McCallum Place has two locations, one in St. Louis, MO, and one in Kansas City, KS. They offer inpatient, residential, partial hospital, and intensive outpatient programs, and have a specialty track for athletes.
Any reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
Describe the average day:nothing ever ran on time due to understaffing but basic run down
6am vitals/weight could go back to sleep or go ahead and get ready for the day rooms shut at 7:30am go down to breakfast at 8:00am then snack is 10am lunch is 12:30pm afternoon snack is 3:00pm dinner is 6:15pm hs snack is at 9pm would have some groups in between med passes free time (etc)
What location was this at?
st Louis
I’m considering admitting here in a week or so. Is anyone currently there that can give me an idea of what the milieu is like right now, if the therapists are good, etc.
Does anybody have any recent reviews for the Kansas location inpatient?
The Kansas location does not offer inpatient
Kansas City Location has permanently closed
Do they allow coffee before breakfast? Was veganism allowed? How was nursing staff?
I was a patient in February 2024 and was there for 4 weeks. And was well aware of the bad reviews before coming here. Not a lot of places would take my insurance other than here. If you have any allergies to any foods I wouldn’t choose McCallum. I have sever allergies to some foods and have been plated those foods that I am highly allergic to. As the staff goes there are some staff that are great! Some of the direct cares are highly inappropriate with the patients as in trying to give gifts, being your friend, and give you special attention. It was incredibly uncomfortable. No matter how many times I talk about it to head staff there is no change. The therapist and dietitian and psychiatrist are alright. But they don’t seem to take refeeding syndrome seriously here. I got here on a Friday and was immediately tubed the Tuesday. There was a patient here who was tubed not even 24 hrs after being here. The staff is inconsistent with the rules in and out of the table. We get 3 sessions with a therapist, 2 session with the dietitian, and 1 session with the psychiatrist. And that is on a weekly basis. I am currently in the victory program for athletes and it is a great program. They have good topic groups. I learn a lot from the victory program. There is a lot of downtime so be prepared to bring something to do while we don’t have our phones during programming hours. Adults get their phones 4:30pm-10:00am on weekdays and
3:30pm-10:00am on the weekends. They don’t let you fail here. If you are doing good one week and bad the next you’re basically handed a behavioral plan. And if not followed you’re discharged.
Which location were you at? The Missouri or Kansas. Was it impatient?
missouri
Any recent reviews of the Saint Louis location. I am admitting to their adult res program Monday.
I am also looking to talk to someone who recently went there and answer some questions for me!
Experiences with McCallum residential in St. Louis? Would you recommend it? Why or why not? What does a typical day look like? How do meal plans work?
No. I would not recommend it and would strongly discourage anyone from going here. There is extremely high turnover for staff. It is not individualized care at all.
When were you there?
March – June 2023 (St. Louis program)
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?
Residential (Adult unit) and PHP
How many patients are there on average?
8- 10 on residential, more for PHP
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?
Both combined
Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people?
Yes
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
Medical doctor upon admission and as needed, psychiatrist 1x per week or more as needed, therapist 2x per week, and dietitian 1-2x per week
What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
Two direct care and one nurse
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)?
Art therapy, psychodrama, dance therapy (when cleared), and CBT. There is no EMDR and there are no DBT groups. However, DBT skills are incorporated depending on your team
Describe the average day:
Residential is more like inpatient with a goal of medical stabilization. PHP felt more like how other residentials have been.
On residential, you are woken up at 6am by the DC pounding on your door yelling “weights and vitals.” You put on your gown, go to the bathroom, and get weighed. You then get your vitals done. It is freezing. If your vitals are off, you drink Gatorade and have your vitals repeated 20 minutes later. Depending on the DC, they may redo vitals right away or fudge your numbers to make them in range so they don’t have to do follow ups. You then can shower and get dressed. You go upstairs around 7:15 and then wait until 8 for breakfast. They will give all medicine during breakfast. After breakfast people who are cleared are able to go on a 30 minute walk outside if the weather is not too hot or cold. If you are not cleared you just sit inside. After the walk is snack at 10. Then it is the first group of the day. Sometimes it is yoga or dance (each once per week). If you are not cleared for movement, you will again just sit. There is another group and then lunch at 12:30. After lunch is another group. If you are in the victory program, you will have your victory group right after lunch. The victory group is combined with the adolescents. Then it is afternoon snack at 3pm. Then you have 2 more groups. After the last group, you get your phone back. You have some downtime and then it is dinner at 6:15pm. After dinner, you go downstairs to where you sleep but you are not allowed to go in your room unless you are level 2. You wait until 9 for night snack. While you are waiting you can take a shower if you signed up. You are allowed to do laundry 1x/week. If it is your day, you start your laundry when a DC is able to take you. You get your laundry after night snack finishes.
You get to do cooking class once a week when you reach level 1.5. I thought this was fun because you get to leave the building.
When you are in PHP, the schedule looks the same but you don’t start until after breakfast and you do night snack on your own. PHP is combined with adolescents for meals, snacks, and some groups. You are either on a 10 or 6 hour day. There is only one window in one group room. Otherwise, it is all walls. The movement based groups, art group, and cooking class are later in the day so once you are on 6 hour days you no longer get to do those. With the exception of the 30 minute walk, you are not allowed to do movement outside of the program even if you don’t get to do yoga or dance. They don’t do the exercise outings anymore and the Saturday outing only happens sometimes. You can only go on the Saturday outing if you are on level 2, there are enough people, you don’t have a pass, and you are on a 10 hour day.
What were meals like?
The DC will put your name tag and your plate on the table. They will then say it’s time to eat and you find your spot. You have 45 minutes for meals and 30 minutes for snacks. You are allowed to leave after you finish snack, but you sit until everyone at your table is finished for meals. At the end meals you do a check in where you say whether it was to your taste preference and anything else you want. It is typically very short.
As far as refusals, if you don’t finish in the allotted time you will be given a time refusal. You are allowed to supplement your meals but not your snacks (unless you preselected a supplement for snack.) If you don’t complete, you are given a refusal. If you have 3 refusals you are typically given a tube.
There is also self portioning for snack 1x/week for everyone. Self portioning for meals 1x/week when you are level 2. A dietician will make sure you have plate enough. There is a meal outing or meal inning where you eat food from a restaurant 1x/week when you reach level 2.
What sorts of food were available or served?
Menus rotate and you are given two options for each meal that you select in advance during the nutrition group. Every meal has one vegetarian option and the other is an option with meat. You are not allowed to make any adjustments to the preset meals to accommodate taste preferences or needs (ex. You can’t get the salad without eggs on it or the waffle without the sausage). Sometimes you are put on fluids so you will be plated gatorade and/or water. If you do not complete your plated fluids, it’s a refusal.
For lunch and dinner, there are three sub meals: PB & J with pretzels, yogurt, and fruit; Turkey and cheese sandwich with chips, yogurt, and fruit; or Bagel with hummus, carrots, yogurt, and fruit.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with almonds or raisins, milk and juice, Cereal with milk and juice, Bagels with cream cheese or PB and juice, blueberry muffin with milk, Waffle with sausage. You can have up to 2 cups of coffee.
Lunch: veggie burger with fries and apple sauce, hummus pita, chicken, etc.
Dinner: Salmon, tofu, chicken, vegetables, salads, pasta, etc
Snacks: luna bars and yogurt, ice cream, boost/ensure, crackers with hummus, cottage cheese with crackers, clif bar and dried fruit, tortilla chips with red bell peppers and hummus, yogurt covered pretzels, chocolate covered raisins
For lunch and dinner there is always a dessert that they bring out after the main meal. This may be a chocolate bar, nature valley bar, fruit salad, etc. There is also “flexible fruit” with every meal and snack so you can select a fruit in the moment if you’d like. At snack there is also the option of having lemonade, which you can add in the moment. Tea is also available any time.
Meals are plated at 50%, 75%, or 100% depending on your meal plan. For snacks, you are on the regular snack (plated at 50, 75, or 100) or super snack. For super snack it just increases in volume or there is a slight adjustment (have banana bread instead of regular bread for pb and j sandwich). You may also have add ons with may look like a boost, nuts, sunflower seeds, pb, milk, etc. Add ons will stay the same for the entire week.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
Boost or ensure– given by the percentage of how much you didn’t complete
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
NG tubes were typically placed after 3 refusals
Are you able to eat vegetarian?
Yes.
What privileges are allowed?
Phones most of the day, except during groups and programing
Does it work on a level system?
Yes. You are on medical monitoring when you arrive. You may get off of this right away or could be on it for 2+ weeks. The levels then go 1, 1.5, 2, and 3. No one gets level 3 though. You can also be put on psych if you have SI, which means you can’t go outside, can’t have your phone except for a very short amount of time, and you have to sleep on a cot in the main area where the night staff can see you.
How do you earn privileges?
Being medically stable, free from behaviors (ex. not having exercise urges or acting on them), following meal plan, and being compliant. For dance, yoga, and walk, you need to be medically stable. For cooking class, you need to be on level 1.5. To be able to go into your room after dinner, you have to be on level 2.
What sort of groups do they have?
Art therapy, mindfulness, restorative movement (nap group), dance/yoga(when medically cleared), CBT, body image group, psychodrama, independent goals group, home group, sexuality group, trauma group, games group (you played a group game like jenga)
The talk therapy groups were often unhelpful. Restorative movement was called “nap group” by patients because you just slept during it, body image group was generally fat phobic, and the therapeutic modality was often unclear. There is also a “goals group” where you independently fill out a paper with a goal. Everyone rushes through this because you get your phone back when finished and it’s not reviewed with your team. There is a group where you check in about your goal, but everyone would forget what goal they set.
What was your favorite group?
Art and cooking class
What did you like the most?
I liked my roommate and my peers. You also get your phone a lot. The person in charge of fitness was wonderful
What did you like the least?
You really don’t get to go outside much at all. The victory program only consisted of one group on the weekdays. For groups, especially on PHP, the group facilitator sometimes just wouldn’t show so you’d be sitting around waiting. As far as fitness, you typically only get to do this for a couple weeks toward the end of your time there and not everyone gets to do it. The way things are plated do not make sense for transitioning to home as the percents are based on calories so it is difficult to replicate unless you are counting. Staff were very unsupportive. For me, I am still processing how terribly I was treated by staff and my psychiatrist. DC’s would actually yell at you, treat you like you were in prison, didn’t take vitals accurately, and would consistently miscalculate the amount of supplement. Rules were inconsistently applied. You get in trouble for excessive body movement, which may look like standing up to look out a window. You are not allowed to use the restroom when needed unless you have an order for it written by the doctor, even if you are being given plated fluids that necessitate frequent bathroom breaks (27 cups in one day!). There is little support from staff and high turnover – two therapists as well as a dietician left while I was there. At least two more therapists have left since I was there. The DCs and nurses who were kind left as well. My dietician left while I was there and stated that she couldn’t stay and continue to see how poorly patients were being treated.
Would you recommend this program?
No for both the regular as well as the victory program. Of note, the victory program apparently changed a lot as many staff left late Fall 2022. I left worse than when I went in. I wish I didn’t go.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
Yoga and dance therapy each 1x/week once cleared. One 30 minute walk once per day if the weather is not too hot or too cold (based on the “feels like” temperature), you are medically cleared, there is enough staff, and the DC is up for going. Individually tailored fitness routine 2-3x/week for some folks and this truly only occurs in the last few weeks you are there.
What did people do on weekends?
On weekends it can be very slow and lonely if you are not medically cleared or you are not local/don’t have people to visit you. As you progress in levels, you can request meal or snack passes on the weekends. It is nice to be able to go outside for this as you don’t get much (if any) outside time especially when in residential. If you are not able to leave you will typically watch TV, do puzzles, read, play on phone, call people, etc
Do you get to know your weight?
No
How fast is the weight gain process?
It depends on the person and their needs. It was 2-3lbs/week for me while I was there
What was the average length of stay?
In residential it could be as short as 1 week to as long as 3 months. I would say 1 to 2 months was average for residential. PHP depended on the person, from 2 weeks to 2 months
What was the average age range?
18 – 40
How do visits/phone calls work?
The phone policy is very lenient. You can have your phone on the weekends and during the week, not during programing. you can have visitors on the weekend, no matter what level you are on
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)?
Same as above
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes?
You apply for passes and if it is approved, you can go.
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours?
They have affordable transitional housing ($200 per month). They will provide you with transportation to and from the program when you are on 10 hour days. When you are on 6 hour days, you are responsible for getting your own transportation to the house. If you need fasting labs when in PHP, you are responsible for transportation. If you have medical needs, need to go to the hospital, or they order a dexa scan, they prefer that you get your own transportation. They will sometimes be able to have a staff member take you but it is not guaranteed
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
I received an email to check in a month after discharging. They gave others lists of providers to call to set appointments with. They offer a virtual community group 1x/week and a virtual alumni victory group 1x/ week
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?
yes, transitional housing and transportation to the program when in php
About to admit to the adult res unit in the next few weeks. Any recent updates or thoughts or reviews on any aspect of the meal plans and exercise plans they follow as well as daily life would be great. How is the food overall? How is the staff? Do you feel that they helped with recovery?
Any recent reviews of McCallum IP/res?
Does anyone have any experience at Adolescent Residential at MP?
Do they allow phones?
If yes what makes them take them away?
Do they still tube?
If so what for? Being unable to finish meals or just complete noncompliance?
Can you have your phone if you’re tubed?
Im sure i’ll think of other questions later lol.
All I have to say is right before I left, I was complaining about the weight they put me at, and they literally said TO MY FACE that it was “extra padding”. What kind of team does that to their patient? Like really, it was awful and that one statement caused me to disregard the treatment they gave me. No team should EVER tell their patient that they put them at a higher weight than they were meant to be at. I was there a year ago, and I still haven’t gotten over it. Don’t get me wrong, the therapists were great but WOW the dieticians disgusted me. Very disrespectful and rude.
Has anyone had success obtaining an SCA with primary Medicare/secondary Medicaid here?
Someone had one when I was there. It is easier to get for residential because they code things with medical codes rather than mental health codes (at least that was the word on the street when I was there)
I have a medically documented intolerance from a very highly regarded hospital, but they will refuse to accomodate it (even though they accomodate it for other people with different forms of the intolerance/allergy). I understand eating disorders can be sneaky, but not listening to other medical professionals about a client’s needs is dangerous. When I was there in 2019, they made me eat the allergen and it caused multiple health concerns. I love the program otherwise, I just wish they would listen to other Dr’s…
Has anyone been here for PHP recently that could leave a review or provide some additional information about what the program is like? I’m struggling with exercise, and feel like McCallum’s focus on incorporating healthy movement in recovery could be beneficial. However, I don’t know a lot about their program and some of the comments about the ongoing sexual assault issues makes me very worried. Any feedback or information would be greatly appreciated!
When were you there?
December 2019 – January 2020
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?
Residential (Adult unit)
How many patients are there on average?
10
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?
Both combined
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people?
Yes
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
Medical doctor upon admission and as needed throughout your stay, psychiatrist 1x per week or more as needed, therapist 2x per week, and dietitian 1-2x per week
What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
There were normally two to three direct care and one nurse for the adult staff
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)?
Family-Based Eating Disorder Therapy; Cognitive-Behavioral Eating Disorder Therapy; Dialectical Behavioral Therapy; Trauma-Based Treatment (certain therapists are trained in EMDR); Animal Assisted Therapy
Describe the average day:
What were meals like?
You eat with a few members of your unit per table, your food is plated for you and given to you when you sit down, the direct care sits with you (they used to eat with you prior to COVID), and you just talk and play games. There is a time limit but they normally were not strict about it, if you were working on your meal they would continue to let you finish or at least attempt the meal.
What sorts of food were available or served?
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Cereal, Eggs, Bagels, Muffins, etc.
Lunch: Sandwiches, salads, chicken, tofu, etc.
Dinner: Salmon, tofu, chicken, vegetables, salads, pasta, etc,
Snacks: Yogurt, luna bars, ice cream, boost, crackers with hummus, cottage cheese, etc.
There are also three sub meals: PB & J with pretzels, yogurt, and fruit; Turkey and cheese sandwich with chips, yogurt, and fruit; or Bagel with hummus, carrots, yogurt, and fruit
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
Boost – given by the percentage of how much you didn’t complete
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
When I was there they did do NG tubes, so if you weren’t complying with meals a tube would most likely be discussed.
Are you able to eat vegetarian?
Yes
What privileges are allowed?
Phones most of the day, except during groups and programing, walks, and yoga (once cleared)
Does it work on a level system?
No
How do you earn privileges?
As far as exercise and yoga, completing your meal plan, and being compliant with treatment.
What sort of groups do they have?
Music therapy, DBT, art therapy, and dance/movement therapy are some examples of groups.
What was your favorite group?
Music and art therapy
What did you like the most?
I really liked all of the staff, including my treatment team, I felt like they truly cared and listened to my needs and concerns and wanted to help me in any way that they could.
What did you like the least?
There was a lot of downtime during the weekends, but that is normal for many treatment centers.
Would you recommend this program?
Yes
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
Yoga, walks, strength training like exercise (once you are cleared)
What did people do on weekends?
Normally hang out and watch tv, before COVID go on outings, FaceTime Family, do arts & crafts, play games, etc.
Do you get to know your weight?
No
How fast is the weight gain process?
It is hard to tell because they do blind weights
What was the average length of stay?
A month to two months
What was the average age range?
18 – 40
How do visits/phone calls work?
You can have your phone on the weekends and during the week, not during programing.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)?
Same as above
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes?
Before COVID, yes.
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours?
Yes, they have supportive housing.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
PHP, IOP, and setting up an outpatient treatment team
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?
Out of state
What location was this?
Has anyone been to the Victory program recently that could answer some questions or do a review?
I SECOND THIS!:)
I would be happy to do so!
Amazing, thank you! If you would be able to leave a full review answering the typical questions, I’m sure many people would benefit from it and appreciate it!
Could you link or post an outline of what questions you would like answered in addition any other victory program specific questions?
Here is an idea of the list of questions that are usually included in the full review.
Describe the average day:
For the Victory Program specifically, I’m curious to know more about how exercise is incorporated or reintegrated back in and how that is determined. Do you have to be a competitive athlete to qualify for the victory program, or can people that are more “casual” athletes also be in it? Anything else about the Victory program that is different from McCallum as a whole would be great to know as well. Thank you so so much!
My child was in the adolescent unit at St.louis for 4 months in 2017. I was wondering if anyone knows of any sexual abuse cases during this time period?
I am so incredibly sorry, heartbroken and angry to hear this. I don’t know about that time period in general, but in general yes, it is a thing McCallum is increasingly becoming known for – especially now that more patients are speaking out on pages like this. If you scroll through the comments and posts on this review page from the last three years or so you will see a lot of patients posting about abuse that happened to them while at McCallum. Notably (and critically to understanding the progression of their treatment center), they are also owned by the same company, called Acadia Healthcare, that owns Timberline Knolls in Illinois. If you do a google search for Timberline Knolls you will see a number of exposés and article from the Chicago Tribune covering the years of sexual abuse that occurred there, especially of adolescent patients. Both of those treatment centers used to be known for being amazing, and then were bought by Acadia.
Hi,
Does McCallum offer NG tubes for feeds and hydration?
What is the electronics policy?
What is the average length of stay?
Have you ever seen a service dog there in the adult residential?
Do they do labs for medically unstable people?
Thanks
I would avoid McCallum. They are now owned by the same company that has owned Timberline Knolls since 2014. A few years after being purchased Timberline Knolls had a huge expose done on them by the Chicago Tribune about sexual relationships between therapists and adolescent patients. They have since been facing both criminal charges and civil suits. McCallum then had a serious situation with abuse a couple summers ago that you’ll find documented in the comments below as it was happening, but they have yet to be held accountable.
They are currently being sued by at least one of the victims of the abuse.
Ohhh, learning that absolutely makes my year, thank you SO SO much for letting me know. My heart just got a little bit lighter hearing that. I think about the victims constantly, I carry their pain with me everywhere I go, it is the least I can do. <3 I am so proud of them and their courage, and the courage of everyone supporting them.
Does anyone know if they are allowing visitors currently with Covid restrictions?
Hi. I am on the waiting list for Mccallum res and will be going in 1-3 weeks. Does anyone have any updates about how they do things with covid? Do clients still eat together and do outings still happen? What is your biggest tip for going to Mccallum? Do they have a dress code(erc would not let patients wear shorts or leggings)? Also has anyone with Celiac been here and are they good about cross contamination?
I was at McCallum Place’s PHP in Kansas City for a month.
For the most part, the treatment staff are genuine and do really care about their patients and providing the best treatment possible. There are a couple of therapists who I firmly believe should not be therapists, as someone in the helping profession myself. The art therapist is impossible, and there was one other but I believe they either quit of their own accord or were fired….thank goodness. Those two really bring down the level of care and re-traumatize patients in a place where you are actively working on healing. The dietitian is absolutely amazing, and the individual therapists are good for the most part. Nursing staff are very good and competent. The clinical director is great. Overall, it had great potential to be a really good experience and healing environment, but two bad apples did really make it a net negative experience rather than net positive. Seeing as one of them is gone, I’d recommend it if you can white knuckle through sessions with the art therapist.
It has changed soooo much over the years. I have been multiple times for long stays…I feel like they take on patients who are far too sick to be in PHP, EVEN tube feeding for refusal. Tons of their better staff have left and while I adore their nurses, they are in charge of far too much. And Idk who the psych there is now, but staff blatantly ignored serious issues we had with the one who would come see us. When I was appropriately in weight range, I expressed discomfort in my body. She said, and I quote, “Look, I don’t want you to be this big either.” Needless to say, it was wildly triggering. And we called art therapist Pinecone ?
Anyone who deals with the art therapist at MP Kansas City is a saint amongst men. She is horrible.
I was here last month (January 2021) for 2 days before leaving. I do NOT recommend this place at all if you have ANY medical concerns. They are very quick to resort to tube feeding and will send you to the hospital if you refuse.
EDTR received an email a few days ago (August 20th at 5:53pm) from a reliable source in the eating disorder advocacy community who would like to remain anonymous. They asked that we share the following with everyone here:
“As part of my work, I have gotten to know Michael Genovese, the Chief Medical Director of Acadia Healthcare, the parent company which owns McCallum.
“The complaints against McCallum were brought to my attention yesterday. I contacted Mr. Genovese via email with a link to the complaints. Within 10 minutes, Mr. Genovese responded to my email and advised he was going to look into the matter immediately. I reiterated what a serious matter this was and has the potential to be devastating for McCallum… and Acadia.
“I just wanted the young women who have been hurt by this predator to know that their voices have been heard.”
Another item that separately has come to our attention is McCallum Place’s Corporate Compliance and Code of Conduct, to which their parent company Acadia Health binds them. I hope this information may be helpful to some victims of McCallum Place:
—
McCallum Place Corporate Compliance and Code of Conduct:
Acadia Healthcare has an active Compliance Program and Code of Conduct intended to promote ethics and integrity while completing the mission of helping our clients attain their full potential by delivering quality behavioral healthcare services in a caring, supportive and financially responsible environment. It is expected of all Acadia Healthcare affiliates whether contracted, credentialed or employed, to be alert and sensitive to situations that could result in improper, unethical or illegal conduct. Each Acadia Healthcare affiliated individual has an obligation and responsibility for reporting any activity by an employee, physician, board member, contractor or a vendor that appears to violate applicable laws, rules, and regulations or our Code of Conduct. Do not hesitate to ask for assistance from our Chief Quality and Compliance Officer if there are any questions about the information in the Code or any other compliance related concerns. Acadia’s compliance program exists as a resource to help Acadia meet its ethical and compliance obligations.
Acadia Healthcare does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment.
Compliance Contacts
Anne Kelly, EdD, BSN
Chief Quality and Compliance Officer
Acadia Healthcare
6100 Tower Circle, Suite 1000
Franklin, TN 37067
Compliance Ethics Hotline
1 (888) 610-6593
Web-Based Submission
To submit a concern, click here for the Acadia Compliance Alert Form.
Here is the direct link to their compliance and code of conduct rules:
https://www.mccallumplace.com/about/corporate-compliance/
This made me cry. To the anonymous advocate: Thank you so much for hearing us and taking this action. I don’t really have the words to explain how much this means and I appreciate it more than I’ll ever be able to express.
And to everyone that has commented on this thread, or just read it and believed us – thank you for believing us and hearing us. After being unheard, unprotected and treated so badly by McCallum, your belief, support and help means everything.
Sincerely, thank you.
DO NOT GO TO McCALLUM PLACE
I am currently in treatment here in the residential adult program (July 2020). A few days ago multiple clients reported that they were sexually assaulted and/or harassed by a male patient. Management not only didn’t believe the girls, despite there being multiple reports and multiple witnesses come forward, but they gaslighted the females, targeted them and did NOTHING to protect them from further assaults/harassment. They continue to leave the male patient unsupervised amongst all of us females. We are not safe and the CEO and Clinical Director have made it very clear that they do not intend to protect us in anyway.
These issues aside, I still wouldn’t recommend McCallum under any circumstances. They are understaffed to the point where the ratio is 10:1 and the staff that is there is so busy doing bathrooms, pulling meds etc that they are NEVER on the floor with the patients and we are almost always unsupervised. Furthermore, while there are some fantastic DC’s and nurses, there are also some complete assholes that are frequently rude to patients, engage in favoritism or just walk around and act like any thing a patient needs or even just the patients existence is a burden to them. Bathrooms and showers are monitored (no bathrooms in bedrooms) and often the female bathroom/shower is monitored by a male DC so if you have any trauma history or issues with this look elsewhere cause they have also made it extremely clear that they don’t care. In fact the male DC’s seem to actually enjoy the discomfort their presence in the female bathroom causes some patients.
Groups are sporadic at best. They claim to offer 4 groups a day but in reality often those groups are cancelled, start so late there is no point to them or there is only one client in the group because everyone else has been pulled for something. They will tube you really fast if you don’t eat and its often a competition between patients as to who can be the “sickest.”
Staff is rarely available to help during crisis. In fact there has been a couple of times where a patient has been in a safety crisis and staff have said they are too busy to deal with it so it fell to other patients to make sure the person didn’t hurt themselves..
But with all that in mind. Bottom line is that there is currently a male patient in here engaging in threatening sexual behavior towards the female patients, staff has been notified multiple times by multiple patients, and have then gaslighted the female patients and done everything in their power to silence them and cover this up. None of the female patients are safe right now because McCallum Place is refusing to protect them, choosing instead to protect this male patient. Regardless of what happens in the future (at some point this male patient will probably leave) McCallum has proven that they are a facility that allows sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, lewd behavior, indecent exposure etc and will elect to cover it up instead of ensuring the safety of their patients. DO NOT GO HERE.
I am also a female patient at McCallum right now and I can attest to the complete truth of all of this. It’s now July 11. The reports were made July 7 and the guy is still here. They have ignored roughly 10 female patients reports of at least sexual misconduct all the way to actual sexual assault. They are also completely clinically unequipped to adequately and competently treat this male patient & yet they continue to treat him. That alone is malpractice. McCallum have chosen one patient over the safety and treatment of 15 others. Every single day they are actively and willingly putting all of the female patients at risk, enabling sexual assault and harassment and jeopardizing the treatment of every single patient in here. All of upper management is involved in this, either actively covering it up or choosing to look the other way at the expense of all of the female clients. I cannot stress this to you enough – do not come here. Go somewhere else and stay safe because McCallum has proven they do not care about the safety of any of their female clients.
I can also confirm that all of this is true. I am another female client that was affected by this. Please don’t ever go here. McCallum doesn’t care about their patients, they are actively and daily exposing the clients to a very real present risk of sexual assault, so that much is obvious. Whats even worse is the CEO, Clinical Director and Medical Director are actively working to conceal this, lying to concerned parents and outside treatment teams that are contacting them (when the CEO isn’t avoiding and ignoring their calls that is – they basically have to threaten to go to the press to get her to talk to them about this) and gaslighting and threatening the female patients to get them to shut up. Meanwhile this guy remains in the facility, almost always alone with the females (without any type of staff supervision), is allowed to walk around constantly in unbuttoned pants (can you imagine if a female tried that???) and basically allowed to do whatever he wants. Choose anywhere else. Just please don’t go here. Maybe once upon a time they were a good treatment center. Now they do far more harm than good. A lot of us are far more messed up from the incidents, McCallum’s lack of response, the gaslighting etc than we ever were before we came.
I’m going to jump in here. This is all true. It’s now July 25 and the male patient is still here. He’s now throwing violent fits, verbally abusing staff, scaring clients and being generally non compliant and the CEO, Clinical Director, Medical Director and staff continue to protect him. He faces no consequences for any of his behavior and actually is frequently rewarded (he’s the only client that’s been allowed to go out on pass, his family have been allowed to visit him, he’s allowed to program with the Php clients – no other clients are allowed to do any of this because of COVID). He has broken just about every rule they have, he’s broken quarantine multiple times, he’s screamed at staff, slammed things down, screamed, yelled, masturbated in public, rubbed his penis against girls, approached a female client who reported him with clenched fists and a staff member literally had to step in front of him to stop him from whatever he was planning to do and a bunch of other things and the staff do nothing. The CEO has avoided calls from outside parties concerned for their loved ones safety, if she has answered the phone she has lied and covered it up. The clinical director and medical director have also covered it up. The CEO, clinical director and medical director have threatened female clients who reported him for sexual assault and straight up told them they were not allowed to report anything else and they had to “be nice” to this male patient despite the fact that he literally sexually assaulted them by pushing his penis into them. They have knowingly exposed all of the adult female patients and some of the adolescent female patients to this guy with no concern for their safety whatsoever. They took no safety precautions, they did not even begin to supervise this male patient after they received the reports. And now they are actually silencing the female patients and forcing them to not only interact with him but to “be nice” and “friendly” to him.
There are also multiple other issues with this program. Since I’ve been here there have been numerous HIPPA violations. The other day a direct care literally read out a private email about a client to a group of other clients for no other reason than to gossip about this client. There is a male direct care here who has had numerous complaints made against him. If you get on his bad side (which isn’t hard, basically if you sneeze at the wrong time your on his bad side) he will then target you. He will make up things and report them to your team, or twist things to make you seem like you’ve done something wrong when you haven’t. All just to make sure you know “he’s in charge.” And the powers that be listen to and believe his lies every single time despite every single client there telling them that’s not the truth.
Also don’t bother coming here if you are looking for clinicians that care. These guys are about as heartless as I’ve ever seen. More than once a client has started crying over something legitimate and staff have literally turned and walked away. Other staff simply ignore you if they decide they don’t like you (for no real reason) and yet more staff go out of their way to assert their power and will do something that has no purpose behind it other than to upset you. Don’t get me wrong, some staff here are great and genuinely care about the clients but they are lower on the totem pole and so have no actual power and basically can just console you. There is not a single person in upper management who cares at all and I’ve only found a few therapists/dieiticians and about half of the direct care/nurses that seem to care about the clients. To those of you who do care thank you. We see it and we appreciate it more than you know. But, having said that, if you are a staff member and you do care and you’ve seen some of this (which I know you have) please speak up. I know your jobs are being threatened and it’s a huge ask but we need your help.
Anyway if these reviews aren’t enough for you and you are still considering going here do a quick search on other Acadia treatment centers (timberline knolls for example). This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
Bottom Line: Go somewhere where they don’t cover up sexual assault and protect the perpetrator. So just about everywhere else (maybe steer clear of Acadia in general – seems to be a theme with them).
Oh my god. Thank you so much for posting this I was about to sign up for IP there. I am so sorry that happened to you but I hope that you find some comfort knowing that sharing your story is preventing others from experiencing those horrors. Sending love from Michigan <3
Hi. To all the survivors in these comments and beyond, I am so sorry that this has happened. Beyond sorry. The system has failed you and this is in no way your fault, okay?
Secondly, I appreciate you all speaking up on the website and just overall, especially to those in higher positions. I know that must be extremely hard.
And finally, at perhaps the core of this comment, I must ask: How are you guys holding up? Is there anything we can do? I know leaving treatment may not be an option for some, but is it possible for us to help you look for other options? Are they not letting you AMA?
Again, I know it’s not that simple…but I get the sense you feel trapped, and I totally get that. I just want to reach out in some small way and offer some tiny piece of hope and validation and also gratitude for you all. My heart breaks when I see these comments but it should because this is NOT and will NEVER EVER be okay. I see you and stand with you. Always.
Please take care of yourselves and each other as best as possible. I’ll be thinking of you guys, checking the comments, hearing you, and sending so much love.
Thank you for this comment S. After having so many clinicians & people meant to help us, not listen or take us seriously, you saying all this means a lot. With respects to how we are doing there are lasting effects, from both what the male patient did and McCallums complete lack of response/relentless gaslighting. Some of us have managed to get out, which is good, but we now have to work to undo the damage that was done. As for the male patient it’s August 5 and he is still there and has still faced zero consequences. McCallum have gaslighted the female patients so much that they either left or have been silenced. Management have made it abundantly clear to all female patients that if they make a report against this guy they will be punished (they literally threatened one of the females & told her if she said one negative thing about this guy she would be punished). There really are no words to describe what’s going on there or how bad this treatment centers management team is. I just really really urge everyone to go somewhere else. Treatment is meant to be safe and trained therapists are supposed to believe survivors. But McCallum is not safe and the CEO, Clinical Director and Medical Director not only don’t believe survivors but they actively gaslight them and work to protect the perpetrator. There really are no words…
I’m SO sorry for not replying to this earlier. I want each and every one of you survivors, whether you are still there, or have escaped, to know that your voices, your pain, your words, your truths, your brave sharing of such a terrible trauma, are not falling on deaf ears. I will be personally contacting every single resource I can think of in the morning, to see what can be done from the outside. As you are anonymous, and should remain so, I will post any updates here on this thread. In addition, please whenever possible, continue posting your anonymous updates here documenting what is going on.
I’m late on this comment train, but I have been following it, recalling my own experiences being gaslit and victimized at other ‘treatment’ centers [most recently Alsana]. I’ve been wondering what, if anything, I can possibly say here that could help any of you at all.
First: None of this is okay. What people are doing to you is not okay. There is no excuse, there is no justification, for what you are going through. You do, and will, exist beyond and outside of these experiences—they are not you. I know that they are very much a part of your life right now, and I also know that you do not deserve for them to be. You deserve to find yourself, and your life, beyond and outside of this. You deserve to be heard. You deserve to be cared for and cared about. You deserve to care for and about yourself. You deserve joy. You deserve to be free.
One thing that hasn’t been addressed here is pragmatics. I’ll try dispense with that quickly, because while it’s less ‘warm,’ I feel it’s extremely important. (Note, while reading the below information on recording, that I’m not saying you have to report any of this to law enforcement, if you aren’t comfortable doing so—obtaining proof of wrongdoing is useful for a lot of reasons, if only to help process some of this down the road):
MO is a one-party consent state. That means that if someone wishes to record an incriminating conversation between themselves and someone else, only they—and not the other person—need to know, and consent to, that recording. (ALSO NOTE: I’m not a lawyer, though I do know a bit about these sorts of laws, and you can find some basic info here: https://pslawkc.com/blog/recording-conversations-or-phone-calls-in-missouri-and-kansas-pospisil-swift-llc/ ; https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/missouri-recording-law#:~:text=Missouri's%20wiretapping%20law%20is%20a,See%20Mo. You will want to double check the most recent legislation on this to make sure the information included in the links is current.)
I’m not sure whether you’re allowed electronics there. The iPhone/iPad has a standard app called ‘Voice Memos.’ It’s very easy to use. There are similar apps for laptops. Typically, HIPPA laws would make it difficult to record conversations between a patient and a therapist, especially if those conversations involve discussion of another patient. This is less of a concern if the conversation has to do with the other patient engaging in criminal activity or abuse. The most useful sorts of statements to obtain when recording someone whom you believe has engaged in unlawful or unethical activity (for example, activity of the sort that could get their professional license revoked) are statements that include direct admission of specific wrongs, threats, etc.. Statements in which you accuse someone of doing X, but receive only a vague or equivocal response from X, are not particularly valuable.
Next: I want to reiterate that your experiences are real and your reactions are valid. They are legitimate. You are not wrong; you are not in the wrong; and for those who are still trapped and being coerced into remaining at McCallum, and remaining silent: you will get out. I know that sounds empty now. I wish I could tell you, with certainty, when, and I wish that I could tell you when you’ll stop being haunted by what’s happened/happening. I am so glad that some of you have left—although I know that doesn’t mean that you have much, if any closure right now. I want that for you, and I pray that you get it soon.
What I can say is that it will end, and neither the reality nor the memory of this nightmare will haunt you forever. I promise.
I am thinking of you—I don’t know exactly how you’re feeling right now, because everyone is different, and so is every instance of abuse, especially medical provider abuse. That said, I am here with you, and I have been ‘there’ with you [although, as I said, not at McCallum].
If it’s all right, and if it helps, I’d like to make my email available to those who have posted above if you’d like to rant, vent, or talk. You don’t have to want me to give any advice or feedback. You can just write. The moderators of this website have my email and can provide it to the above posters.
Again, my thoughts are with you, I hear you, and if there’s anything I can do to help, fight, or listen, I want to know.
Thank you so much AJ.
Per AJ’s post and request above, anyone who would like to get in touch with AJ, or who thinks they might at some point, email me at admin@edtreatmentreview.com and I will respond directly to you with AJ’s email address.
If sending an email from your normal email address is something you do not want to do, I recommend creating a new anonymous email address solely for the purpose of this communication, if that feels safer or more comfortable. Gmail, Yahoo, etc, allow free email account creation.
This is all so shocking and my heart breaks just reading this. Does anyone know if this individual has been discharged? It looks like occurred in July 2020, does anyone have an update on whether he is still there or not? And again, this literally breaks my heart.
I haven’t posted here yet but all of this is true. I was one of the victims and reported what this guy did to me to the clinical director and the CEO. I was standing there, talking to the both of them. I was asking them what they were going to do, now that there were multiple reports from multiple clients (a lot of the reports first came out in a group), to keep us safe, and they just stared at me. At one point I was begging them to protect us and they said they couldn’t do that and couldn’t take any action to protect us because the guy was entitled to “due process.” I told them I wasn’t asking them to trample on his “due process” rights and they could do whatever investigation they wanted but that I needed them to at least provide staff supervision or something in the interim to ensure that we were safe while they did their “investigation.” They said they were not prepared to do that. When I asked them why I don’t remember their exact response but they essentially said that they didn’t believe us. I pointed out that several clients had reported incidents and that almost all of the incidents had been witnessed by even more clients, they just stared at me. I point blank said to them “you have multiple reports of [this client] sexually assaulting other clients, that have been corroborated by witness’s, you are supposed to be protecting us and you are telling me you are going to do nothing about this?” They responded by telling me that the male client had a right to treatment too, it wouldn’t be fair to ask him to leave or take any precautionary or protective measures at all. They shamed me for wanting him to be kicked out, trying to make me feel like what I was asking was completely unfair. They showed so much concern for him and his eating disorder and not an ounce of concern for any of the victims. They said over and over again how unfair it would be to him to take any action without a “thorough investigation” and told me time and time again that “he needed and deserved treatment for his eating disorder too.” Call me a horrible person if you want but I cared more about our safety. But I told them I was fine with them doing their “investigation,” I was just asking that they air on the side of caution and take immediate measures to protect us while they did so. I even told them that they didn’t have to kick him out immediately, just provide staff supervision so he wasn’t left alone with the females. Apparently even that was too much for them.
What he did to me was traumatic. But I was traumatized again by their reaction. They shamed me, gaslighted me and made me feel like I (and the other victims/females) were worth absolutely nothing to them. They were so concerned about this guy. His right to treatment, his “due process” rights, how he would feel when he heard the “allegations.” They treated me and the other females who spoke up like criminals, like we were the ones that had done something wrong. This treatment wasn’t just initially either. It continued and got to the point where they straight up forbid females from saying anything negative about this guy or making any further reports (they explicitly said this). I know this type of treatment is a common thing that victims face when speaking out, but you never expect it to come from therapists, let alone the CEO and Clinical Director of a mental health facility.
For those wondering the guy is still there. Don’t expect him to leave anytime soon. The staff will protect him to the ends of the earth so he’s staying as long as he wants to. But I do want to encourage you, even when he does leave, to not go here. Because he may leave but the staff will still be there. It may have been the CEO, clinical director and medical director who outright treated us like this but I know I made enough noise (as did others) that every staff member in that building is aware of what happened. I know there were a few that did try to help and stand up for us – and to you guys I appreciate your efforts more than you will ever know (they know who they are). But all of the staff should’ve done that. I get that their jobs might have been on the line or whatever but these are people working in the mental health field who witnessed some of the worst victim blaming, gaslighting and perpetrator protection, by their “leaders” and chose to stay silent and do nothing. Most of them didn’t even make an extra effort to not leave him alone with the females. So I encourage you to go elsewhere, somewhere where if, god forbid, something like this happened, you could feel safe knowing the staff would have your back and protect you. Because aside from a couple of direct care (who I’m guessing won’t stay all that long judging by how pissed off they were about everything) not one staff member in that building even tried to help us, even though every single one of them knew about it and about the way the CEO and clinical director were behaving, and chose not to. If they are so fiercely protective of one perpetrator they won’t have a problem letting another in and protecting him too.
I’m out now but I wish I had never gone in. My mental health is worse. I am struggling to trust my new team for fear of a similar reaction. I want the CEO and clinical director held accountable and many have tried. The CEO in particular has received many calls from outpatient therapists/doctors/dieticians and family members. She usually avoids the call but did pick up one I know of and basically stammered her way through. I also know she spoke to at least one family member and outright told her that all of us were lying, this guy posed no danger to their loved one (despite the loved one, who was the client, telling her family member she was very scared). She also told the family member some outright lies about how they were taking safety precautions and had moved the male client to a different unit (this never happened). When the family member figured out she had lied and called her back the gaslighting started and it got to the point where this person doubted her own loved one.
I’m really hurt and messed up from all of this. I can still see the looks of disgust & judgment (like I’m a horrible person for wanting this) on their faces when I asked them to kick him out and keep us safe. I can still see the blank looks of complete disinterest when I was telling them what he did to me. Like it wouldn’t matter what I said, they had already decided to protect him and not us. That is painful and does a number to your head. I honestly don’t really know where to go from here.
So yes, it’s August 14 and he is still in there, he has still faced no consequences, has still been allowed to engage in various questionable and/aggressive behaviors and staff is still protecting him above all others. So definitely don’t go there now but even when he discharges still don’t go because you deserve to be somewhere where staff will care about you and protect you and be upset if someone hurts you. The CEO and Clinical Director don’t care that someone hurt me. They didn’t protect me and didn’t intend on trying to protect me.
We first want to sincerely apologize for the distress this situation has caused, and we are grateful for everyone’s willingness to share this feedback. The circumstances described in this thread are clearly alarming, and we take these concerns very seriously.
Please know this: At McCallum Place, nothing is more important to us than the safety of our patients, staff, and visitors. Actions such as those alleged in the initial post and replies go against everything we stand for as an organization, and they are simply not tolerated at McCallum Place. Every member of our team is held to the highest personal and professional standards, especially in regard to patient service and supervision. We regularly review and, when necessary, revise our policies and procedures to ensure that our facility remains a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for every person who is entrusted to our care.
If you have any additional questions or comments about our safety protocols, or about any other element of care at McCallum Place, please contact us directly at info@mccallumplace.com or (314) 961-1452. A member of our team will be happy to discuss your concerns with you directly so that we can provide you with the detailed answers you deserve
I’m sorry McCallum but this is the biggest bunch of BS I’ve ever heard. Firstly, ALL of your staff know about this and this behavior came from the CEO, Clinical Director and Medical Director. Secondly, AS YOU WROTE YOUR REPLY, the guy responsible for the assaults IS STILL IN TREATMENT at McCallum Place. He is STILL around the female patients. YOU STILL HAVENT DONE A THING. In fact writing this post was the most action ANY of the victims have seen you take!!!! Nothing you said in your reply is true, you don’t take any of this seriously. You are still protecting and treating the guy while continuing to gaslight the victims. In fact this reply is just another example of the gaslighting. Take some actual action. Deal with the guy. Take steps to protect the females. Reach out to the victims and apologize profusely. Until then don’t sit there and type bs that doesn’t at all match your actions.
And for everyone else reading this let me be very clear. The guy is still receiving treatment at McCallum Place. He is still constantly left alone and unsupervised with the females. The staff act like nothing ever happened until someone says something and then they threaten them with discharge or worse. Nothing McCallum said in their reply is true. If they do actually take any sort of actual action I will let you all know. But don’t be fooled. This is all talk…
It is clear from the many comments left by patients of McCallum that this is an empty response. I hope next time we hear an update on the situation (from clients, not from a company that is invested in protecting its image) there has been concrete action taken to ensure the safety of current clients and, if possible, assist in the healing process for former clients. I have been so disgusted to read the experiences that McCallum has put its patients through and will spread the word if I ever find out any of my acquaintances with EDs are considering treatment there. To the victims, I am so sorry for your experiences and please know that people are taking your word over that of the McCallum leadership, who clearly have been ineffective and downright negligent in their duties to first and foremost protect their clients.
McCallum,
This reply is insulting and patently false but sadly it is not surprising. You are correct – “the circumstances described in this thread are clearly alarming” but that is where the truth of your reply ends. If you do, as you claim, “take these concerns very seriously” then please explain to me and others why the guy is still at your facility? Why is he still allowed, unsupervised, around the female patients? Why has he faced absolutely no repercussions whatsoever? Why have your staff, including and especially your leadership team, gone above and beyond to protect him? Why were the victims treated so poorly by your CEO, Clinical Director and Medical Director? Why were they not listened to and believed? Why were they not protected?
You say that “nothing is more important to [you] than the safety of [your] patients, staff and visitors? If this is true why did your CEO and Clinical Director outright tell one of the victims that they would not take a single step to ensure her or the other patients safety? Your staff protected the guy and forced the victims to have to literally leave your facility in order to be safe. For those victims that couldn’t leave, your leadership team literally threatened them to get them to stop talking. Your leadership team outright lied to concerned family, friends and outpatient clinical teams. Your CEO got caught cold in her lies.
You claim that “actions such as those alleged in the initial post and replies go against everything we stand for as an organization and they are simply not tolerated at McCallum Place.” This is an outright lie. Your clinical director and one of your therapists sat in a group with many female clients and listened as they reported instances of sexual misconduct and sexual assault. A part of me wants to describe exactly what those reports consisted of, but because I know many people that have experienced trauma come to this site I won’t do it for fear of triggering someone. But there were multiple different things described by multiple different clients, and these instances were then corroborated by others who had witnessed them. Your clinical director promised that a staff member would be supervising at all times going forward so this male patient was not left alone with the females. Over the next four (4) hours, staff was supervising for a total of ten (10) minutes, and that was by accident – they were doing something else and just happened to be in the vicinity. In fact there has not been a day since then when this male client has not been left alone with the female clients. If these actions by the male client are not tolerated by McCallum Place why is he still there? Still unsupervised? Why has he faced zero (0) consequences or repercussions? If these actions that were taken by your CEO, Clinical Director and Medical Director (along with all other staff complicit in this) go against everything McCallum Place stands for, then why are they still protecting him and covering this up? Why haven’t they faced any repercussions?
I am glad that McCallum Place “regularly review[s] and, when necessary, revise[s] [your] policies…” but this isn’t something that can be fixed by a policy change. Responding to reports of sexual misconduct and assault is not a “policy” matter, it is a matter of human decency. Your staff failed to protect female patients from a male patient after they received multiple reports of sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Your staff chose to gaslight, lie, and manipulate the victims, witnesses and their outside support people instead of stopping the male perpetrator. Your staff chose to protect someone who had engaged in sexual misconduct and assault multiple times instead of protecting the victims. Your staff chose to provide support to the perpetrator instead of the victims. The fact that you believe that a “policy” is needed for your staff to respond in the correct manner to reports of sexual misconduct and assault is frankly terrifying. As human beings, not to mention trained mental health professionals, this should be basic knowledge. A policy or procedure in your manual should not be necessary for your staff, including and especially the leaders of your facility, to respond to reports such as these in the correct manner. You should not need a “policy” to instruct your staff to take action to protect females from sexual assault.
You are right about one thing. We were “entrusted to [your] care.” As such, we should have been protected. When these reports were made, immediate action should have been taken to ensure that female patients were safe. We were not the villians, and yet we were treated as such. Whether or not we received treatment should never have been based upon whether we kept our mouths shut and stopped reporting when we saw and/or experienced sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault. We should not have been called liars by your leadership team when we reported these things, especially given that we had witnesses corroborating our stories. We should not have been forced to choose between continuing to receive treatment and being safe. We should not have been left terrified as this male patient was allowed to fly into fits of rage. Honestly, we should not have been made to continue having any contact with this male patient whatsoever. We did trust you. We were under your care. And you spectacularly failed at providing even a basic level of safety or care to us – to all of us, whether victims or potential victims. You are still failing. He is still there. Still interacting with females, unsupervised, every single day. Every single female client “entrusted to [your] care” right now and in the future, is unsafe.
McCallum – the male patient who has engaged in all of these reported and corroborated instances of sexual misconduct and assault is still at your facility receiving treatment. You first received these reports around July 7, 2020, which means you have allowed him to remain at your facility, constantly surrounded by female patients and continuously unsupervised, for over 6 weeks now. In those 6 or so weeks you have taken absolutely no steps to ensure the safety of any of your patients or to curb the behavior of this male patient. All you have done is try to cover it up and protect him, while retraumatizing the victims. I’m not sure how or why you believe that anything you say in this thread means anything while you continue to do nothing and he remains at your facility, consequence free and actively posing a threat to the rest of the clients. The fact that you seem to believe this will be fixed by a “policy” review is a terrifying indication of the way McCallum Place views sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Again, it shouldn’t take a policy to get your staff to adequately respond to and protect victims and potential victims of sexual assault.
You say this thread is “alarming” and you “take these concerns very seriously” so prove it. Words mean nothing if they are not backed up by actions. I don’t want your apologies for my “distress,” unless they are real and genuine, and the only way they will be is if they are supported by your actions. Because right now, the actions of your staff only tell me that McCallum Place couldn’t care less about me and the other female clients or our safety. In fact, the only thing any of your staff has done, is traumatize us further. So please, don’t come on here and tell us how much you care about us and our safety when the man that hurt us and could hurt others is still at your facility. Quite frankly, it’s insulting that you think we are dumb enough to believe you. Actions speak louder than words and your actions are deafening.
McCallum I have a few questions:
1. Who exactly is holding your staff to the high standards you mentioned? Your CEO, Medical Director and Clinical Director have been named over and over as the ringleaders of this behavior so I’m confused?
2. How are you going to provide detailed answers and comply with HIPPA at the same time?
3. Who exactly is “alarmed” by these posts? From what I can see all of your staff has known about this since it happened and the crux of the problem is them not being adequately alarmed or taking these concerns seriously?
4. Why are you grateful for everyone’s willingness to share? Like you say that but these people are detailing horrific behavior by your leadership team and staff that publicly reflects negatively on McCallum Place so why exactly are you grateful?
5. Who exactly is sincerely apologizing to the victims? Because by all reports the guilty parties (CEO, Medical Director, Clinical Director) are standing by their behavior and the facility is still treating the guy that did this so who exactly is apologizing? Because it seems like none of the staff that should be apologizing are.
6. If nothing is more important to you than the safety of your patients, visitors etc then why are you still allowing the guy who has done all these things to be around your patients, unsupervised no less? This is the antithesis of safety wouldn’t you say?
7. What do you mean by “actions like those alleged in the initial post and replies…. are simply not tolerated at McCallum Place”? How do you “not tolerate” them? Because, I mean, the guy is still there, the staff don’t appear to have been disciplined in any meaningful way and the victims haven’t been so much as contacted so I’m confused? What do you mean by “not tolerated”?
8. I’m also really confused by why you’re talking about safety policies and procedures. Unless it’s McCallum’s policy to allow sexual assault, support sexual assault, victim shame, gaslight, lie and protect perpetrators I’m confused as to how a policy change will help? Do you have a current policy allowing and supporting sexual assault? Do you train your staff to respond to reports of sexual assault by protecting the perpetrator and shaming and gaslighting the victims? Is it in your policies to not protect clients from a reasonable and substantial risk of sexual assault? Is it your policy to lie to concerned outside parties? Seriously, please explain this to me because honestly, your belief that a policy change is necessary to remedy this situation terrifies me. What on earth are your current policies surrounding sexual assault and therapist/leadership behavior?
9. Is this reply and a few policy changes really the extent of the action you’re planning to take regarding these reports? The guy is still there, your staff and leadership team are still engaging in the described behaviors and the victims are still hurting and have not gotten so much as a “how you doing” or “can you please tell me what happened” or “we are sorry” from anyone affiliated with McCallum Place. I would think that if there actually is someone who can hold the CEO, Clinical Director and Medical Director to those high standards you mentioned that one of the first things they would have done is reached out to the victims and witnesses for more information. It’s not like you don’t know who they are.
10. What are you actually going to do to ensure future patients safety? You are still allowing this guy to be around patients every single day with no supervision. How are you protecting them? How are you going to guarantee to future patients that if another patient sexually assaults them inside McCallums facility in the future your staff and leadership team will respond differently? What. Are. You. Actually. Going. To. Do. About. This?
And to all the people reading this because they were considering going to McCallum. Firstly I hope you go elsewhere where your safety can be prioritized. Secondly, I hope these questions expose the holes in McCallum’s response. This response by McCallum is nothing more than an extension of their behavior towards the victims. They are really good at saying what they are supposed to say but doing the opposite. Please note that this reply proves they know about all of this, was written 6 days ago and, as of today, McCallum hasn’t taken any more action than typing this reply. If you take nothing else from this please remember that while a McCallum rep was typing out this reply, the guy who is referenced in these posts, that has engaged in sexual misconduct and sexual assault multiple times, was in the next room, likely unsupervised and definitely surrounded by vulnerable females. Please go elsewhere – you deserve better and safer treatment than McCallum can provide.
Were you at McCallum in St. Louis or KC?
I was at McCallum Place at the end of 2017, but I understand a lot of changes have happened since then. I may be admitting again, and I was wondering if someone could tell what the adult program is like now? Thanks!
It’s August 14, 2020 and he is still there. And the staff have done nothing to protect us or even just acknowledge that any of this happened. They have, however, done a lot to protect him from having to face what he did. In fact I’m not even sure he knows the allegations have been made. The other day this male patient literally Facebook friend requested a bunch of the victims/witnesses. Either he’s an arrogant douche, or (more likely) staff’s investigation of our reports didn’t even include talking to him. In their kinds I guess they didn’t need to talk to him because they already knew they were going to protect him regardless and didn’t want to upset him. But yes, he’s still here, living his best life, while the rest of are unsafe and treated as subhuman compared to him.
I’m wondering if any of the victims have considered pursuing a lawsuit against McCallum, it’s directors and CEO, and the offender? Or have you thought of reporting this to one of the local news agencies? I’m sure McCallum would not be happy if these incidents were broadcast on the 6 o’clock news.
Good point. I think we have been so shocked and actively caught up in dealing with this and the repercussions that we haven’t yet considered these options. But we probably should, especially since the guy is still at McCallum. They literally don’t care about any of us and are still proving it every single day. And it still really hurts….
Terrible place. Has gone downhill. They have a quick turnover of staff. If you ask for help, you don’t get it. In 2016, this was a good place but in 2018 it no longer is. Look at Cielo House in San Francisco if you’re serious about a comprehensive treatment center with staff that actually care for the patient as an individual with a great deal of compassion and care. McCallum exploits their patients and the lead psychiatrist is on a massive power trip who is terribly vindictive in her approach. Please stay far away from McCallum.
Anonymous,
I would try and do it soon, while said patient is still there, especially because there are several of you corroborating the same allegations. McCallum’s lack of action in this matter is not only egregious but dangerous to there other clients.
I’m considering McCallum for IOP. Can someone tell me more about their IOP program, specifically? Also are you allowed to see your outpatient providers while in IOP?
I wouldn’t. Groups there are run by direct care staff.
I was at MP for about a month Aug-Sep 2016
Honestly I found the program to be a joke. The groups are highly unhelpful and often are spent repeatedly “checking in” at the most surface level you can possibly get. The clients are not challenged to go deeper at all and are aloud to spend all their time focusing on ED thoughts.
There is a competition at meals of who can eat the slowest or refuse the most meals to which who gets tubed first. I found it irritating and counter productive.
The food was also disgusting and many times they messed up my menus and gave me food I am allergic to. I had a reaction twice while there- the two times I didn’t catch it till it was too late.
The only redeeming quality of this program is that the staff are 95% nice. They care it just feels like no one is really clinically equipped to do their jobs.
I saw many clients come back from session after 20 minutes. That’s not therapy, that’s a quick pow wow/chat and off you go.
Also they seemed to have an extraordinarily hard time with insurance. This might be because there is no UR department so the therapists are left to do that work which eats into your therapy time. So instead of 50/60 minute sessions you get 45…. if you’re lucky.
Also the space isn’t comfy. It’s very institutionalized and cold.
I was miserable there. I wouldn’t recommend MP if you really want to do work and get better. But it’s great if you want to sleep all day and get nothing real done and come back over and over. It’s really a shame.
The program needs an overhaul of their therapeutic model, oversight and supervision and probably a healthy dose of direction and training on how to run groups and motivate people to want to do the work.
*RECENT 2016 REVIEW*
I’ve been a patient at two of the Mccallum locations and honestly have enjoyed it (as much as treatment can be enjoyed). The staff for the most part is very very caring and fun, they have such a wide variety of staff that you can ask to get a more specific team to work with what you need. For example some people know themselves well enough to know that they need a team that is just as sassy and strong willed as they are, that will keep on your ass about what you need to do. Others need a softer more caring approach and there is definitely staff there for that too.
Recently this year they’ve opened more spaces and now have separate age groups for adolescents (mostly middle school to mid high school), young adult (late high school, mostly college aged kids), and older adult which is somewhere around 25+ with people all the way up to probably their 60s.
They still have the Victory Program for athletes but they’re currently changing some things up with that.
They have more options for their transition apartments (which is like a step down from residential), and you have to be in their PHP program to live there. The apartments only cost $200 a month to live in which is pretty good, and one of the units is downstairs at the Webster location right next to the residential units.
The food is fine I guess. It’s food. They’ll prepare you for real life when you get faced with fear foods or just things you don’t have often.
They try to be really helpful and understanding when it comes to food and meals and refusals. They’ll really encourage you to keep going and it’s definitely a supportive environment.
They stay on top of you but just because of the high turnover rate there, you really do need to have at least some initiative and autonomy to keep yourself going.
A lot of their patients come in and out multiple times so try to not fall into that pattern and just go in with the mindset that you want to find recovery minded people and not just sick-buddies.
If you’re on the fence about seeking treatment id say to definitely give mccallum a chance, just try to jump right in feet first. A lot of people have trouble with insurance so just do your hardest and try to get as much accomplished in your time there as you can.
Can anyone that’s been to CW and MP give some insight into how groups and therapy are different at MP than CW?
I heard they are more surface and skills based at MP. Is that true?
Particularly PHP.
Also what’s the direct care ratio to clients?
And how many clients are in each program. Seems that there are an adolescent, adult and 25??+ devisions.
Thanks!
Annie-I also suggest posting some of these questions about Castlewood on the CW page in the professional forum. They will get right back to you with latest and up to date information. If you need any help, please let me know.
Does anyone have any recent reviews for the residential program? What are the meals like and snack options? What are the outings and priveledges, etc?
Has anyone been to both McCallum Place and Castlewood and could compare them for me? I’m looking into PHP. I’ve never been to Castlewood, but I went to McCallum Place in 2008. However, there have been many changes since 2008. It seems most of the recent reviews for both facilities are negative. That concerns me! Nonetheless, these are my options right now. So, I would GREATLY appreciate a comparison!
The similarities:
– Both have excellent staff.
– Both tend to keep people for long lengths of stay.
– Both use the %-based meal planning system rather than the more typical exchange system.
The differences:
– McCallum is stricter, which was a positive for me because it meant that the other patients were less triggering — no one could get away with behaviors.
– Castlewood is more flexible, which is more adult-like and realistic — but make sure you’re ready for this level of independence and self-accountability, because it will prove REALLY challenging otherwise.
– McCallum is better able to accommodate medical issues (nurses are there 24/7, vs only Mon-Fri from 9-5 at CW) and can take patients at lower weights (minimum 60% IBW, while CW’s minimum is 65%).
– Most Castlewood groups are based around “agendas” — individualized assignments that clients are assigned by their team and then present in group. McCallum has more hours of therapy per day, but these are more based around education and group processing.
– McCallum offers at least 3 choices for every meal (regular, vegetarian, or “sub”) while CW only offers choices for SOME meals. All McCallum lunches/dinners are organized as app/entree/dessert, while CW doesn’t follow a standard structure. McCallum entrees tend to be more “normal” while CW tends to be more gourmet (ie. crab-stuffed portobello mushrooms).
– McCallum offers many more opportunities to practice healthy exercise (once at an appropriate weight, of course).
– At CW, you can have your electronics 24/7. At McCallum, you can only have them between certain hours.
What else would you like to know?
Thanks! This is exactly the type of information I was looking for! I don’t think I need to know anything else, but if I think of anything, I will reply.
Hi, I’m at Castlewood right now and I LOVE it. There’s a client here who’s been to McCallum too and says this place is much, much better. Castlewood really focuses on the underlying issues and really teaches you that it is NOT about the food. You’re more than welcome to contact me if you’d like and I can answer questions for you 🙂
I was there in February 2016. In my opinion it’s just ok. Not great but not bad. I was in php
9:30 weights and vitals
10am snack
10:30 check in group
11:30 group
12:30 lunch
1:45 group (art, shame group or fitness groups)
3 pm snack
3:30 6 hr php go and 12 hr stays til 7:30
4p groups
5p free time
6:15 dinner
You meet with your dietitian 2x and therapist 3x a week. Psychiatrist 2x
Direct care are really great. I feel like the groups and therapy side is very week but they do I’ve real world opportunites like going on meal passes with other clients and has greater autonomy. There’s always enough staff. The food is good for treatment food and they don’t do it in an eating disorder way that I’ve experienced in past facilities. They seem to work with your insurance and are in your interest. They accommodate to allergies and stuff. I’ve heard some people say the staff to patient ratio is terrible but when I was here it seemed good. There was always someone available and they have a good amount of people compared to other places
McCallum Place in Austin closed in October 2015.
Does anyone have any recent (2015) reviews about the McCallum place? Specifically the residential program?
Highly recommend it. My daughter has been through residential and PHP there twice, in the summer of 2014, and most recently residential from April to August 2015, and then PHP from August to October 2015, and she is now in their DBT IOP program through their affiliate, Webster Wellness Professionals, and is scheduled to discharge from that mid February and return home for outpatient. Their residential program is excellent. Therapist are also insurance case manager, so they go the mile for insurance reviews for the patient, and are the best advocates for them as well. Utilize a very mult-disciplinarian approach, and are limit therapist case loads specifically to allow more individualized time with patients, and allow them to coordinate with insurance review, so as to maximize continuity of care through continued coverage. Patients meet with therapist three times a week, I believe, as well as dietician at least twice weekly, and psychiatrist as needed. Nurses on staff 24 hours a day. Good direct care. They have also recently expanded their main facility so that they will now have three residential houses with therapy suites onsite. Patients are on a level system, so they get more more privileges as they progress in recovery, including fitness and fun outings once a week. They have separate adolescent and adult programs, and the only program in the nation for elite/college athletes. They are also one of the only programs in the country to accept males. Close association with Washington University Medical School and psychiatric residency program allows for up to date treatment methods to take place here too. Can handle feeding tubes if needed, and excellent at dealing with comorbid conditions. My daughter was a tough case with anorexia, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and PTSD, and all were addressed over the course of her most recent stay. Also have a good parent/family support and education system, with weekly staff-moderated live and phone in meetings, and monthly day long education programs at the treatment suites. Can’t say enough about them. My daughter is alive and on the path to sustained recovery because of them.
Also looking for a recent review on this place..
Could someone do a recent review of their time at McCallum place, including a typical day and meals, and their overall experience? Thanks!
Very large disorganised and understaffed. Stay away.
When were you there: Way too long… most recently Fall 2014, discharging just before they opened the new Conway house
How many patients on average? Way too many. Residential is better (12 max) but in PHP, the adult side alone can have 30+ people at once, all in the same groups at the same times. You look forward to the 6-hour patients going home because then you might finally find a spot to sit. (Until IOP patients arrive to refill the milieu.)
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Both treated and combined. (Males sleep/get ready elsewhere but are otherwise 100% integrated with females.)
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? Medical doctor – as needed in PHP, officially once per week in res (but the majority of the time they count “staffing†– which you’re not a part of – as your visit… so you rarely actually see the doc). Psych = once per week (seeing the resident counts for that one visit, as does “staffing†– so you might not see them at all). Therapist = 3 times per week (usually 2 individual, 1 family… these meetings can range from 45-15 min depending on your therapist). Dietician = two 30-min meetings per week (they’re actually consistent about this).
What is the staff ratio to patients? They were severely understaffed the majority of the time I was there. I don’t remember the specific numbers, but I was misled before arriving (don’t trust the website). For the most part, direct care are amazing human beings who want to help – but they’re so busy doing paperwork, opening the bathroom, and dealing with a handful of patients who demand 100% of their attention 100% of the time, that they don’t have the time to chat/help.
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc? DBT, CBT, movement, and art are the main ones. Movement opportunities are plentiful and ridiculously abused by exercise-hungry patients.
Describe the average day:
Res = 6am weights/vitals, 8 breakfast, 10 snack, two groups, 12:30 lunch, 1pm group, 3pm snack, two groups, 30-min walk (now or post-breakfast depending on the season), 6:15 dinner, down time, 9pm snack, bed whenever
10hr PHP = arrive by 9:45 for weights/vitals, 10 snack, two groups, 12:30 lunch, 1pm group, 3pm snack, two groups, awkward downtime, 6:15 dinner, 7:30 leave
6hr PHP = arrive by 9:45 for weights/vitals, 10 snack, two groups, 12:30 lunch, 1pm group, 3pm snack, 3:30 leave
IOP = varies, but always 3-4 hours in the afternoon starting after PM snack (includes dinner)
What were meals like?
You’re plated at “50%†(half portions of everything) or 100% for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, you can be at 50% (half of everything), 75% (half portions for appetizer/dessert but a full portion of the entrée), or 100%. They plate in the kitchen and serve it to you, so you’re required to eat 100% of whatever is put on your plate.
Breakfast (res only) = You select from 2 options. (It rotates so Mondays are always the same, Tuesdays the same, etc.)
Lunch/Dinner = You select from 2 options (1 vegetarian, 1 regular) each for the appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
Snacks = You’re on 50% (half portions), 100%, or on a different snack menu altogether (“Super Snacksâ€). There are 5 options total per day on the regular menu and 5 total per day on the Super Snack menu. (These rotate so Mondays are always the same 5 options, Tuesdays are always the same 5, etc.). Most patients, whether gaining/losing/maintaining, have 3 snacks/day, and many gainers get up to 3 Super Snacks per day.
What sorts of food were available or served? They serve everything (classic fear foods all the way to entrée salads). It’s a 3 week rotating menu.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? What is the policy of not complying with meals? You’re given a Boost/Ensure equivalent for the missed calories. Don’t drink it and it’s a “refusal.†Officially, 3 refusals = a tube, though it can be 1 or 10 depending on the patient. They tube frequently, whether patients need it or WANT it. (Yes, there are many who want it… competition to be “sickest†is fierce. Those who demand attention get the help – others get lost in the crowd.)
Are you able to be a vegetarian? Yes. It’s supported 100%. Even if it’s ED-driven.
What privileges are allowed? Walks, movement groups, and outings once at 70% IBW. Passes once at “recovery†or “transition†levels (see next question). A refusal means no walks/movement groups in the next 24 hours and no outings/passes for the next 72. (People time their refusals accordingly.)
Does it work on a level system? Yes. “Stabilization I†= 60-70% IBW. (They don’t accept below 60%.) No walks/movement groups/outings, but you do everything else. No wheelchairs or bedrest or any of that. “Stabilization 2†= where most people start. After the first 72hr, you can do walks/movement groups/outings. No “breaks†and no passes. Level 3 = “Recovery†stage. You get one 10-min solo break a day (can sit outside alone) and can take 1 pass a week. Level 4 = “Transition†stage. Two 10-min solo breaks a day plus unlimited passes (totally depends on your team/what insurance will approve).
How do you earn privileges? Comply. You move up in stages by “showing readiness†(complying and gaining, if need be) and submitting an application. You only lose your stage’s privileges if you have a refusal.
What sort of groups do they have? Everything. The schedule on their website is up to date.
What was your favorite group? Home group – the only time that the huge milieu is split! Half go in one room, half the other – this is basically “check in†group.
What did you like the most? The direct care (most of them) really care and want to help.
What did you like the least? Good luck trying to get out once you’re in the system. If your insurance is good, they’ll keep you as long as possible. Doesn’t matter if you’re ready to leave – while they can still mine you for money, you’ll be kept there. (And they will manipulate and deceive you and your family to make you stay.)
Would you recommend this program? NO. It was helpful the first few months. When I crossed the year threshold and still couldn’t get them to let me leave, not so much.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? People in the “Victory Program†(for college/pro athletes) do more, but the regular program has 30-min walks (every day) plus a weekly exercise group (circuits) and a weekly exercise outing. Plenty of people take advantage of the movement groups (yoga and dance) to expend energy as well. It can be quite triggering.
What did people do on weekends? Regular programming til afternoon snack. On Saturday afternoons, the whole unit goes on an outing (anything from painted pottery to Barnes and Noble to the zoo) that they vote on earlier in the week. On Sunday afternoons, people eligible for fitness (min. 90% IBW) go on the fitness outing (activity decided on by staff). People who stay behind read, nap, journal, or watch movies. No internet/cell phones/computers from 10am-7pm means people are SUPER bored.
Do you get to know your weight? Never. You can guess whether you’re gaining or not based on if you’re getting increases or not, but they try to keep you 100% in the dark. You’ll be told your goal weight, but maybe not til the end. Goal weights are at least 100% IBW. I started significantly underweight and left at 112%.
How fast is the weight gain process? Absurdly fast, though there are always those people who go hypermetabolic and can’t gain no matter what. Officially, res aims for 3-4 lbs/week and PHP 1-2lbs per week, but basic calculations (what I came in at and what I left at) proved that I gained well above those numbers each week.
What was the average length of stay? It’s 100% dependent on insurance or leaving AMA. You leave when insurance says you need to. They will keep you as long as insurance is willing to cover. For a few, that means years – far beyond needing it.
What was the average age range? Adult unit is 18+. Majority are in their 20s but there are always at least a handful of middle-aged or older.
How do visits/phone calls work? In res: post-dinner til evening snack every day, plus 3:30-6pm on weekends. In PHP, 3:30-6 on weekends. Phone calls allowed whenever you have your phone (electronics are collected and inaccessible 10am-7pm).
Are you able to go out on passes? If you apply and get approved, yes. It’s rare to get a weekday pass, but weekends are common. Whether you can do a snack/meal or have to fit the pass between eating times depends on your level.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? Many people do IOP and most have an OP team setup by the time they leave.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? PHP patients can stay in the apartments (there were spots for 4 people – 2 per apartment sharing a room) but these are pricey. Some opt to stay at an extended-stay hotel.
Other? While there, I was misdiagnosed (all of their psychiatric diagnoses have been overturned by outpatient medical professionals), grossly overmedicated, and ridiculously over-charged for unnecessarily long stays in levels of care far higher than I needed. I strongly urge anyone considering McCallum Place to seek treatment elsewhere.
Interesting…thank you so much for the review!
I have not been to McCallum Place, so I cannot speak from personal experience with this treatment center. This is a residential level of care not inpatient, so they cannot keep you if you choose to leave.
I second the request for a recent review…I’d really appreciate it!
Can anyone provide a recent (2014 or 2015) review of Residential services at McCallum Place?? I’d greatly appreciate answers to all the basic questions listed (most interested in how they do menu planning, what foods are available, how they handle supplement, how many times per week you get individual therapy and meet with dietician, what a typical day looks like, etc.). THANK YOU!
Can anyone provide a full recent review of McCallum Place (2014 or 2015)?? Thank you!
do they accept patients who are at a very low body weight??
I was at McCallum Place in 2012-2013, PHP and IOP
How many patients on average?
Adolescents and adults are on separate units. The adults had around 15-30 in partial. They have multiple res houses, I’m not sure how many those take. Some of the houses commute to the suite, some do programming at the house.
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?
Yes. Treatment is combined. Males are only in partial though.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
In 10 hr partial you see your therapist 3x/week, dietitian 2x/week, psychiatrist 2x/week. In 6 hr therapist is 2x/week, dietitian is 1x/week, psychiatrist is 1(?) x/week. In IOP it’s all once a week, outside of programming.
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc?
DBT, CBT, psychodrama, art, yoga, sexuality, nutrition, authentic movement, home group etc.
Describe the average day (10 hr partial)
9:30 Arrive/get vitals
10 snack
10:30 Group
11:30 Group
12:30 Lunch/post
1:45 Group
3 Snack
(6hr patients go home here)
3:30 Group
4:30 Group (IOP arrives)
5:30 Sometimes you go outside, or for a walk, lots of times just doing nothing.
6:15 Dinner/post
7:30 Go home
What were meals like?
About 6 people per table with one direct care. You’re plated at either 50%, 75%, or 100% for meals. The percents are basically just calorie amounts. Each meal has an appetizer, entree, and dessert. For a 50% meal, you’ll have half an app, half an entree, and half the dessert (you’re plated at this amount, you don’t have to figure out how much half is). For 75% you have half the app and half the dessert, and full entree. For 100% everything, obviously, is the full amount. You can also have add-ons, especially if you’re gaining weight. Add-ons are things like a luna bar, nutella, peanut butter, double dessert, nuts, Boost, etc..
The chefs bring you the food already portioned, unless you’re on self-portioning. If you’re on self-portioning then some meals go up to the front and portion the meal yourself, with a staff member there basically telling you exactly how much to get. You choose your meals during meal planning group once a week. Basically there’s two options for each part of the meal (i.e. two apps, two entrees, two desserts) and you can choose between those. There’s always a vegetarian option. You can also do double dessert (with no app) or double app (with no dessert) if you’re on self-portioning. They increased the number of sub meals you can get while I was there, I think it’s like 5-7 a week now? Sub meals are 3 standard options (pb&J with pretzels and fruit or grilled cheese with tomato soup, or turkey and cheese with pretzels and fruit)
Once you’re on recovery you also go on meal outings with your dietitian to restaurants around town.
What sorts of food were available or served?
Pretty much everything. Apps were things like chips, salads, fruit, soup etc.. Entrees were things like chicken and rice, chicken noodle soup, burgers (they’re gross don’t get them), veggie burgers, different asian meals, pizza, etc. Desserts would be things like fruit and dip, brownies, cookies, jello, cake, ice cream, sorbet, etc.
Snacks varied. There were 50% snacks, 100% snacks, and then super snacks. There was a big list, things like froyo, animal crackers and nutella, nuts, granola with milk and bananas, cookies and milk, apples and pb or nutella, smoothies, shakes, etc.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
You can supplement for whatever you want, and it isn’t discouraged or looked down upon. The chefs take your plate to the kitchen and then portion out Boost for how many calories you left on it.
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
If you don’t eat your food, you get Boost. If you don’t drink the Boost you’re given a refusal. 3 refusals means a tube. If you have a tube (lots of patients do), you can choose whether you want to drink your Boost or have it pushed down your tube after the meal.
Are you able to be a vegetarian?
Yes, every meal has vegetarian options.
What privileges are allowed?
Pretty much everything, but it was also PHP so it was more flexible than res would be just by nature. You can have your phone in the morning before AM snack and then after dinner. You’re allowed to do yoga and go for walks and on outings as long as you’re medically stable. You can do fitness outings once you’re one “recovery,” which you have to apply for. Once you’re on recovery you can also have recovery breaks, meaning you can leave the suite for 15 minutes at a time. Bathroom monitoring is case by case. I never got off it. If you don’t purge you won’t have to be on it. Bathrooms are locked but if you’re off monitoring staff will just unlock it and let you go. If you’re on it staff has to be in there and then check the toilet before you flush.
How do you earn privileges?
You fill out an application to move up stages, it depends on what % of IBW you are, how compliant you are, your progress, etc.
What was your favorite group?
I liked home group, art, and sleep&draw
What did you like the most?
The staff are absolutely incredible. They go above and beyond to help you. They stay late with patients if they’re struggling, meet with you extra, and truly make you feel cared for. They made the treatment experience feel personal– for example if I was struggling my psychiatrist would come find me to check-in, or a direct care would stay late to talk, etc.
What did you like the least?
Some groups were incredibly boring. There is also a lot of room for getting away with things if you’re determined enough. I was always too scared, but it isn’t a locked unit, and you can easily leave the suite without staff noticing and go down the hall to one of the (many) unlocked bathrooms.
There is also patient favoritism at times, especially since many patients have been in and out of MP for years. There are a lot of people who have pretty much made MP their permanent home, which I don’t think is healthy. It’s also a very tubey population. A lot of people want tubes as it’s a status symbol for ‘sickness,’ so they’ll refuse in order to get one.
Would you recommend this program?
Yes.
What did people do on weekends?
There are groups both days. Saturday you have an outing, and you get $20 to spend wherever you go.
Do you get to know your weight?
It depends. My dietitian told me once a week because we agreed that would be best, others don’t know.
How fast is the weight gain process?
3-4 lbs/week while residential, 1-2 lbs/week while PHP.
What was the average length of stay?
Anywhere from 2 weeks to a year (seriously).
What was the average age range?
Adolescents and adults were separate. Adolescents ranged from 12-18, most were around 14-16 I think. Adults ranged from college-aged to mid-50s. Most were in their 20s or early thirties.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team?
You step down from res to 10 hr partial, to 6 hr partial, and then to IOP (3 hrs up to 5x a week). They also help you to set up your OP treatment team before leaving.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? Yes, there are transition apartments for pts in PHP from out of state. The apartments have a staff member to oversee things. You have to pay to stay in them, however. They’ll also recommend the Ronald McDonald house (it has a bus that goes to the suite) and there are some hotels people stayed at.
I see a lot for anorexia , but nothing about bulimia. Is there many there with that? How does that differ from the anorexia program? Also, are there many older people there? I am 50, and my doctor really wants me to go there. Any thoughts will help, please and thank you.
i’d like to stay anonymous, so i’d rather not give too many details, but i will say i was at mccallum within the last year for a significant period of time and in all levels of the program except for iop. to begin: most of the people who work there work HARD. they care, they want to help, they are supportive and they try so hard to provide individualized care. unfortunately, these people have their hands tied by the higher-ups (mainly dr. mccallum, i suspect). the direct staff, the therapists, dieticians, and nurses try as hard as they can, but they are limited in the care they want to offer when those who make the decisions (who are, sadly, very rarely on the unit and can’t see how their decisions are affecting the patients they supposedly want to help) admit an absurd number of patients with few discharges. they don’t seem to care how thinly they stretch the staff or how the patients miss out on individualized care; it seems more important to expand the business and the profits (most of which, let’s face it, go to…dr. mccallum).
i also observed some serious ethical violations going on there. there was a patient there who had been there for two years. it was clear to the staff and patients that they were doing this patient a disservice and enabling her dependence on treatment. it was disconcerting how comfortable she had gotten there. likewise, mccallum didn’t seem to set any boundaries with patients. patients (especially the one who had been there two years and acted like she ran the place) could do whatever they wanted, not try to be in recovery at all, and just keep getting up-certed and allowed to stay. being disrespectful to staff, yelling and screaming and throwing fits, creating a tense and negative atmosphere- all of it went without any consequences because staff aren’t allowed to do much to demonstrate what is acceptable (especially for living in the real world, which mccallum didn’t seem to teach people to do). again, staff’s hands were tied by the higher-ups who made the decisions. and the decision always seemed to favor just letting patients stay with no ramifications, no changes, no addressing the disturbances to treatment with the community, nothing. patients who overwhelmed and intimidated staff and kind of seemed to have dr. mccallum wrapped around their fingers (for example, those who have been at mccallum on and off for ten years…which they bragged about) weren’t challenged to change and weren’t pushed. if you didn’t want to get better and just wanted somewhere comfortable to be, mccallum didn’t care (and actually seemed to encourage it), even if the daily staff wanted to challenge this tendency.
there were so many people who came and left, came and left, it was scary. there was just a never-ending revolving door. i’ve been in treatment before, and at other places you would have to write a letter to readmit or do a lot to demonstrate you had actually used the tools you supposedly learned last time around, that you had made an effort to change, how you were intending to USE treatment to be in the outside world… at mccallum all the people did was call and they came back, no questions asked, and then they sat or lay around on the couches and didn’t go to groups and treated others any way they wanted and dominated the place.
there were some great groups and some not-so-great groups. the good groups were music therapy, home group (kind of an open process group), and yoga. most people wanted more home groups (they were only 3 times a week for 1 hour), since that was the only time patients got to know each other’s issues and what they were dealing with. the majority of the groups were very topic-oriented- they give you worksheets or the usual ED handouts and readings, which is helpful for the first day of treatment but not really beyond that considering you can read that stuff at the library or online.
almost all the therapists are compassionate, caring, and smart, and the dieticians are great. most people really appreciated their individual treatment teams. the place seemed kind of scattered and all over the place because there were all these different treatment teams that never converged, so most of the therapists didn’t know anyone but their own patients for the most part. there wasn’t really a sense of cohesiveness. but it was clear that each treatment team was really dedicated to their patients. they are very well educated and give you a lot of well-researched information, especially the dieticians. there are a few psychiatrists that are popular among patients and it really sucks if you get the others.
it just felt really big and like we were cattle being herded along. just very overwhelming. motivation was hard to keep up when you were with so many people who were just kind of stuck at mccallum and didn’t seem to actually change or grow there. and it was weird how dr. mccallum had her favorites and those people tended to be the people who never left or constantly came back and weren’t pushed to change. that gave the whole place a sort of creepy vibe.
i would recommend it if you are strong enough in your motivation and commitment to recovery regardless of the environment around you that you won’t be affected by the behavior of others and won’t get sucked into the treatment life. the “in and out and never to return” people i keep in touch with seem to do the best.
Hi I was wondering how long you guys had to wait to get into the program?
First time, less than a week. Second time, 4 weeks. It really depends on the census at the time. It shouldn’t take that long to get in at this time of the year — it’s once people finish school for the summer that it’ll start to get really busy!
Any reviews since the residential program moved to the house?
Does anyone know if there’s a bmi that you must be at and if its lower, you can’t be in their treatment center? I’m looking into McCallum but I’m pretty underweight and I’m wondering what the lowest they accept. I’d really appreciate a response. Thank you!