Inova Kellar Center – Fairfax

Great place with helpful therapist and wonderful psychiatrists

*Disclaimer:* This is a review for Kellar’s psychiatric medication management services only, as my child has not attended PHP here and is not involved in any of their other therapy programs either. I have also been told… that the Kellar School is not technically connected to this location despite sharing a name and resources, so if you see any reviews here for that, just disregard them. *And now for the actual review:* My 13-year-old has a lot of developmental and intellectual deficits that has made finding a psychiatrist who can treat her extremely difficult, as most do not have the necessary expertise to communicate with her in a way that doesn’t send her into a behavioral crisis and unfortunately more than a few psychiatrists are unwilling break from their usual playbook when planning her care because they just don’t work with this population enough or they don’t have adequate time in their schedules to allow for a truly individualized approach for care. Basically, working with Autistic/intellectually disabled children is an art form, and only a few providers can wield that brush effectively. Dr. Shruti Tewari is this provider. The way she is able to talk to my child at her level of understanding without coming off as condescending is incredible, and actually allows my child the dignity and ability to be an active participant in her care, which is a right but absolutely not a guarantee for the neurodivergent patient. Just to give a little taste of what previous psychiatry practices find acceptable, up until now appointments have involved my child staring off into space while the clinicians completely ignore her the whole appointment, opting instead to just have us, the parents, answer questions about what we think her issues are, which puts me in the difficult position of having to talk about her like she isn’t even in the room when she’s actually able to understand just enough of what is going on to know we are talking about her like she is just a problem to solve, which I’m sure you can imagine is not great for a growing child’s self-esteem. Anyway, to wrap up a review that somehow now also doubles as a rant about how absolutely dismal the current state of American mental healthcare is, Kellar’s reception staff is kind, professional, and they actually answer the phone (no dealing with call centers 5 states away or playing the endlessly frustrating game of email tag! Woo!). Yes, there can be a fairly long waitlist for this practice, but trust me, put your kid on it anyway, because by the time your child’s number comes up you’ll more than likely be joyously ready to switch from whatever psychiatrist you did end up finding for them. And If the other psychiatrists at this practice are even half as competent as Dr. Tewari, you are already in better hands than you would be with 99.9% of other providers, and I’m sure you want what’s best for your kid, otherwise you wouldn’t be here, would you? Good luck with everything, having a child who needs psychiatric help can really drain your spirit no matter how much you want to be better than that, hopefully this review can help make your family’s journey just a little bit easier and a lot more humane. Peace & love.

After applying to this clinic for my daughter, I reviewed online reviews and didn't respond to the email I received for a consultation. Then I decided to try it. I figured if I didn't like it, I wouldn't continue.… Coming here was the best decision of my life. Dr. Kalaskar and therapist Pritchard are the perfect people I've met. Speaking with them, all my stress and fear melted away. I felt a sense of "We'll figure it out." They guided not only my daughter but also me. They provided clear and insightful answers to my questions. They kept me updated. I owe you a great deal. I hope we meet again, but not as patients.

My niece and nephew see Dr Mirza and Dr Peters they are both absolutely amazing. They are patient offering the best advise and directions for the kids. My nephew also sees a therapist Sarah she is outstanding. Sarah and… the Dr's are responsive, and extremely professional. The Staff at both locations Fairfax and Loundon have been fantastic!! And I mean from the beginning scheduling all intake appt and ensuring the kids and I were comfortable. I appreciate the dedicated teams at the Keller Centers

27 years later, I still remember all the times this place let me down.

I have gotten to see first hand how this place makes a difference in the lives of adolescents and their families needing support.

Inappropriate and misogynistic bullying by Dr. Mirza online.

Been trying to make an appointment since November and they never return my calls. Seriously, what good are they?

The Kellar School is a place where lives are changed and hope restored. There is a pervasive atmosphere of caring and degree of professionalism that makes it a preeminent special education facility. The curriculum is… sufficiently individualized that one feels as if the entire facility exists solely for the benefit of one's own child (and EVERY parent is left with that same feeling). The faculty, counselors and administrators are proactive in communicating developments and, even more impotantly, responsive to parents' concerns (emails are typically answered within a few hours, and never more than a day later). Proof of the efficacy of Kellar's methodology is readily apparent. A student's improvement here is noticeable comparatively quickly. While there are oscillations, the trend is always upwards. The result is that the Kellar School ensures that its students realize their maximum potential. Often, that is a higher degree of functionality than anyone had reason to imagine upon enrollment. I have examined the other reviews here, and the negative ones are apparently talking about different components of Inova's treatment apparatus. The Kellar School itself is an amazing facility and any family that can get their student admitted here should count itself fortunate. For any student who falls within the parameters of its treatment options, I highly recommend that the family use every means at its disposal to advocate for placement.

The staff at the Keller Center are more abusive than the prison guards at Abu Ghraib. Let's just say, a perfectly strong minded sane person can be driven to suicide after dealing with the mentally disturbed and abusive… staff they have there.

My boys see Dr. Mayrant and Dr. Singh for medication management. I love how both doctors take the whole child and their environment into consideration. I appreciate that they provide behavioral recommendations as well… as the medication. My boys are thriving thanks to the care received from Dr. Singh and Dr. Mayrant.

I had contacted the outpatient program for assistance for my teen in medication management for depression and anxiety to the beginning of May. After several weeks of paperwork exchange, we finally got an appointment… several weeks later in mid July. It was then rescheduled 4 DIFFERENT TIMES with the finally appointment being scheduled at the end of September. During this process I was also promised return calls twice that never happened. They simply do not prioritize patient care and my child deserves better.

This was the worst school I ever been too. Trust me. I was there for 3 and some change YEARS. PARENTS!!!! DO NOT SEND YOUR TROUBLED CHILD HERE!!!!! IT TOOK ME YEARS TO POST THIS REVIEW!!!!!! Trust me. I was a troubled… emotional abused. But what their methods is..... ABUSE!!!!!!! EVEN IN HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! AFTER I WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE!!!!! I AM LITERALLY SO MENTALLY SCARRED FROM THIS SCHOOL!!!! ALL THEY DO IS OVER MEDICATE!!!! I WAS STARTING TO BE AN ADDICT BECAUSE OF THE FACT I WAS ABUSED NOT ONLY EMOTIONALLY AS WELL MENTALLY EVEN ASSAULTED BY A STUDENT THERE!!!! AND AFTER THE ASSAULT THEY GOT ME COMING BACK AFTER A WEEK OR SO!!!!! PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD HERE!!!!! "We will take care of you." LIE!!!!!! I WAS THERE FROM 2010 TILL 2013 !!!!!! I AM THANKFUL I ESCAPED!!!! PLEASE PLEASE REMEMBER THAT NOT ALL SCHOOLS STATE OR EVEN PRIVATE!!!! MY PARENTS WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME!!!! AND YET!!!! I KEPT BEING ABUSED THERE!!!! I WAS NEVER HAPPY!!!!! FROM SOMEONE WHO EXPERIENCED THERE!!!! AND I AM 5 YEARS SOBER NOW!!!!! THEY WOULD TELL MY PARENTS I NEEDED TO.CHANGE MEDICINES A LOT!!!!!

The head of the PCP program is manipulative. My daughter was part of the Partial Hospitalization program. She had been experiencing depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. The wait list was months to get in, so by… the time there was an opening, she was already underway to healing, but her time in the PHP set her back. All day she had to talk about her depression and listen to others talk about theirs. She was at a point that she was ready to move on past the depression, but they wouldn't let her. When she finally said that their program was the only depressing thing in her life and attending it was the only thing that made her feel suicidal they tried to have her sent to a residential facility in the mid-west. They threatened to try to sue for custody of my child if we wouldn't agree to send her. It was a thinly veiled threat of, "we wouldn't want to have to have your child taken away, but we've done it before - and we know what's best". The doctors were very manipulative. They sent me out of the room and then told my daughter they were sending my daughter to live in a hospital halfway across the country which doens't allow family visits. How is it okay to manipulate and threaten someone with mental health issues? My daughter was very cooperative with everything but they didn't like that she said their program was making her worse. The literally called me in and had me come straight over saying that she should be sent away. It is horrible to threaten a family with something like that. My husband is a lawyer so he knew that legally they have no grounds, but it would be terrifying and for them to try that on parents who arent' aware what their rights are. The doctors there didn't want to hear that their one-size-fits-all doesn't work for everyone. and seemed to then take it out on the patient. IThey also completed discounted anything my daughter said about what is making her depressed and completely dismissed the patient and the parent's ideas about what they feel would be beneficial. It's been a few years now and my child has been doing so much better after leaving their program.

Everyone on staff was wonderful I graduated from here and it really helped me through my recovery. It’s like a family there and family takes care of each other and that’s exactly what they do.

This has been the most horrible experience we’ve ever had. We came in and had an evaluation were than scheduled for a date. They never called us back and after u called to confirm they said they had box availability… until the end of the week. They lie and only offer me to go elsewhere not caring about the issue. Don’t use this place they are the worst.

I’ve been through this program twice this is not something that was helpful for me and the groups are repetitive the environment is really weird and the staff are nice but follow strict guidelines that make it hard to… talk to them about anything they jump to conclusion and put words in kids mouths I had an amazing doctor and the staff is super nice but I don’t know if this is something that I would say helped there are other partial and iops that are significantly better

do NOT take your child here. I went here roughly a year ago for depression and anxiety and they honestly made matters worse. they treat you like you're a prisoner (forcing you to take off your shoes to check for things,… making you empty out your water bottle if you opened it already, not letting you go to the bathroom without an escort, etc) the communication they provide is very minimal, for instance, they put me on an adhd med (even though I don't even have adhd) without even talking to a) my psychiatrist or b) my parents about it first. they have a group talking time and if you don't say anything, they take it as you going backwards in recovery. they also have the patience do all of the clean up instead of staff and I was forced to wipe down the desks with a spray that had chemicals in it that I am mildly allergic to. they don't let you have any connections with other patients because of a "safety issue". I had previously been in an inpatient facility and one of the kids at there was at the kellar center at the same time. we bonded over that. but everytime we tried to talk and have a normal conversation about it, they separated us. this place needs to be shut down.

In November 2018, my daughter was a patient at the Inova Kellar Center's adolescent partial hospitalization program (PHP). Please be aware of the following: 1. As a parent, I was not introduced to any of the staff that… would be working with my daughter except the doctor. 2. The 15-minute “Orientation” meeting included another parent and their child and I was curious whether this was a HIPAA violation; at the end, the Kellar Center staff member shut off the lights even though my daughter and I were still in the very back of the conference room, a conference room with no outside windows. It felt so rushed as if the Kellar Center staff member really had no desire but to get through with it as quickly as possible so she could go home. 3. My daughter and me as a parent witnessed incredible dysfunction and an underlying lack of communication with parents or patients: a. Feeling and atmosphere that doesn’t allow a newly arrived patient the ability to ask questions (e.g. where is the bathroom, am I allowed to go to the bathroom, can I ask questions, what if I don’t feel well). b. The point system – My daughter and I still have no idea what those numbers mean on the forms she brings home each night except that higher numbers are good. c. Scheduling of family meetings – we had to initiate every single family meeting and those weren’t even scheduled until the day prior. d. Snow days/early dismissal – no communication (email, text, phone call, or note) to parents was provided; staff were not interested in our feedback regarding the lack of communications being such a big issue and it never improved the entire time we attended even though we provided feedback over and over again. 4. No respect or understanding that I as a parent still have to be at my job and perform work. 5. Kellar Center staff are so focused on process/procedures/protocols that they miss out on the purpose of this program to help people. There was more focus on rules and forms than there was on warmth, kindness, and communication. 6. Kellar Center staff do not trust their patients and the patients are treated like prisoners. Patients cannot talk with each other. Patients cannot enter each other’s personal space. Patients cannot go to the bathroom without an escort. Bathrooms are locked. Upon arrival, patients have to take off their shoes for a daily inspection. At the beginning of the program my daughter had to pop her bra strap. One day she had to take off her socks to show there was nothing hidden inside. If you bring an opened water bottle, you have to dump out all of your water and get fresh water. My daughter finally stopped drinking water during program hours because she felt so intimidated about asking and being escorted to the restroom. I don’t understand how there can be any trust expected from patients or parents when no trust is extended by the doctor, therapist and other Kellar Center staff. Summary: We rejoice in the day when we can leave this uncomely institution and we will broadcast to all the horrors of attending and encourage no other person to subject themselves to this place. The Kellar Center should not be trusted with adolescents in crisis. They nearly drove this parent into a mental health situation because of the amazing lack of decency, organization, communication and competence exhibited almost daily with nearly every interaction we had.

They helped me so much!!! I love them so much number 1 choice

Professional and knowledgeable staff. Caring environment. Hard to get in because of long wait lists but once in, the treatment has been quality. I am grateful for our therapists.

I really enjoyed my Stay here. They helped me a lot and I’m happy to report back with this review