Philhaven Behavioral Healthcare – Lebanon

I was hospitalized here in June of 2024 and (quite memorably) had intentionally flooded the bathroom because I believed I was being sucked into the shower drain (I had psychosis following a major sinus infection). At… the time I had left a negative review because it was overall just a terrible experience, but with hindsight that wasn’t really the staff’s fault. I also work in psych now myself, and sometimes medicating someone until they go to sleep and hoping they feel better when they wake up is really all you can do. Many thanks to the ladies who dragged my panicked and uncooperative self out of the shower, it needed to happen 🫶

Doctor said he was going to flood my system with Abilify. Well he did that, but should probably have looked AT THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE DRUG BEFORE DOING THAT. These injections have given me crippling insomnia and… restlessness like you wouldn’t believe. These injections were given to me almost a month and a half ago and I’m still dealing with odd side effects. Maybe start with a lower dosage before going balls to the wall doc. Terrible beds at this place. The staff is nice, but THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING TO DO THERE. You can color or go to groups. That’s about IT. Overall a bad experience. Only slightly better than Belmont in Philly.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google Review WellSpan and DBT — honest review I want to give an honest review based on my own experience with WellSpan and DBT. I came into this needing more than someone simply telling me to “think positive” or… giving me generic advice. DBT gave me actual tools for dealing with difficult emotions, impulsive reactions, distress, and situations where my brain wants to go straight into fight-or-flight mode. What I appreciate most is that DBT doesn't require you to pretend that what you're feeling isn't real. It teaches you how to acknowledge what you're feeling while still learning how to choose what you do next. WellSpan has also given me a place where I could actually work on these things with people who were willing to listen. It hasn't magically fixed everything—and I don't think any honest review should pretend therapy works like a magic switch—but I have learned things I can actually use outside of the program. I've also learned that progress isn't always some dramatic breakthrough. Sometimes progress is recognizing an impulse and not acting on it. Sometimes it's communicating honestly instead of avoiding something. Sometimes it's simply getting through a difficult day without making the situation worse. I'm still working on myself. I still have difficult days. But I have more tools than I had before, and that's worth something. If you're considering WellSpan or DBT, I'd say give it a fair chance. Go in willing to participate, ask questions, and actually practice the skills. You may not walk out magically fixed—but you might walk out with a few tools that can make the next difficult moment easier to survive. And now for the Raccoon hello: Hello, fellow humans. I'm the slightly messed-up Viking raccoon wandering through the wilderness with a lantern in one hand and some extremely blunt words in the other. 🦝⚔️🏮 I'm not here to pretend I have everything figured out. I don't. I'm here because sometimes the weirdest people have the most interesting conversations, and sometimes a dark sense of humor is what gets you through another day. So consider this both a review and an invitation to interact. If you're struggling, you're not necessarily broken. Sometimes you're just a human being who's been through some ridiculous shit and is still figuring out what to do with it. Raccoon out. 🦝

Hi this is a very different email that I use but I'm John and I was there to get the help that I needed and they did more for me I'm very grateful for all they did for me thank you to all the doctors and nurses as well… they other staff you are really the best

yall made me worse than i was before, and the staff is super unprofessional.

It was truly the most scariest place I've ever been literally had too fight for my life to get out of this place alive I have never been thru something like this dont recommend they will try too kill/hurt you if you act… like a mentally ill person witch this is suppose to be the place for the mentally ill!

My kid has been to a lot of psychiatric facilities and said this was one of the better ones he went to. It's not a 5 start resort by any means but as far as psychiatric hospitals go, this was one of the better ones.… They encourage family visits and home meals. They did stabilize him. I wish they would have worked more on evaluating and diagnosing while he was there but the doctor and care team contacted me with regular updates and I could call whenever I wanted to check in. He said the staff was caring and attentive and facilities clean.

Absolutely horrible place to send your child, DO NOT SEND YOUR KID HERE. My kid dealt with fights there during all of this, seeing facility workers making out in front of her, and the nurses and doctors don’t don’t… their job with noting things and documenting. HORRIBLE PLACE.

This was a very frustrating experience. A clear court order was not followed, and I was not given the opportunity to present information to correct what they had wrong. Requests to speak with a supervisor or legal… department were denied, with staff stating none were available. This raises serious concerns about their procedures and oversight, particularly where decisions directly impact a child’s well-being.

Philhaven was a godsend to my family during the treatment of a family member. I have nothing but positive things to say about the staff, the care during the stay, and the efforts of staff to arrange post-visit care.… Philhaven is a highly professional facility that performs its healthcare mission very well. Thank you Philhaven.

The facility itself is not bad, and the staff are relatively nice and seem to care. That said, once you're incarcerated here, it is very difficult to get out. They look for more reasons to keep you there than to release… you even if they can clearly see that you don't have any psych related problems anymore. They should be looking for reasons to release you, not keep you there longer and put you on more drugs.

If I could give this place zero stars I would! I had a very bad therapist named BH. TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. He is judgemental, Rude and very condescending. I will never get a therapist by wellspan ever again! If you have a… horrible family member who also works for wellspan and has it in for you, this place takes sides! There is discrimination big time! Be careful out there!!!

parents, please read this if you are considering sending your children here: i went here a few years ago after making an attempt on my life and self harming. i was in a terrible mental state because i had survived a few… years of child sexual abuse. the issue is that this facility treats patients in a one size fits all manner. they do not have the tools or resources to create proper care plans for patients. each patient is treated as though they have the same issues both mentally and physically. for starters, if your child has autism i would definitely not recommend sending them here. when i was here there was a kid with autism and another kid who bullied him relentlessly until he would become overwhelmed. once he became overwhelmed he would have a mental breakdown, which in some cases the staff yelled at him and in others locked him in a room/his room. the child who never left him alone? never got in trouble for causing him to have that reaction. personally, i was asked by a male staff member if i thought jesus would approve of what i had done to myself and how i didnt balue my life. this question would be fine if this us a conversation in a religious setting, however this place is not a religious setting as a jewish child i felt very out of place and uncomfortable by the question. the water here is also terrible, it tastes like its contaminated. they definitely need to filter it. the food is also terrible, there is a chance your child will need to take time to eat properly after being here. lastly, the staff is not kind. as a child i thought this was normal, but as a current medical student who has learned in depth about mental health and helping patients with these conditions i can say that this is not the place for help. this place did absolutely nothing for me and i didnt actually heal until i started to go to therapy through a different place with people who were qualified to help me with my specific issues. PLEASE FIND SPECIALIZED TREATMENT!!

Once your a patient you don't mean anything to them called for a problem and was blown off called back and the only answer was a drug that make you gain weight and sleep all the time very poor service would not… recommend for anyone

Very unhelpful. Staff was uncomfortable and uncoordinated. After a literal day of being there. I immediately left. The therapist I met first had no care whatsoever. I waited wayyy to long for someone to come see me. And… the staff is downright lazy. Especially after reading these comments. Group therapy sucked. Don't recommend. UPMC is a very nice place I do recommend going there instead. Very friendly staff and took me very seriously.

In 2018 I was in their inpatient twice for 10 days each, and their residential program for 6 months. I got jumped, shamed, and they don’t care if kids harm themselves. My roommate had a razor blade and would show all… the patients how easy it was to smuggle things in. Most staff were very rude and some even prevented the “bigger” kids from having snacks at snack time. DO NOT send your kids here, they will come back more traumatized then when they went in. Thankfully the residential is no longer there, but the staff have been moved to the main building.

I was in Philhaven in spring 2023. I was so depressed and anxious before going in that I couldn't function and was rapidly losing weight, couldn't get out of bed. I'm grateful for my time in Philhaven, getting… medications and coping skills to cope. The staff and everything was amazing. I'm also thankful for the psychiatrist Dr. Khan who gave me a mental health diagnosis that actually made sense. I can't believe I went my whole life without someone diagnosing me properly and I'm so glad Dr. Khan was able to. I am now able to handle my life and mental health. Thank you!

This place is a disaster. Upon admission, I was asked where my soul goes when I die? This was after saying I lost my faith years ago. Wildly inappropriate to mention DEATH to a new patient. Or BADGER them with Christian… apologist questions. That’s what a possibly suicidal person wants. It felt like he was trying to convert me. It was the start of a very bad experience with the staff. I had a great time with the patients however. I didn’t see the doctor for nearly 24 hours of being there. Possibly more. The list goes on but that gives you an idea. The news should send someone in there for 3-5 days and see how bad it is. If you read this after leaving the facility and have similar concerns or complaints, there are advocates. Get in touch. Someone to talk to at least.

Our daughter ( 21 yrs old) spent 3 weeks at Philhaven. She was kept safe and was at a much better place emotionally upon her release. Thank you to her therapists and Dr who was willing to make a “medicine switch for the… better. Also the activities were helpful. One thing we really appreciated was the phone calls she was allowed to make all day long and we could call in to talk with her any time. We spent a lot of quality time on the phone with her, it was a lifeline for her. I’m sure it’s not convenient for the staff to always have all these calls coming in and going out all day until late in the evening. I say “ Thank you” for allowing us that phone time and for providing for our daughters daily needs while she was there.

My GF has been wrongfully locked up at Wellspan Philhaven for months. The phcatrist there Dr Fombu Lied and said she would be out soon, and two months latter she is still lock up at Wellspan Philhaven, She also says her… room is cold, and the food is cold.

I was hospitalized when I was 16 and it was the most traumatizing experience of my life. They did nothing to treat me, they took away my medication, the staff were rude and unqualified, and I was forced to stay longer… because I didn’t eat breakfast (nobody told me I HAD to eat all three meals) I came out far worse than I went in and to this day I would rather suffer than risk going back

A family member of mine was released at 14 days (TODAY) when I was told 20!! They released her to go home and she’s back in a hospital getting evaluated less than 3 hours after her release. The doctor and nurse at the… hospital said that they should have never been let go and needs extended care.

I can't believe my grandson was sent home in the condition he was in. Totally unacceptable!

I was hospitalized (voluntarily) when I was 15. I am now 23. To this day I have a DEEP mistrust in all things psychology. They will drug you or your kid for the smallest things. I once stood up “too aggressively” the… staff then strapped me to a backboard and sedated me against my will. I also contracted pneumonia, hand foot mouth disease, and bronchitis during my short stay. They refused to take me to a hospital and I could’ve died. (According to the doctor I saw after I was released ) So in short they should all be in jail for what’s going on behind these doors. ABUSE AND UNETHICAL STAFF.

Horrible treatment made everything much worse and this place made me and my parents even father apart at the time and i just had to fake it to get out of it or they wouldn't let you leave and they tell parents that its… whats best for them but they don't actually do anything you talk to someone maybe once a week then they just have you go outside for maybe an hour if your on good enough terms but if not all your doing is in your room or in the common area watching a movie or something felt more like a prison then anything