Willow Springs Center

my name is mailyna i got admitted on 4/20/25 first off if anyone who knew me in there finds this my insta is @mini2geekedd 💝💝i was here for about 2 months n 3 weeks i made some pretty nice friends and from the reviews it seems like this place has really grown they addressed every problem ive had with other patients i had some amazing staff by my side and it really isn’t the worst unless you make it the worst for yourself they tough me a lot of stuff i will use for the rest of my life skyla was amazing she always put me in check and she was there when i had bad family sessions there were alot of things that happened when i was there but i feel so much better now then i did when i first got admitted i very much appreciate the people of this hospital the staff and the friends i made while there if i ever needed to go somewhere for help it will always be willow springs center they might need to get a little better at stopping fights there was a lot of drama and they need to work on listening to the kids and what they say they need more but i had a great time there and i know that i have a spot here forever and some great memories i got restrained on my first day because i was acting out because i thought i didn’t need to be there now i am very greatful i did the program and accepted that i was there i cried a lot when i left because i did make some really awesome amazing friends they say you come in alone and you leave alone but i personally don’t think so because those friendships were so solid for me im kinda just talking about how good of a time i had there but some advice if you do get sent here is to DO the program if you act out you won’t get out but be open to everything they teach as well i thought it was stupid and that it wouldn’t do anything for me but it has helped a lot since ive been home and doing the program helps a lot with self esteem especially for me i came home knowing i did the program i got out and i did the best i could to finally get better i didnt want to but i accepted that it was the best for me and the people around me i realized i wasn’t alone and that things WILLL get better and did i am very greatful for this hospital the staff my therapist and the friends i made it was a great experience and i got alot better it was such a surprise when i discharged and it was such a dream that i discharged it didn’t feel real i am so very happy right now because of this place and the things ive learned. thank you Elsi for the gummy bears on my last day they were very yummy and i miss nurse emmy and mr. nursey nurse and i miss playing music with the peads 🥲🥲 i miss the library a lot tho too and the food and the kitchen staff and playing the quiet game and our incentives that we’d get i miss my ridge kids and i miss my room i miss Lolo helping me when i had my one crashout and i miss playing volleyball i might start playing because i was pretty good at it when i was in there i miss jazzyy she was so sweet and i loved when she would do just dance with us when i was on SNA my first 2 weeks i do just dance a lot at home now because i forgot how fun it was i read a lot more now too because while i was in there i found a lot of love for reading i found myself while i was in there and i now know exactly who i am as a person

Torture camp for strugglung youth. Drugging, isolation rooms... something out of a horror movie What they show parents on the walk through is completely a facade of what goes on behind closed doors in this hell-hole... Males housed together from I believe around age 10-12 up throught 18 in the same units. That's safe right? During my stay there was a kid named Marcus, who was a child of one of the higher ups who owned/managed the facility. He assaulted many people and all of these incidents were swept under the rug. At my time here no trips out of the facility happened, no real extra-curricular needs were met. It was just a jail... that's really all this place is. They will do all they can to not release people so that they can keep collecting money from the child's insurance. I spent some time here when I was a teenager. Ranging from neglect of basic needs by the staff, to shovel feeding people unnecessary prescriptions to "cure" them... this place is a for profit business and that is their only goal. Kids who have difficulties managing themselves are often forcefully restrained, many times being injured in the process. Then are dragged into isolation rooms. A blank padded room with nothing inside. No bed, no nothing. Maybe a mat if you're lucky. These rooms are completely identical to an isolation unit within a prison. Think that asylums are a thing of the past, then take a stay at this place and see how similar it is! Basic emotional needs were not met. Calls to parents and family were very closely regulated and live monitored, anything mention of mistreatment within the facility resulted in an immediate response from the staff. Often ending the phone call and taking away privileges from anyone who did this. Can barely even begin to uncover the depths of the horrible things I saw here within a simple review. Were all of the staff terrible? No... my therapist at the time (name redacted) actually did her best to secretly let my parents know some of the abuse that was going on here within her communications to then. Mind you, once you're there, you're legally held until deemed "safe enough" to leave, so parents simply cannot withdraw a child. I am now going on 20 years old, I stayed here at roughly age 13. The last 7 years of my life have been full of trauma and I now suffer from often daily PTSD symptoms due to my time here. I struggle to be indoors most places due to the trigger response of the experiences being locked in the isolation rooms, sometimes for a day or two at a time. It is hard to remember exact details as I have worked very hard to forget. The only outside time given for my entire stay was a brief period in which we could go out into the backyard, which was a dirt lot with a very tall fence. Many days we did not go outside at all, for what reason I can't truly recall, but sometimes just due to the staff brushing off the necessity to do so. Dealing with my mental health struggles at the time, while coping with this experience, has created a lifetime of personal issues for myself as a young adult. The isolation and days inside were absolutely detrimental. The schooling was nothing more than going into a room and reading some textbooks while a teacher sat at his desk. The whole experience was just truly idential to that of a jail or prison. Mainly the isolation, the damage that does to a young brain is just really indescribable. Those days having a hard time and being punished for it by being put into a padded cell took the biggest toll on me. I don't believe in hell, but I do believe those who run this place are destined for it. Words don't do justice for the damage this place caused me. It is forever unrepairable Parents, don't believe the lies... my parents did, and are gonna be left with that guilt for the rest of their lives too. At all costs, STAY AWAY. Think about your child struggling daily 10 years later because you allowed them to come here. Please, I beg and beg and beg you to at all costs make sure your son or daughter does not have to survive through what I did here.

Hello, I was a patient here. In my time at willow springs, I have learned many things. One of the things I have learned is that no matter what happens, you must act like everything is fine. One of my friends, who was another patient, attempted suicide. We continued to program like nothing was wrong. I have restrained three people, and there is a patient who has done 5 restraints, with the most recent time being last week. The staff neglected out needs, causing many of us, including me to contract UTI's (urinary tract infections) and we must wait weeks for a med consult. There is someone who sprained their wrist and had to wait for a med consult. Mentor Cait (like "my name is cait") was in the gym, when two patient eloped from the facility. I had to tell her to call a code pink (the code for elopement), as she was just standing there, mouth agape. Mentor Katana, she was the staff for the restraint that a patient had to preform last week, as she was not paying attention to what was going on. The patients are not informed of what belongings they have, as I apparently had a blanket and a pillow (which we are allowed to have), and I was not informed of that until discharge. There was a riot on the unit 'Vista' on 5/17/25 (May 17th, 2025), and a patient's septum piercing was ripped out, the person that ripped out said piercing was a manager who I will not name, due to them being a kind person at heart. During this riot, the staff did not offer to listen to me, instead they asked me if I wanted medication. In my opinion, the 'Good' staff, (good meaning they have basic human empathy and are good people) are Jess (M3, (Mentor Three)), and Jenna (M1, (Mentor One)), as they understand that not every problem can be solved with medication, they listen to you if you need to talk, and are genuine people. As the patients are denied water sometimes, Jenna and Jess both work hard to get the patients what they are needed, whether that be water, or a person to talk to. During the code pink (elopement of two patients), Jenna, who was on break, got out of her car and responded to the code, showing care for the patients safety. While Willow Springs is an awful place to send your children too, the time I was there, I believe that the patients are the only good part. I was discharged despite having an ED (eating disorder) and recently being put on SHP (self-harm precaution). They had recently found out about my ED, and despite me still struggling with SH (self-harm), and said ED, they discharged me. If you would like your children to get the help they need, make sure that they want the help, as they need to be willing to get the help. Do not send them to Willow Springs, as they will have more trauma than how they came in.