Newport Academy – Saint Cloud

We live 20 hrs away from facility we were told that insurance would only cover her stay at St. Cloud location makes no sense but ok so we make the sacrifice to send our child there. Each week we are being told insurance… is reviewing on a week by week case for treatment leaving us in limbo they ended up only covering 4 weeks there was no formal discharge showed up signed a document and out the door we went no face to face meeting with a therapist or psychiatrist no after discharge care scheduled we had made appointment With local therapist to be told they don’t have the referral get home and child is no better than when they left back to the same attitude and behaviors these people are useless we wasted a ton of time and money 10/10 would not recommend

Our family came to Newport Academy during a genuine crisis, hoping for assessment, treatment, guidance, and support. Unfortunately, our experience was deeply disappointing. The biggest issue was the apparent dismissal… of concerns raised by parents and stepparents who have lived with this adolescent's emotional dysregulation, anger outbursts, and behavioral problems for a long time. The fact that a teenager is cooperative, engaged, and receptive in a treatment setting does not automatically mean there is no underlying problem to address. What was especially concerning was being informed of an upcoming discharge on the same day the patient had a significant anger outburst during a therapy session. Because it was the first time staff had witnessed this behavior, it appeared to be minimized rather than recognized as confirmation of concerns that had been repeatedly reported by family members. The episodes we see at home are often far more intense. We also felt that the patient's version of events carried far more weight than the observations of the people who actually live with him. Families know that adolescents can present very differently in structured environments than they do at home. Before admission, expectations were set regarding the support and treatment that would be provided. Later, when concerns remained unresolved, we were told that Newport Academy is not intended to be a long-term treatment facility. While we understand that insurance requirements and levels of care affect clinical decisions, families deserve clear and realistic expectations from the beginning. As a disappointed parent, I left feeling that our concerns were minimized, our experiences were discounted, and our family was left without the level of support we were led to believe would be available. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend this program to families seeking meaningful intervention for significant emotional and behavioral challenges. I hope this feedback is taken seriously and used to improve communication, family involvement, assessment practices, and discharge decision-making for future patients and families. No family should leave treatment feeling that the people who know the patient best were the least heard in the process. Sincerely, A disappointed parent and stepparent who trusted this system to provide meaningful help during a family crisis and was let down.

Newport Academy, MN IS A SCAM. PLEASE read this to the end ESPECIALLY if your child has special needs! I contacted NA Minnesota because my 16-year-old child on the autism spectrum was struggling with severe depression.… My child, who NEVER wants to be away from me (a single mom due to my husband dying), agreed to get help at a residential facility. I was VERY clear that J had autism from the moment I spoke to anyone. I repeated this again and again because he needed intense care where individuals were properly trained to assist my child on the spectrum. I was told although I was making a difficulty decision, it was a good and right one for J. I was interviewed. J was interviewed. My child was accepted. I was told children typically stay from 6-8 weeks and the amount of $4000+ was what I would owe. NA MN graciously offered to help getting my child there by paying the expense of the flights for us to get to Minneapolis and for me to return home. I paid to rent a car from Minneapolis, MN to drive to St. Cloud. During the first meeting I had with the woman who was to be his individual therapist told me she did not have the training to work with children with autism and wouldn't be able to help. I was SHOCKED. The ONLY person who consistently communicated with me was the woman who was the family therapist. At 19 days I was notified my insurance would no longer pay. I was told a meeting with the insurance agency to advocate for a longer stay to assist J was being held the next day. On J's 20th day I was informed insurance would no longer pay and I had to get my child THE NEXT DAY. My brother and I took off work and drove the 20+ hours there and back to get my child. Upon entering the facility, my child was with two staff members who I never meet and seemed to simply have the roles of escort. There was NO ONE who had worked with my child there to assist with the transition of leaving. J was sobbing. My child wanted to stay because my child knew more help was needed. It was HEARTBREAKING. It gets even better though. I received a bill with the amount quoted for the 6-8 week stay. THIS is when I was told the amount owed was for ANY amount of time present there. NO adjustment was made due to the fact my child was only there 20 days. I received no follow-up reports from anyone who worked with my child. No academic, therapeutic or behavioral reports were ever sent to me. I have NO idea what my child learned. I was given no information as to the activities or academics in which my child was involved. I had to rely solely on what my child told me which was very limited due to memory challenges but included this information, "I was the only one in my house that wasn't there because I got in trouble." Six months later, I am being told I owe MORE than the amount that was reflected on the bill I received each month. According to this bill I have been overcharged. This experience offered NOTHING for my child and has (and is) causing me distress financially and emotionally. Again, NEWPORT ACADEMY MN IS A SCAM!

Food was okay, says daughter.

This place is more so aesthetically pleasing than effective. It's really beautiful during the winter. The CCs are amazing — it's the higher-ups that give this place a bad rep :/ Sorry for all ~$6000 of property damage… that I singlehandedly caused... To CC Logan, hope you're doing well. Thank you for being there when I was scared, for letting me know there was still good people in the world at the time. For always letting me know that I was cared about and I wasn't insignificant. Sorry for lowkey second-hand traumatizing you & Jabreel from the last time you ever saw me. Sorry for that 6 hr AWOL. But, thank you both for caring enough about me to report my struggles and wanted to keep me safe 🫶🏽

Not impressed with intake. When through the whole process for them so say we can't get in and we should try day treatment. Had our hopes up and everything for this program. If your child is struggling, it's takes way… more than to get in this place.

I went here about 3 months ago and I would like to say I loved they people but some need bigger help I got SA'd here and I told a worker and she said "I cant do anything about that" the workers there are really rude and… the room are never clean I feel into a bigger depression and they leave sharp things out I put sissors in my sock and the didn't know for like 4 hours the works really don't care. Left with bigger problems the I came with. Every thing is really bad.

I was referred to Newport Academy from my daughters therapist Lisa. I did research and found this would be a great start to my daughter journey. My daughter was a troubled teen and had major mental health problems,… trauma, anxiety, and depression. I was scared to let her go to Newport cause its a inpatient facility and have someone else take care of her was going to be hard on us (dad and mom). But in reality it was a great place for her to go and get help. We tried everything. From PHP, to DBT and extreme therapy. Nothing worked! Our daughter wanted help and I knew this was the best time and place for her to get help. From beginning to end I had phenomenal experience! The staff, therapist, psychiatrist, nurses, care planner, and clinical operations manager. Were amazing to us and our daughter! It was very hard for our daughter to stay as long as she did. But she did it. I WAS VERY PROUD OF HER! The team at Newport calls you every week to make sure you as a parent are doing well. Tells you about you child and how they are doing too. She called me every day for 10mins and it was always nice to hear from her. She wrote letters and she had ups and downs but she had staff and therapy to help her with her thoughts and problems. She went on outings every weekend. As long as she was doing well. I wanna say and huge thank you to these 4 people that helped our daughter and us go threw this process. Lynn- intake, Danielle- care planner, Raquel- therapist, and Melissa- clinical operations manager. These 4 people made me feel comfortable that she was there. They were so helpful when I called them for questions or concerns. They were always there for all of us every day. The team is amazing at Newport. Thank you to the staff as well. They sure put up with a lot of hard work and hard times with peers. I felt like I was family at Newport. At times it was hard but they get to step up the children and you get to eventually take them out for 3hrs and bring them back to Newport for a outing with parents. That helped us a lot cause we missed her so much. What my daughter said, was the food was ok, lol. But the staff were very nice. You do have 2 people per room so roommate. But it worked out for her. She is a private girl and she still made it work out having a roommate. Im so grateful for these 4 people working at Newport!! They actually care about your child. They want your child to exceed. They are super smart as well. I never thought my child was in danger. I recommend this place for anyone struggling with mental health or anything. My daughter is a new person. She is happy and she shows us that she was sorry for her mistakes and not doing her best at times. Her grades are very good now. She is showing so much growth cause of Newport. We are so excited to see where our daughters future takes her now. Thank you Newport for excellent, phenomenal, and exceptional service for my daughter. You dont deserve 5 stars ✨️ you deserve 10 stars in my opinion. Again, thank you Newport for supporting our whole family through these rough times and heartaches. You will never be forgotten. Again, wanna say thank you to Racquel her therapist. She was so sweet, funny and had a great since of humor. She really cared about our daughter.

I know what you did

My son received inpatient treatment in November, 2023. Since then, he has been working through the trauma he experienced while in their care. I would NEVER, EVER!! recommend this facility to anyone! It’s taken us 2… years—and continued treatment for our son, to undue the damage that was done! As a mental health professional, I would not recommend this facility. **Side note, approximately 1 year after we rescued our son from this horrible place, we received notification that one of the “counselors” (female) was fired for engaging in inappropriate (sexual) behavior with “one of the residents”. It has taken me two years to disclose this information due to the trauma my child suffered. I just pray that you reconsider sending your child to this horrible place! We are healing. But it’s been a long journey.

I was here around two years ago, I heavily enjoyed my stay looking back. It was difficult in the moment as being away from home always would be, but the staff was amazing! Im not sure if they still work there, but… Jabreel, Keisha, and Sara were by far the best staff and I loved the RA for cottage 2 although her name slips my mind. I was majorly struggling with being heavily mentally abused by my parents, so it was really nice not being forced to speak with them. We as patients were treated well by the staff and had so much fun doing all sorts of activites. I will say the therapist i had i did not like, but that was it. If youre a scared kid worried to come in, you'll be okay. it can be lonely, but the staff are here to help, not hurt.

my time here really sucked, i was heavily bullied and staff did nothing. but i do want to give props to allison for being the best teacher ever and sumia, trey, and miel for being the best ccs

Hated it worst experience of my life caused trauma

Honestly, I loved this place a lot. I had gone there at the beginning of the year this year. The staff is so passionate and caring. And I know there's probably some scared kid reading the reviews but I promise… everything will be okay because it was truly the most caring environment I have ever been to for mental health. The staff is amazing and the overall living conditions are good. I will tell you that from when I went the packing list was very inaccurate. But other than that everything was good. I really liked the staff in cottage 1. Jabreal, Morgan, and tae were absolutely amazing to be around. And my favorite staff byfar was Travis. He was amazing. And stayed with me whenntimes were really hard. Not because he had to be but because he wanted to. There were times he could've been at home in bed and he was still there with me making sure I was safe. Granted it took me a while to remember his name.. but he was a great support. Along with iqra. She was lovely to be around too a pure joy and she was smiling like a lot. No matter what she had a contagious smile that would put you in a better mood. They actually treat you with respect there. They treat you like you're human, with human flaws and emotions. And they allow it because that's just how awesome they are. Like I know that sounds like the bare minimum but in his world sometimes that's all you need. And they go above and beyond with everyone's treatment. There are so many more people I could talk about like the therapists and cooking staff. And even cc's from other cottages. They're all amazing and I believe that it was a good thing that I had gone there. And some days are harder than others, especially because I was states away from home. But they did their best to make everyone safe, happy, and comfortable. 10/10 would recommend!

i loved it here the food and beds and people were amazing

I want to express how grateful I am for the Newport MN Team. We were transferred here from the Connecticut location (insurance issue) and from the moment we were engaged there was nothing but warmth, professionalism,… and what I would call pretty good communication. I'm especially grateful to Matt P., Logan B., Dr. E, Allie V., Beth V., Amanda T., and Yesi T. for their compassionate care of us during a two month period. Feeling like we had a veritable army behind us to get us to wholeness and wellness was such a relief. We're seeing the fruits of that care back home now, and we're continuing care in a PHP program the transition to which was seamless thanks to the MN team. I'm sure everyone's experience is different, but I'm so grateful we chose this route; it has meant so much to our family and restored our sense of optimism and hope.

Newport helped me and my family find normality again. Newport treated us with endless compassion and support my whole stay. (I was even able to find supports to prepare for outside of residential!)

Terrible. So called specialized program, claims to be able to treat difficult emotions and behaviors but does not other than call the cops, pressing charges and discharging from one apparent unsafe situation to putting… yet others in an unsafe situation as well. How's that for treating the problem to begin with? Inserts trauma that doesn't exist and spends more time trying to treat the family instead of the kid needing help, alienation, hardly allows communication with family unless uts to beg to get out. Absolutely terrible communication from staff to family as well as staff to providers, forget your concerns...they just dismiss them. Forget your time and money, you don't matter. Sends them home in an abrupt discharge without enough meds to get by until they can get set up with a provider once home and doesn't even make sure they are set up for follow up (unethical for most licensures). Loses half their stuff and I can almost bet nothing will get sent via mail. Can't even believe this place is accredited, clearly that means nothing and all they care about is getting paid. Might as well stay with outpatient, that's pretty much the same level of care your loved one will get while you spend thousands to get help, receive none and your kid endures more trauma contributing to the need for yet more help. What a joke. Yeah dont leave a call experience comment on here, after seeing all these similar reviews, clearly you don't listen either.

I’ve been here 2 times. Both times I didn’t want to go. The staff are awesome and food is good. It feels like a long time in there but it really helps in the long run.

My child had been on the waitlist and I got a call from her therapist stating that there was a bed for her. Newport contacted her therapist first, when I asked them about this I was told their treatment team was… contacting my child’s therapist to go over treatment plan and records… this would make sense if I had signed a release for them to give and receive information but I had not. Some of the responses given in these reviews state they cannot respond due to privacy laws but where was that when it came to my child. It was because of this situation alone that I decided not to continue with admission. If they are so careless and my daughter is not even a patient I cannot trust my child being there.

Laura Vernier is really amazing! She has so much experience and truly cares about connecting with individuals. Her deep curiosity, quick smile and vibrant personality mixed with an incredible and deep felt care for the… experiences of others contribute to her success.

if i had to go back and do it again i would. i got the help that i needed from being there including help for my manic depression and my trauma. i worked through a lot with a lot of staff that was not only helpful but… also loving and caring. they supported me when i couldn’t support myself, showing me new ways to love and care for myself. the staff was super sweet and caring.

This place had great counselors that worked really hard to assist and facilitate the growth of our child. They were understaffed and oftentimes couldn't meet the needs of our child's behavior and safety plan. Their… communication was deceiving as they moved our son to the drug cottage which they vehemently said they would not do and did not disclose this to us. They had cool outings but sometimes couldn't go on them because of staff shortages. The food they prepared was nutritious and my child enjoyed that a lot!

never send your kid here. it’s the most horrible place ever i came back with so much trauma. staff doesn’t care at all. if you have an issue they don’t care. staff can be very rude. some staff don’t even do their job… and just go on their phone. please never send your kid here no matter their issue. i was in a 13-15 years old and we had an autistic 18 year old that had homisidle thoughts and would trauma dump and brag about what they went through absolutely horrible

This place was amazing for me. The saying it takes a village to raise a child is exactly what happened to me here. I was a rough kid who needed more help than what could be provided, nonetheless they never stopped… caring. I built repport with everyone. Nobody who cared truly gave up on me. I finally spent my last few days there showing appreciation and how much they truly helped me. They got me to a place where I could accept the help I was being given. Where I could accept the care I was being shown. And where I could truly go from a very unstable kid, to someone who makes jokes, laughs, and enjoys life. To Ms. Amanda, Ms. Hannah, and all the runners who went for runs at freezing temperatures and early mornings . Thanks! So I can never be more thankful.

a very healing experience. reminder if you don’t allow yourself to heal, you won’t.

Newport Academy was a life changer for my child and our family. All staff are very kind, patient, and can answer all questions. I appreciated the constant communication from all staff involved with my child's recovery.… I was updated on any medication recommendations and asked for my approval. I was updated weekly on schooling, group counseling, and individual counseling progress. The program requires parent participation (all remote), family therapy as well as bi-weekly parent group, both were great. The journey to mental health wellness is a long one as well as difficult, for the individual, and their family. Newport helped make it easier. My child is home now, still working at getting better using the skills they learned from Newport as well as continued counseling. I highly recommend Newport Academy.

My son was excited to start his journey back to good mental health when I dropped him off at Newport Academy in Minnesota. He was warned against physical aggression, but within less than two weeks he assaulted another… peer several times. (Driven by homophobic slurs and such). My question is, why was he in a position to assault a peer when these kids are here for behavioral health?? Shouldn't the kids be within hands reach? Anyway, he had to come home at our expense after only two weeks. He was blacklisted because of Newport, and it took some real bargaining to find a safe place for him. The place he is staying now stops assaults before they happen using holds that keep everone safe, and they told me that they get kids from Newport all the time who have been shunned for doing very little, including drawing a picture that showed their therapist dead. (Not okay, but discharged over it???) This makes me think that Newport is misreporting their results, because they don't truly deal with the mental health of their students. They only keep the kids (and everyone's money) who will fit their narrative.

I really enjoyed my time at Newport. I was offered plenty of support and therapy options, including speaking with kids my age. My clinical team truely did care about me. Which made my therapy sessions much smoother. I… was out before day 80. Food is great, staff are great, care is great. The only thing that could be better is post-discharge. The Alumni program is probably the hightlight of that. After i discharged there was little help from newport with getting me my medication, or even new therapists. Overall, I recomend Newport to struggling teens.