Caron Outpatient Treatment Centers – Reading

I need to share my experience at the outpatient IOP in Wyomissing in hopes of preventing others in early sobriety from having to experience what I experienced. I attended outpatient for a few months. I had a brief… relapse one night and reported it to them right after. They said it was ok and allowed me to continue participation in the program. I was given 4 UDS' following my relapse, which should have been negative, as my drug of choice was meth and should have been out of my system. They went on to report that each one was positive. After the 4th urine, I actually bought a urine off the street to see how that would test. That, too, came back positive. I continued to show up, as the treatment was court mandated. I was told I completed treatment and graduated, only to be contacted 10 days later and told I needed to restart the program because I had several dirty urines. This was unbelievable and honestly led me to relapse. I put myself into an inpatient treatment and will never go back to Caron. I hope my helps others seek honest, supportive care in their sobriety journey.

First time I went there I was forced to for smoking marijuana. Whatever, but years later I was referred back and they wanted to take me off all kinds of psych meds because of "abuse potential" when iv been on those same… meds for years. They refuse to let you take any meds that work for instance any benzo even if prescribed by a doctor and used properly they don't care. They wanted to take me off baclofen which is a super non potent muscle relaxer, gabapentin, and welbutrin all while I was prescribed these meds in a rehab. They are the EXTREMISTS of drug rehabilitation. There are so many better places to go

Highly discourage anyone seeking treatment at this facility. Highly unprofessional … and they don’t work with family members very well.

Its been 15 years since I've attended a co dependent workshop.There was experiential therapy as well as psycho dramas.I was astounded at the level of expertise and compassion by our counselor.I literally have been on… such a wonderful journey,even when it was brutal,since my short stay there. My trauma and PTSD from my childhood was addressed substaintially.Forever grateful.

(This is a long one) I’ve had my fair share of therapists before and each time it was a crash and burn situation. It never worked out for me, I always felt like it was too much. I pushed it off until it smacked me in… the face. I can genuinely say EVERY SINGLE STAFF MEMBER DOWN TO THE RECEPTIONISTS ( especially Kaela, dr. Nelson, Greg & Nicole for me) welcomed me with opened arms at a time I needed it most. I never not once felt judged nor put down. I was held accountable each step of the way and able to express myself. Each one of them taught me a lot about my triggers, my attachment styles, my anger, the work I had to put in on my self and just the really understanding and loving the overall person I am. They taught me to identify why I was using bad habits to cope with my feelings. I really don’t have the words to explain how much they have helped me. If so I would be here all day. Let me try to sum it up. I had never been to therapy long term(some therapists just wouldn’t call back). I had never been on medication for my mental health(I would gas light myself and create bad habits to cope). I was in therapy for about a year and a half with kaela, Greg and dr Nelson. Some days I wish I had never left(I moved out the state). Dr. Nelson always listened to me, he helped me understand what was going on mentally. During my time he worked with me to find medications that helped me function daily. It wasn’t easy but he never gave up and he never pushed me to take anything I didn’t like or want to be on. Greg helped me to look within. He taught me not to bottle up my emotions and how to express what I’m feeling in a better way than I was. I have to give my props to Kaela for dealing with me the longest tho. Instantly I clicked with her. She really sets the bar high when it comes to a therapist for me. She listened to me yap on and on and she didn’t make me feel like I was a burden with my weekly visits. I actually looked forward to going to my visits.. even when I went back on my word. She didn’t make me feel ashamed of myself(No one there did) She always remembered everything, even when I didn’t. She made me hold myself accountable for my actions, as she did also. I loved that about her most. She didn’t let me slip. She helped me realize why I was doing certain things or why I was reacting the way I would and what they could’ve stemmed from. Other therapists didn’t do what they did for me mentally, even spiritually. Everyone at Caron is like a family to me at this point. I recommend everyone to come to Caron. All my friends, family, strangers. They made me realize therapy and asking for help wasn’t bad after all. If you needed a sign. This is it.

Caron Treatment Center gets 1 star from me solely because my individual counselor was kind and supportive throughout the process and the speakers were inspirational and thoughtful, with stories and histories that shed… some light on many patient situations I have seen over my close to 10 years as an RN. Their messages were very educational, even for someone (like me) who has no history of alcohol or drug use/abuse. I would also like to note here that I have the utmost respect for programs like this and the people who seek out treatment when it is necessary. Aside from that, I would NEVER recommend this place to someone who was in my particular situation. For background, I was all but forced by the state board of nursing to undergo an inpatient “evaluation” for substance abuse because I tested positive for medical marijuana and a prescription medication that I have never taken or even administered as a working RN. The eval was over $7,000 dollars for the 6 night stay, out of pocket and not covered by insurance at all whatsoever. I spent my time there attending 12 step meetings/ counseling/groups, as well as seeing a medical doctor, psychiatrist, and having extensive psychological testing by the psychologist who lead my evaluation team. This psychologist was Alexandra Santoro. This person was extremely disingenuous, and later found to be quite biased in her “professional assessment.” I spent the first 4 or 5 days being told I should have no problem/issues getting back to work as I have/had a medical card and prescription for the medical Cannabis because I have severe Crohn’s disease and PTSD. (My employer at the time had a contract allowing employees like myself to use medical Cannabis with a card and prescription, with guidlines to only use outside of working hours) My using this treatment was prescribed and only used as needed for flare symptoms of these conditions. I was honest in my lack of understanding about the other medication (methadone?) being positive in my previous test, and have ever since (both at Caron and after) never tested positive for this substance again. At Caron, I was negative for all substances aside from THC (which was not even at a high enough level that an OTC test would have read it as positive; showing my use was obviously infrequent and correlated with the PRN prescription for flare symptoms). I was also found to have no signs/symptoms or precursors for any substance use disorders, however was told by Miss Santoro that “we are just going to write mild cannabis use disorder”. I have done extensive research and spoken with numerous other professionals who specialize in this field, that in order to diagnose a substance use disorder, there are criteria that must be met; However, I did not meet a single one. I have also since spoken to several other professionals who had the unfortunate experience of having Miss Santoro lead their evaluation team, and all have said they felt she was very bias regarding the correlation between mental health diagnosis’ and substance use disorders. As a healthcare professional, I find it extremely important to understand that correlation does not equal causation. It may very well be common that substance addicts suffer from mental health disorders, but that does not prove that every person with a mental health disorder is guaranteed to be a substance addict. This misdiagnosis on Miss Santoro’s part completely ruined my life. I have since been unable to work (totaling 8 months), lost access to healthcare, been restricted from using the only medical treatment for my disorders that ever gave me relief, lost all financial stability, and have had the worst decline in not only my psychical health but also my mental health. It is my honest opinion that this woman has no business being licensed to conduct such evaluations. I fear for those who must have suffered at the hands of this “professional” and I pray her lack of genuine understanding and compassion don’t cause anyone else more undue pain/hardship.

Thank you for trying to help my husband.

My counselor, Kaela Mullen was excellent. Her down to earth, honest, and empathetic approach made group sessions highly effective. Thank you for the important work you do!

Caron gave me the keys to my life back. This is real treatment, of the body mind and spirit. Mentally emotionally spiritually and physically enriching. In treatment I came face to face with my demons and learned tools… and self love to combat my demons, without turning to Alcohol.

It's the best IOP I've been to. Very grateful to say I'm still sober. My counselor was cool. We learned a lot there. If you are still out there struggling, give yourself a break and get into recovery! It gets better

I had the absolute worst encounters with any counselor ever at the outpatient facility in wyomissing, not only do they not encourage people to change the way they think they blatantly disregard peoples opinions and… force them to stop sharing how they honestly feel I would never recommend this place to anyone

Twelve years sober and counting. Thank you.