Hawthorn Childrens Psychiatric Hosp – Saint Louis

I was sent here for about six months when I was 14–15 years old (2017–2018) because I was struggling with severe anxiety. I am now 23, and the horrific abuse I endured there, along with the abuse I witnessed happening… to other children still impacts me every single day. I live with PTSD, traumatic flashbacks, and nightmares about what happened inside that facility. What I experienced there was not help. It was abuse. Most of the staff were physically and emotionally abusive. We were constantly talked down to, degraded, and treated as though we were less than human. When my parents were finally allowed to visit, they were horrified by what they saw. The doctor had me so heavily medicated that I was slurring my words, drooling, and barely functioning. “Punishments” were cruel and traumatizing. They ranged from verbal abuse and physical aggression to taking away my glasses so I couldn’t even see. I was sent to the “quiet room” almost daily for things like crying, not participating enough, or simply showing emotional distress. Some days, I was placed in full body restraints and injected with “booty juice.” I would then be left alone for hours without being checked on sometimes to the point of becoming severely dehydrated and needing medical attention. Food was also withheld as punishment. I still see the psychiatrist in my nightmares. I can still picture his creepy smile. Even now, years later, the fear remains. They claimed to encourage connection between kids, but that was a lie. If you became too friendly with your roommate or spoke too much with other children, you were severely disciplined. “Outside time” meant being placed in a small, barbed wire fenced area with a playground and sidewalk but even there, speaking to other kids could get you punished. This place did not heal children. It traumatized them. I am speaking out because no child deserves to experience what I did, and no parent should unknowingly send their child into that kind of environment believing they are getting help. If you are a parent searching for treatment for your child, please do not send them here. There are other options. Better options. I carry what happened to me there every day, silently battling the damage it caused. If sharing my story can save even one child from enduring the same suffering, then it is worth it. Please, send your child somewhere else.

I was placed here for a year and seven months in between the ages of 11-13 in the early 2010’s over behavioral problems. It was miserable and the amount of abuse amongst the staff to children, and children to children… was awful.. do not ever leave your child at this place unless you want them mentally/verbally abused by staff, have other children possibly SA / hurt your child, watch kids cutting themselves / trying to off themselves, or treat them as a guinea pig on a bunch of different medications.

After reading the other reviews, I was terrified to send my daughter here, but we didn’t have any other options. THIS ENDED UP BEING THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE! The staff in the children’s unit and the residential… unit were very sweet and helpful for her. My daughter said none of them were mean or aggressive to her or any of the other kids there. They genuinely seemed like they cared about all the kids. Hawthorn staff made sure I was very involved with my daughter’s care plan and since I live 4 hours away from the hospital, we did weekly video family therapy sessions that helped me to be fully involved. And monthly reviews with the doctors and teachers all together in a group meeting. My daughter was here 9 months (which was based off her individual need but not all kids have to stay that long), and she saw many kids come and go and all of the were treated kindly by staff. Even though Hawthorn is 4 hours away, if my daughter ever needs to be re-admitted to a psychiatric hospital, this is where she will be going. It has been a long road for us but we wouldn’t have been able to get back to our “normal” life without Hawthorns help. The negative reviews on here make no sense to me.

I was there 14 years ago when I was 15-16 years old. I’m about to be 30. I only remember one staff member, and it was Nadine. She worked in cottage C with us. For me to remember her says a lot about her. I wish I could… talk with her one more time. Tell her I have a successful business, an amazing family now and ECT. Nadine believed in me and every kid there, she taught me a lot too. Nadine if you’re seeing this I hope all is well; and I still think about you to this day.

I LOVED IT THERE. JUST LEFT TODAY!! The food was okay. The staff were amazing I loved them. The education staff were very funny. I was on adolescent then went to Residential. Would so go back also if a staff is reading… this I gotta say. WHAT HAPPENED???? Thank you come again:)

I was a patient from August 9 2023 to June 29 2024 I never went to adolescent I was always in cottage c this place took tuff love to a whole new level the cottage staff would tell you they're preparing you for the real… world when they pick on you I was gaslit and manipulated by the cottage staff on a daily basis I managed to get level 3 near the end of my stay (the 2 highest level) and I remember one day a cottage staff was teaching me to play chess at one table in the "day area" there are two tables in the day area about 4 feet apart at the second table there was a specific staff member that would constantly antagonize me throughout my stay I had sneezed and the staff said said from across the room "if your gonna sneeze put your mask on" I reassured her that It was just allergies and that we had just been out in the courtyard and it was summer so my allergies were acting up. She then said "if you knew you had allergies why did you go outside?" I told her that I knew I have had severe allergies since I was a baby and that I take prescribed medication every morning yet it's inevitable because I will always get allergies she continued with the same argument that I shouldn't have gone outside I eventually told her "this isnt a productive conversation and I don't want to argue" she agreed to stop the conversation yet continued talking about it to other staff in the room where everyone could hear i got frustrated and asked her to just drop it she said she wasn't talking to me and continued I asked again and she threatened to give me an OFL ("opportunity for learning") (a write up basically with consequences like restricting courtyard, free recreational therapy time, level drop or written apology letter/assignment) I ended up going to my room and discharged from hawthorn a week later. This is just one example of a day in the life of a patient at hawthorn children's psychiatric hospital

The worst place i ever received long term care from the staff did not care and the ones that did are long gone was body shamed by dietary the staff get away with treating you badly oh and don't file a report staff will… only treat you worse eleven months of hell I only started to thrive when they put me into cottage d some staff definitely had favorites not even gonna lie and still have trauma i refuse to be put in any other facilities after what i experienced here if you can save your children from this place I was here from June 2018-May 2019 do not send your children here unless you want them to come back more traumatized

I was a patient here 8 years ago. It was by far the most traumatic experience I've ever had. The workers there didn't actually care for the patients, some even taunting the kids when they were upset. They were always… looking for a reason to restrain the kids and put them in "the quiet room" which had a window so all the other kids could see what was going on inside. The food was not great, but that's what you can expect from a state hospital. The "outside time" you had was almost like a prison yard; barbed wire on top of the 10ft fence they had. They advised us to make friends with the other students, and then once you would establish a relationship with said kids, you'd be carefully watched in every. single. setting. The educational class they had was garbage. I was 12 and they were giving me addition and subtraction lesson... And when I told them that I had already learned that in school, they'd become argumentative and demanded you finish what they'd given you otherwise you'd get your yard time taken away. I stayed in the adolescents side for a few weeks before they switched me to a cottage. (I'll admit, the cottages were a lot better than the rest of the facility but it came with catches.) They were a total of maybe 5 workers total that you could tell actually cared about the kids. Most of the workers are abusive either mentally, physically, or emotionally. I'm still recovering over the "treatment" I received here to this day. Reading the other reviews and seeing that nothing has changed over the 8 years of me being there breaks my heart for the hundreds of other kids that had to go through the same thing I did. By far the worst place you can send ANYONE to, let alone children. If you care about your child and their mental wellbeing, PLEASE I'm begging you, don't send them here. They could be permanently emotionally damaged from their stay in this hell hole. I have diagnosed PTSD from this place, I've been in therapy and on medications for years now. I would never recommend this place even to my enemies. This place needs to be shut down. EDIT: I even remember one girl that had gotten restrained clearly. The nurses were laughing at her when they restrained her in her room and sedated her, making jokes about what had just happened. They'd even show the other kids the girl in this state as a warning. It made me sick to my stomach.

Please do not take your kids here. This place needs to be shut down! The workers are abusive and the things they do here are inhumane. I feel so bad for anyone who has ever had to stay here. 💔

Terrible place to work and an even worse place to be stuck staying for treatment

I spent around 9 months here when I was 17 in 2011-2012 and I still have nightmares about it. The staff range from ineffective to down right abusive. I was there to get help for my mental health issues, however they… treated me as if I had no illness and was simply acting bad. They would tell us being there was not a punishment meanwhile treating us like delinquents being punished. If you have a child who needs help, I beg you, PLEASE do not send them here. It will not help, and may cause more harm. I cannot stress this enough....

When my son needed psychiatric care children's hospital told us hawthorn was our only option due to my insurance. When we first got there we met with a team and my son was evaluated and came up with a plan for therapy.… The staff discussed resources for support and plans for when he got discharged. Everything seemed on the up and up but I quickly discovered that these people have no interest in helping children. The therapists will argue and act like children themselves. One of the therapists tried to get me to lie to my child. At one point I called at the designated time to talk to my child, and they wouldn't let me speak to him because he had his hood on inside the building. Another therapist told me your child shouldn't be here it's traumatic for him, you need to take him home and seek care on the outside. When I asked about having him discharged I was told he could only go to another psychiatric facility and my insurance would only cover two weeks at which time he would be discharged and they would report me to dfs for not seeking medical care for him. They said that dfs would then take custody of him and he would just wind up back at their facility. His therapist told him "fake it till you make it." He was held there for 8 agonizing months and they still wouldn't discuss the possibility of releasing him. Then one day out of the blue, suddenly he was well and going to be released. I learned from one of the staff that they hold onto their patients until they have another child to take their place. They put three meals in front of him and shoved pills down his throat. It wasn't a positive experience for any of us. Seek other options.

My son who is now 15 years old, was there for about a year when he was 13-14 years old. My son has some severe mental disabilities with aggressive behaviors. At first this place seemed great but after time the therapy… just seemed repetitive, no help at all in that area. The psychiatrist were great and were wanting to try different medications, which most of the time I was agreeable. I got a call from the psychiatrist about adding an injection, which after much consideration, I agreed. Then all of a sudden the therapist want to discharge him, stating they cannot help my son any longer because he was destroying their newly redone cottages, isn't it supposed to be made safe for children with mental disorders? They gave me one week to set up psychiatrist, school (he got kicked out of the school he was in for behaviors), and therapy. I explained that I couldn't get all of that done in such a short time frame and they told me that there was nothing they could do. I had to go to the director just to request an extension and finally got everything in order for him to be discharged. I explained to them that he wasn't safe to be there then how is he safe to be in the community?!?!? They would not hear anything that I had to say. Since then my son has been hospitalized at 4× and now has criminal charges for assault. Do not waste your time and effort if your child needs real help!

Will denied to see you based on where you live even if you have good health insurance and a reliable vehicle to drive!

Very helpful,very communicative, tried less medicine and more coping skills, alex is great

I am now 36 years old but I sure do hope you guys have changed some of your policies since I was there when I was around 13 or so they had me on 35 different meds in one day told me I had all these mental disabilities.… They way they restrained kids was very dangerous. Well when I finally got out of the system at 19 and seen a phsychatrist on my own he said the doctor that was there then should have there license taken away cause the only problem I had was ptsd which is taken care if with counseling not drugs. Oh and I have not been on meds since. He also said this hospital should be shut down because of it that's one of the reasons I moved from st.louis I didn't want my kids wrapped up in that system.

well the food sucked and its hard to sleep with children sceaming in their insane agony. other than that it was a walk in the park.... if that park were surrounded by barbed wire.