Banyan Castle Rock

They gear this place towards mental health AND substance abuse, but frankly it seems like all they cared about was substance abuse. Went in for severe mental health crisis including suicidal ideation. Ultimately was promised top notch care with tons of outdoor activities, great food, and active therapy. Instead, in my nearly week there, I never once met with my therapist individually (through no fault of his own), never got my care plan, and just did a bunch of groups that were primarily geared towards substance abuse only. Giving 2 stars for some excellent staff including my therapist, some nurses, and some BHTs. But ultimately, even though they make it clear that mental health is a priority, not getting a meeting with your therapist in 5 days while actively in crisis seems negligent. And 1 therapy session a week at that is insane. Ultimately, they continued to bring more and more patients in, especially detox patients, and did not have adequate staff to cover this resulting in my care being compromised and pushed aside for all these new detox clients. Meds would be pushed back hours. The food was honestly not gourmet as promised and was subpar at best. The only outdoor time was for smoke breaks. I was not provided my meds on multiple occasions due to being pulled aside for intake crap or otherwise, which could’ve been deadly considering I was often refused my medication for my heart condition. They also just throw you to the wolves after intake and you’re left to just figure it out or ask other clients what the game plans are including med times, meal times, and group times. They don’t tell you crap. Overall, if you’re there for substance use, I believe this is the place for you. But if you’re there for mental health, this is NOT the appropriate place.

Based on my own experience here, I would not recommend Banyan Castle Rock. I left earlier today AMA and I wanted to share my honest experience for those who may be considering. I felt as though my intake process went relatively smooth and that things were off to a great start, but as soon as I was brought up to the main level, I noticed that both the mental health group as well as the dual diagnosis/substance use groups were combined. This was a bit of a shock to me because one of the selling points for me to even go here was that “the groups are separated.” Not only is this advertised on Banyan Castle Rock’s website, but also through admissions. I decided not to make a big deal out of it and stay knowing that we were all there for a reason. During the intake process, I understood that they would search my stuff, so I had asked “if they confiscate anything, will I be informed on what they take?” I was told “yes.” After the initial “intake,” I was asked to put on scrubs which truly felt like they were made out of paper, but again, decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and wait it out. I began my intake process at 1:40 pm that day and did not receive any of my belongings (including an outfit to change into from those scrubs) until 9 pm that same day. So in other words, I was sitting in these paper scrubs with no undergarments for about 6-7 hours in front of a group of people. Anyways, decided to look past that as well and try to stay positive. After I received the rest of my belongings, no one had informed me of what was confiscated, so that was pretty annoying. Finally, after receiving my clothes, I was able to take a shower and go to bed. I woke up the next morning feeling optimistic despite the night prior, so I got up and began the morning process which consisted of taking vitals and receiving our prescribed medications from the nurses. Anyways, I asked for my meds (that I had brought from home prescribed by my outside psychiatrist) and the nurse said that I’d have to wait until their doctor came in “to approve” my medications. This was around 8 am. I had asked when the doctor would be in and they said “within the next hour or two.” I tried to politely let them know that I needed my meds early in the morning, so that I could eat without puking. They then proceeded to offer me anxiety medication in which I refused because that was not a prescription I had on file nor did I want to take a random medication that I did not know how it’d affect me. Anyways, two hours later, I asked if the doctor was in and they said “no, but she should be within the next half hour.” Anyways, doctor didn’t get there until about 12:30-1pm, so I had still been waiting on my morning meds at that point. This whole experience was truly just upsetting and the opposite of healing. I asked to meet with my case manager in tears and informed her that I needed to go home and she was honestly one of the only pleasant people that works there. My discharge process took about 2-3 hours which is honestly ridiculous, but I was just ready to leave, so it didn’t even matter at that point. I was informed about the AMA agreement and then told that Banyan would not allow me to make a phone call for someone to come pick me up until AFTER I was outside of the building. The staff member who walked me outside the facility literally didn’t hand me my phone until the doors were closed behind me. I truly did not feel like a human at this place and yeah, that could just be me, but the attitude of the staff felt very consistent and not empathetic whatsoever. I will be very clear and honest and state that I was at this place for 27 hours total, but it was the longest 27 hours of my life. I was admitted to Banyan for SI and major depression/anxiety. I have/had zero history of substance use and this did not feel like a place geared towards mental health recovery. Though all the patients here were absolutely welcoming and wonderful, the staff was not and I would not recommend this place to someone looking for mental health help at a time of crisis.

I went to Banyan Castle rock for my Mental health( after being told through admissions that mental health and addiction has separate groups at this location). My flight was delayed so I didn’t get to the facility until 1 am. My intake experience was weird to say the least. The guy was training and didn’t explain anything very well. Anyways I got to my room at about 4:00am tired and confused. I was told they wouldn’t wake me up or bother me till later. Come 9:00am the psychiatrist did my intake after I asked to wait and honestly it felt rushed and not at all personal. After that I tried to go back to sleep and just had a rough morning. I didn’t get my clothes until almost 4pm. (Which feels awful as someone with depression lol) so I finally stepped out and didn’t even know the schedule so kept having to ask things which is when I finally got told the groups and such were not separate and everything is on one floor. There is no gym/pool onsite. And the only “outside” activity we did in my week there was go to the neighborhood rec center and go on smoke breaks (I don’t smoke.) We had one class outside which consisted of sitting outside and talking while it was 60 degrees lol. Overall left AMA after being there for 7 days with not a single therapy session besides my intake one. I got my phone back before I even had a therapy session. Idk how 1 therapy session a week would really help someone actively in a mental crisis. This center is definitely addiction focused and should be telling people that. I should not have been admitted as someone with no dual diagnosis. Overall “snacks” were all processed sugars basically just yogurt/chips/granola bars. Meals were okay but not anything like how people are making them seem in the reviews. Also I was there 7 days and they never submitted my fmla paperwork and it’s hard to get ahold of the actual location.