Serenity Recovery and Wellness

I have been meeting with Sadie for several months after my sweet son was born. Postpartum anxiety and depression hit me like a ton of bricks and I was in desperate need of help. A cant recommend Serenity enough, I think every new mother should go to counseling for this huge change that motherhood brings. I'm able to enjoy motherhood and the other relationships that I have again. Thank you!! 100 out of 10

Five stars, would absolutely not recommend IOP under current therapists Jennie, Sadie or Lyndsey. I attended Serenity for a year and a half and had a positive experience with my individual therapist Stephanie (and previously Jess) until a recent incident that left me deeply concerned for client safety and trust. During a group session, a clinician engaged in an argument with me while I was panicked, framing another client’s accommodation as my “exposure”. This caused immediate group fallout and escalated my distress. Despite me clearly communicating that my panic was not anxiety or OCD but related to autism, the clinician continued to push the exposure. Multiple witnesses confirmed the exchange was an argument, not a therapeutic intervention, and that Jennie, who was practicing under supervision as an associate therapist, framed it as an exposure for autism even after being directly told it was autism. The situation only stopped after I removed myself from the room. Since then, I believe I have experienced retaliation: I was removed from IOP by Jennie after being told it was to “try to accommodate you” with no further explanation. I asked to speak to the licensed clinician and was denied. I was later told my removal was related to “safety.” Jennie later stated she felt “verbally attacked” by my panic, yet still continued handling the situation herself instead of allowing the licensed clinician to step in. My group attendance was reinstated after I was made to apologize (but received none in return), then removed again for expressing that this experience hurt me, and ultimately blocked from seeing the therapist (Stephanie) who had supported me for over a year. The most concerning part is Jennie’s unwillingness or inability to repair the harm, denying her part in the argument, and then framing the event as a “positive experience” for me — something that could not be farther from my lived reality. Jennie, you have no business telling me I was “strong” in this situation. My takeaway is that the ability to manage a room and de-escalate a client in distress is a basic expectation for group therapy, and this incident demonstrated the opposite. Some therapists simply aren’t cut out for this work if they are going to take things personally and argue with a client — and this experience made me believe you are one of them. I am also disappointed in leadership (Lyndsey) for not holding clinicians responsible and for further impacting my treatment by firing me from Serenity for raising concern. My initial complaints were unheard. After firing me, leadership commented it would get “sticky” if I continued seeing my personal therapist (Stephanie) while a DOPL investigation was open — which only deepened concerns about transparency and retaliation. My attendance was questioned with comments implying they didn’t understand why I was in a mom group, despite the fact that I was a postpartum mother and also pregnant at the time. That alone told me they don’t fully understand their own clientele. Following my removal, Lyndsey emailed me telling me not to contact Stephanie, Jess or Alyssa, which she had no business doing. Since then, Stephanie has been let go despite having nothing to do with this. My records requests have also been ignored for over 80 days. I share this because clients deserve to know that one clinician’s conduct, and leadership intervention, can drastically affect the safety and effectiveness of care. Right now, if you were my best friend, I’d tell you to seek IOP elsewhere. Due to the severity of these events, I feel it’s necessary to ask DOPL for an external investigation into Serenity’s policies and training. To Alyssa, Jess and Stephanie (5 stars) — thank you for a good run and for the incredible support you provided. You upheld the values you taught, and that is huge. Thank you for being part of my human experience.

Serenity truly saved me! After a traumatic birth, I struggled with terrible anxiety and OCD. I did the IOP program for OCD and was able to get back on my feet and function again. I love the therapists and the girls. I recommend them to any woman who is struggling with their mental health postpartum.