, provided by the Mental Health Tech or Nurse. The staff insists that it is called a “replacement”, as it is replacing something you did not complete.
What privileges are allowed? Does it work on a level system? The ED program does not work on a level system. On admission, and then every Thursday after, the treatment team meets with you individually and determines your privileges for the following week, which are outlined in a “contract” that you sign with them. However, the privileges are contingent on consuming 100% of your meal plan, and are subject to change if you stop completing. Your weekly calorie and fluid requirements are listed there too. Some of the privileges outlined on the page are outdoor access, smoking (adults only), going to outside 12 step meetings (weekday evenings), going on outings (such as lunch, snack, grocery, movie, bookstore, park, etc.)
What sort of groups do they have? Morning community goals group, art therapy, body awareness (yoga), mind over mood (cognitive behavioral therapy skills), relapse prevention, etc. Most of these groups were ED patients only, but some groups are combined with the substance abuse and general mental health patients.
What was your favorite group? Young Person’s Group, 4 days a week, led by the Clinical Director (male) and a Therapist (female). Although it is indicated for patients 18-25, they were rather flexible, and some in the group were older than that. It felt to me like the group in which the most authentic conversations were held, and truly kept in confidence, no drama, no gossip.
What did you like the most? The doctor and the dietitian have both been working there the longest, and have spent their entire careers working with eating disorders. They are really knowledgeable and insightful.
What did you like the least? Only two of the five therapists had any clinically significant experience working with Eating Disorders. One quit at the beginning of the year, and the other quit this month. The remaining three are young therapists right out of school and without much experience with this demographic. I know most of the patients said that they felt the individual therapy was really lacking.
Would you recommend this program? I would recommend it to someone who is medically and emotionally stable enough for the residential level of care. I observed quite often that because of staffing that they struggled in being able to help those who were too medically or mentally compromised to engage. If you go in with a willingness, so will they. If you go in fighting, so will they. I would never discourage someone from going anywhere to get the help they need though. Just be ready to put in your best effort to improve yourself, no matter what the circumstances.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? The physical activity and exercise is an individual privilege, determined once a week in your written treatment contract. For most, this is participating in the scheduled yoga class or being able to walk around the parking lot on your own.
What did people do on weekends? Early on, it is mostly complete down time. A lot of time is spent sleeping, watching TV/movies, etc. As privileges are later earned, there is a brief outing for adults to a local convenience store on Sunday afternoon to buy personal care items.
Do you get to know your weight? This depends on what the treatment team recommends. Personally, I asked to know my admission weight, but then did not get to know my daily weights for quite a while, until I was in a better frame of mind, and then I was able to do it forward later on when I was in a better frame of mind where we were all confident that I would not use ED behaviors in response to my weight.
How fast is the weight gain process? I’m not sure. I know it was initially very slow, but then later on, seemed to happen more rapidly. I think that was just how my body personally responded. Everyone’s body is going to be different.
What was the average length of stay? As most treatment centers say these days, it really depends on progress and insurance. I saw some who were there for a few weeks, some a month or two, and I was there over six months because my insurance was very generous during that admission.
What was the average age range? The youngest I met was 14. The oldest that I met was in their 60s.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? For those who live locally, there is on-site PHP, and the days/hours depend on the treatment team’s recommendations. There is off-site IOP three evenings a week at a random office building in Tampa, which is about thirty minutes away.
Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? I came in with a reliable treatment team, and when I left, the doctor tried to set me up with other people that didn’t work out too well, so I’ve gone back to Plan A. The dietitian there is probably the best resource in this sense though, as she does a lot of professional networking.
How many IP beds? There are 30+ beds in the building, about half of which are allotted to the Eating Disorder program, and the other half to the Substance Abuse/Mental Health program. However, this fluctuates. When I first arrived, I was one of three ED patients in the whole building, two adolescents and myself as the only adult. By the time I left, there were at least 10 ED patients, one who was an adolescent and the rest adults.
How many patients in PHP or IOP? Most of the time, there was no one in PHP at all, and when there was, it was maybe one or two people at a time. As for IOP, I do not know, as it is not held at the same facility.
My daughter is there now.
Would you be able to give any sort of updated review? What is it like now the Dr. P**** is no longer there? Is it still a small unit? Are the groups still incorporated with the substance abuse program as well? Is C****** still the dietitian? Are you still able to create your own meals as long as you meet all your exchanges?
One more request for a recent review.
yes recent review please~!
also interested in a review
does anyone have a current review for Fairwinds?
When were you there:
Describe the average day:
What were meals like? 3meals, 3 snacks
What sorts of food were available or served? anything you wanted, you chose your own meals and snacks you jsut had to make your calories for the day
Did they supplement? How did that system work? sort of, you just had to get in your alotted calories for the day by the end of the day, though how they did this could have changed, they have boost available though
What privelages are allowed? Does it work on a level system? every patient is on an individual contract which is pretty cool, so you ask for your individual privileges. this can be from being able to have your cd player, your allowed exercise, being able to go into the cafeteria, beinga ble to get your own coffee, being able to HAVE coffee, beinga ble to chew gum, etc. you can be creative, if you think it would help you ASK, it is very individualized.
What sort of groups do they have? the therapy was sort of lacking, they had groups with the drug and alcohol ppl where we did normal cbt type stuff, we had ed groups where we talked, body image, nutrition, adn crafts
What was your favorite group? body image, they brought in an outside therapist and she was awesome
What did you like the most? how individualized it was, swimming, it was more normalized than most ed programs
What did you like the least? sort of lacked in the therapy department, you have to be ablet ot ake the whole dr. powers “power struggle” but she does know her stuff
Would you recommend this program? i think so, for the right person
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? individualized, they were pretty liberal with letting you have a good amount of activity though which i liked
What did people do on weekends? watched movies, hung out, not a whole lot
Do you get to know your weight? yes
How fast is the weight gain process? 1-2lbs
What was the average length of stay? insurance based
What was the average age range?teen-really old
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? not really
How many IP beds? How many patients in PHP or IOP? i dont know about php iop, ip i think 10-12 i dont knwo if they hae a php program it may have developed
It used to be a pretty strong program, but its changed a lot lately.
The dietitian has been there for like 10 years and is really, really good. And the nurses and techs are mostly pretty cool and supportive, but still help keep you on track. The therapists are, um, interesting, not great or anything, but they will do.
I hear that they’ve changed the eating disorder doctor from someone who was super experienced to a new one who is kind of flaky and not very good. That’s probably why it’s so different and not as strong of a program anymore.
*cross-posted from https://edtreatmentreview.com/canopy-cove-florida/comment-page-1/#comment-3588*
fairwinds: I loved it b.c they individual treatmetn for each girl. The dietitan was my 2nd favorite. She is recovered anorexic and is awesome. The work in calories and you get to choose whatever you want to eat as long as you meet yoyr caloric needs. Itis a dula dignosis center so half the cednter is drug/alcohol. The ;lace heold around 30–10 ED and 20 CD. It can get kind of nutty around there. The porograms are not mixed byut you see them all the time and can habng out with them. You are free to lay out inthe sun anytime outside of group. The groups are not that good but I liked my therapist and psychiatrist–she was the best. However, she is now gone and b/c of that I will not return. She literally made the program. So I can’t say what it would be like now. The down side is tha you are mixed with adolescents, and they have a stay by there side all the time. You have monthly outings to eh movie is all. Tou do not go a lot of places at all. the art teacher takes you to goodwill and the beach sometimes. Therre is total downtome on the weekends, I forced them to tery an dschage that so I think there are more groups now but they are run by techs so they are not that good. So I had a good experience but i cannot say it is the best place. It basically is a renovated motel facility and the techs and nurses are just there for the paycheck.