Embark Behavioral Health – Berwyn

I truly can't say enough good things about Embark Berwyn. The holistic approach to their program contributed to a positive transformation in my child. I appreciated the caring and supportive environment staffed with professionals, as well as my child's ability to learn from peers in the program. I also liked how the staff involved the family in learning how best to facilitate the transformation and maintain it after the program. A year later, I can say with certainty that Embark was a life-changing experience for my child and one that we continue to reference each day.

After the second emergency room visit for my son’s SI I was handed a bunch of brochures and was told my son needed a php program. Many of the places seemed scary to me and many places I called said my son was not a fit, he was not “bad enough”. A friend of mine in the mental health field recommended Embark. We went in for the interview and within a few days my son was in a safe place. When we started he would cross his arms and not talk at all in family therapy. Their team had suggested that he may be high functioning ASD which was something I had always thought but was dismissed by medical professionals for years. But it started the process and he was diagnosed from chop as asd1. His therapist, Serena, became such a safe place for him. They worked on cbt therapy, group theray and through our family therapy we are now in a place that he is able to self advocate for his mental health. He did go back the following year but that is because school is such a trigger for him. They helped advocate for the right services for him for his IEP when he went back based on his triggers. He is a different kids because of Embark. We are so lucky that we found this place.

My child started in IOP-> needed residential in Flathead Montana ( read review- AMAZING) and did PHP and IOP here. We picked Embark after touring 3 places for IOP, so I never saw residential coming, but it did and the director AC did a great job of getting her in Residential and saved her a place in PHP. We really liked Dr Gill the psychiatrist! Overall my child did PHP well and their liaison worked well with the school. The parents nights etc were really helpful. Why the 4 stars? They changed my child’s therapist when my child was transitioning back to HS from PHP to IOP, her therapist had a new role role, but even the director AC admitted C was the best fit for my child and the therapist was still seeing kids! So then we get this therapist A who was horrible at family therapy! The sessions would go over our time with me and my spouse , my child would be brought in for 5-10 minutes such a wast and nothing like C or her residential therapist in MT. Then at graduation on her last day this therapist takes off early, and the kids normally get a gift and we had to go back and get it the next week and it was so impersonal and they did not make my child feel like this graduation was special- it was so rushed, where in MT it was so lovely! Also though I thought my child might still need DBT ( I’m no therapist) , NO ONE said “ look your kid is basically mastering this, why not use other therapy? “ so we felt so lost, felt no real help with a good therapist recommendation ( what therapist doesn’t have a list?) for long term care, and we asked and asked re: care. I did the looking and it was well over 3 weeks to find a person. We found one we really like but no parent/ child needs that stress. Plus’s even though we were in network at Embark, we had huge chunks of money pulled from our account so their accounts dept needs help! And despite signing pages of HIPPA AND ROI paperwork no one got anything and I still need to get that sorted. Finally kids are not supposed to have contact until all are dc’d, that is not enforced! We did not know that- so all those little things lost a star. Kids were hanging out that should not have been, no one told us this! However: Due to amazing residential care identification my child needed by Embark in Berwyn, the quick transfer to MT and her excellent transition back to PHP and her work with therapist C in Berwyn we will keep it at 4. But the transition to A, and the poor FT sessions, sad graduation etc and accounting issues at the end/along with kids interactions before dc- I would push them on that. DBT is a great therapy base, but learning other therapies can augment your child’s healing. We are still grateful for the care and the quick realization our child needed residential care. We hope to not need Embark, but we do recommend them and if your not seeing the results- make sure your child clicks with their therapist b/c that is key! Good luck! M&M