ABH Pennsylvania Childrens Services – Malvern

i attended here about 3 years ago now and heres what people wont tell you about this place. the campus is dirty and has all types of infestations. ants, stinkbugs, spiders, roaches. anything you can name they probably… have. medical staff are negligent and wait until last minute to treat you. i began having an allergic reaction to something in there and the medical staff refused to send me to a real hospital until i was in anaphylactic shock on the floor, unable to move. not to mention they would give kids Benadryl to knock them out at night. bottom line, dont send your kids here unless absolutely necessary. its not great for anyones mental or physical health.

To any parent thinking of sending your child to a behavioral school. First let me start by saying I was First introduced to this institution in the 1980's my mother and uncle had wanted to have me admitted, after a… school visit with myself, mom, uncle and school staff. We witnessed a student smash a desk over another one's head. Fortunately for me my mother saw this and declined to admit me. However she did admit me to elan 1 in Poland springs Maine. Complete mental torture and brainwashing. Have patience with your kids, you will do them more harm then good by ever admitting them to such cruel schools. I speak from the heart and give you the 💯 truth. Good luck and God bless 🙌

My son has been here for 5 weeks, and we are very happy with the staff, service, and overall experience there. This is a very difficult journey for any family, but this place really put us at ease. The staff are very… warm and caring, and most importantly made my son feel at home. Thank you all.

My child had a good experience here, but was discharged for medical reasons early. All the while the staff was helpful at every turn, keeping me updated and getting her stuff.

Hey I hated this place I was sent hear when I was a kid the staff were nice but sometimes the security would flash the light on and off in a kids room who had epilepsy you would only get one phone call and that wasn't… enough I used to sneak out at night to watch TV in the living room or play area they there was this one kid who was suicidal that why they sent him there,we actually became good friends I wish I could talk to him but and it wasn't even over after that they would suggest you to a mini school/learing program this was in 2021 or 2020.

For the mom who has to make a tough choice at 2am like me, this is the one. I was so nervous about sending my child here based on the reviews, but chose to focus on the few good reviews. This place was great. Rose and… the doctor were incredible and actually listened. What I’ve been pleading with the doctors for months, they actually did. They took the time to actually listen. I got to visit her actually quite often, like 2-3 times a week, and talk to her twice daily. Everytime I visited, she was clean, happy, had her nails painted at one point and one time was so anxious to go back to finish her craft. This put her on a path to succeed with medications, diagnoses, and services. I think it was harder on me as a parent, than it was for her. I just can’t say enough good things about this place.

I wouldn't recommend this hospital for any child my daughter was supposed to be on the children's unit it's 6-8 but instead was put with 6-12 year Olds and was stabbed by a 10 year old with a pencil on her unit when I… confronted the hospital they then started pushing my daughter like she was lying and she was supposed to be discharged a day and a half later but they told me they couldn't guarantee her safety and they can't guarantee anyone's safety this is the worst hospital I had to do an ama because the doctor wouldn't allow her to come home while I was there and I wasn't going to leave her in an unsafe place

I was here when I was a teen. Back in 2005. I don't remember a lot of the experience. I feel like it's a trauma I block out. I had a couple friends attempt to harm themselves or other people at the Mapleton campus… school. I lived on c wing for maybe 2 weeks, then on d wing for like 6 weeks, then in carriage house for the rest of my time there. From April to November of 2005. I have some great memories of the kids. And a couple of staff that actually cared. But thinking back makes me sick to my stomach. In case y'all ever find this review...Johnny G, Dan, Hakeem, Kenroy, Lea, Brynne, Leslian, Erika, Abby, Charlie, and omg so many more. Ellie, who spent hours on my hair for me to have an allergic reaction to my extensions. Miss Theresa, my favorite staffer. This is Kimi Smith. I was in Mr. Ellis Rivera's class at the school. I miss you guys. I love yall. And I hope you're doing well. 😭

staff is rude and plays favorites, they would gossip about the patients while we were trying to sleep, and if anyone said anything about it we were “disrespectful” they wouldn’t let us brush our teeth, we got in trouble… for shaking our legs when sitting down, which many people know is a way to ease anxiety. there were some nice staff but a lot of them were just power hungry and treated us like we were in daycare not a mental hospital. one time i was just throwing away something and said hi to someone from another unit and i got screamed at in front of the whole hospital. also a few staff members had a gc and would gossip abt us in it. basically they just need new employees.

I was here two years ago after an attempt and some of the staff was so rude. I arrived there at night very scared and confused. The next morning the staff wasn’t very helpful with me being new. I didn’t get a welcome… basket like the other girls got. Girls were constantly fighting and you never really felt safe. Some of the staff was nice but there were definitely certain staff members that should NOT be working there.

So, a lot of the reviews said this was a horrible experience, and I became extremely nervous before I went here. Don't listen to these reviews. For the most part, the staff was great and they tried their best and… listened to you. There were a few staff members that I did not like very much, but they weren't there very often. One of them would roll her eyes a lot and kinda treat the kids like they were way beneath her, and the other one ran a group that was just very triggering for a ton of kids and even the other staff members were like "Yeah don't listen to a word this guy says." The night shift would be loud sometimes, but the hallway did echo a lot. I think when it comes to the kids behavior it really depends on who is in your group. I was in the teen girls side and there were only two kids who would get into fights, but the rest of them were actually really great and helped me a lot. I think something that's very important to remember is the staff is not against you. They are working to help you the best that they can, and if you have a problem, you can talk about it. Many of the reviews complained about the shower situation, but I was here a few days ago and the showers were okay for the most part. Sometimes there would be a bug or something, but that can't really be helped since this particular location is in the middle of a grass field. Thank you for reading my review, and if you are going to Devereux I wish you the best, and please don't give up on yourself. You are worth the help.

i was sent here for suicidal ideation for the first time ever over a year ago. the experience was horrible. i was there for almost two weeks, and had only been to two group therapies. we literally just played card games… all day. staff were extremely rude except for two older staff and one younger staff. a girl was self harming in the day/common room and staff did nothing and just talked about it and watched. staff also talked about personal things and even made fun of patients right next to said patients. showers were disgusting. the smelled bad and even had mold and brown stuff in the showers and never got cleaned. one staff was extremely rude to everyone for no reason. i’m transgender so i had to go to the kids side, this staff went out of her way to separate boys and girls and made me go with the girls and said “ youre not really a boy you just identify as one”. doctors,nurses, and therapists were extremely nice, and only staff deserving recognition.if you’re going to devereux, be prepared for a rough time.

The people were very awful they always put me in a locked room for no reason and they always will put me in my room and they would give me needle when I be agitate and they did not respect my family or the patient.

As a mother, when reading these reviews I became very nervous about my child reciving treatment from this facility. I was reminded from someone that most people who write reviews for really anything it is usually only… for bad reviews. I am so glad I listened to them because the staff is super friendly, helpful and listen to you as a parent and makes sure your voice is heard. They spend time helping your child and put in alot of work to do so. The nurses are super friendly and helpful with questions! I know it's hard when you have to find a place like this to send your child to, believe me I know.. however I do feel like this is a good place, better than most that I have heard of!

Please ignore my name. I was here for two weeks a few months ago, which wasn’t necessarily bad. I did however find some of the staff rude? They also have weird/personal conversations while we were trying to sleep, and… they were actually loud. It’s like they didn’t care if we were awake or not. Depending on when you showered the bathroom could either smell okay or horrid. It was basically disgusting overall for showering, but the bathroom stalls in themselves were fine. Some thing I do miss though, is the peers I made there. I know that we’re all supposed to be focusing on our own treatment, and I was. I had a couple preferred peers, and I miss all of them dearly. One made a sign for the two of us on our door, and when I was discharged, they told me to take it with me. Since then it’s been hung up on my door, and I haven’t actually been able to bring myself to take it down. I wouldn’t say the place is absolutely terrible, but it definitely wasn’t a great place either. I did get the help I needed, and that’s really what matters, right?

I was here for about a month back in march. it wasn’t too bad. my only complaints are that 1. the showers often had stink bugs and mold and it usually smelled VERY bad.. like genuinely the worst smell i’ve ever… encountered. 2. some of the staff aren’t meant for the job. i loved most of the staff because they were fun and most of them were helpful but some of them didn’t really seem to care about their job. some night time staff would sit in the hallways and have personal conversations on the phone or with eachother and would talk loudly when we were trying to sleep. it wasn’t a negative experience for me overall though. the staff who care are genuinely some of the best and most helpful people ive ever met and most of the food was actually good lol

High turnover and I mean a new therapist quits weekly to monthly and disrupts the consistency and connection you need to do the therapy work. Allie was ok at first not great but consistent then kept looking at her phone… and doing other things during telehealth appts.Autisitc kids run circles around therapists and need psychitrists for secondary problems. They did not have any. She never included me, the parent and sole custodian and after 3 months in program she would schedule appts then not show up or cancel them and started to bring some new person in. She wanted to do a home visit while she had covid. It means the program is useless without consistancy. She also told my kid at discharge that he could call her at any time without my knowing or permission.My kid told me that. My 14 year old doesn't need a 30 something adult grooming him thanks. That was illigal to do. Also for being so consentrated on people with autism on the website and their secondary issues, they didn't even know people who have autism do not benefit from dbt and cbt anyway but we were hoping for some coping skills instead of just tantrums and a kid who constantly manipulated anyone for his benefit.Everywhere else is the same so no big suprise but waste of time completely.

I was here twelve years ago. Theyd threatened to sedate you at every sign of emotion. I got so upset from being here I got physically sick, and they gave me just a paper bag to vomit into, and then when it inevitably… broke made me clean it up by myself and laughed.

Great psychiatrist, but if you get assigned with Theresa Galli for therapy she will report you to CYF without knowing all the facts.

Awful place... all the girls here would get into fights and just curse and be outright disrespectful. The staff did nothing. My psychiatrist was just rude, asked why I would admit myself if I had a homecoming dance and… was so upset about it. My clinician got mad at me for getting attitude with her when I was extremely upset, and acted as if I did something terrible. The staff can be verbally abusive to some of the more troubled patients. There’s no way you can fall asleep, the staff is EXTREMELY noisy and a lot of girls just SCREAM. Food was alright but forced upon us. If it wasn’t for my roommate I could NOT have gotten through this awful place. Do not recommend. Extremely hazardous and abusive staff.

Family based therapists were disorganized, therapists inexperienced and kept changing appointments and when we reached out during a crisis most recently for support were totally ignored. After putting this complaint in… writing- ignored by the clinical supervisor and Director and my son ended up inpatient at the ER for suicide attempt. I will never ever use this organization again nor recommend.

Both times I went there it was absolutely horrible. The first time was a bit better then the 2nd time. Both times some of the staff were so sweet and supportive but most of them were extremely rude and disrespectful… also very hypocritical of the patients. Everyday on the unit it was so traumatizing we had to evacuate multiple times because this girl on 1 to 1 was a danger threat to us. There was also multiple physical fights objects where thrown at people.The kids were so mean to me even though it was only my first time in a mental hospital. I was only there trying to get better and to get the treatment I needed.. not to watch kids fight eachother, being dragged into isolated rooms just for expressing their emotions and put on restraints. Although I made some amazing memories/friends there, and the psychiatrists were very helpful, and caring.

This is from a while back from when I was 15. but to this day, I have nightmares of this place. At random they would sedate kids for the most minuscule things. My roommate at the time was dragged out of the room for… sitting on the window ledge. They sedated me with medicine that didn’t do anything but turn me into a zombie. Little to no group activity to better improve our mental states. I would give a zero if I could. Never send your kids here.

i was in Devereux’s impatient adolescent program and this place is horrible. it isn’t a good environment to put your child in, they make you feel like a prisoner and all of the staff members are disrespectful and… childish. i pity the person who runs this disgusting establishment they call a “hospital”. patients are treated like they aren’t human and the doctors there rush diagnosis’. please do not put your child in their program, it is not a safe place.

I would not recommend this place to anyone. The doctors and therapists were nice but the staff was absolutely horrible. There was only a handful of adults that were actually nice to the children. They were super loud at… night so it was really hard to sleep, and if one of the kids were acting up the staff would threaten to take away the childs meal. Overall most were just extremely disrespectful. No wonder why the girls have been there for so long and are miserable. Places like this are supposed to be a safe place for children who have behavioral or mental health issues, but personally it made me feel more insane than i already was.

I was here as a teen this place was ok back then but now I hear some wild and weird things go on here officials need to look into this place

Staff is very rude, unprofessional and unorganized. Does not keep you up to date on child's treatment or medication. Would not recommend to anyone!