The Refuge, A Healing Place

A lot of promised activities were not delivered (horse riding, ropes course, etc.) that they tout on their site. The staff turnover rate just in the seven weeks I have been here was CRAZY! 2-3 out of 8 of the main therapists left and only one was replaced during my time here. Additionally, the rules/regulations and safety precautions that are required by the staff were very wishy-washy. At times there was a lot of infighting, resulting in a week of the much needed peer led groups (nightly twelve step meetings) being canceled because of one or two clients behavior out of a total 80. It takes forever to get an individual appointment with your therapist, and youre lucky if they keep you the whole hour you are promised and dont shoo you away early. Additionally, many issues with discharging patients who were not ready to go yet (and these patients subsequently relapsed and came BACK) occurred. Finally, it is almost impossible to get a meeting with case management even if relevant issues are occurring that need to be taken care of in the outside world. That being said, there are a lot of good aspects to the place, such as atmosphere, amazing food, cleanliness, and variety of groups. I could not have gotten sober without this place and as far as mental health and substance abuse facilities go, this place is one of the better ones.
Apr 11th, 2024

Oak house was very helpful, staff are super nice. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with an eating disorder. Trauma side is best for trauma, ptsd, and anxiety etc.. 10/10 recommend.
Apr 10th, 2024

** Review: Proceed with Care elsewhere** **Rating: ** As someone who has experienced firsthand the services provided by The Refuge treatment center, I feel compelled to share my honest feedback. While the facility boasts an appealing exterior, my experience with their staff and billing practices was deeply disappointing. During my time at The Refuge, I encountered staff members who were unprofessional, including the nursing director Anna and Kelly, who misuse their authority and behave rudely towards patients. Additionally, the financial representative named Michael Weed cannot be trusted; he may misuse your card information, leading to unexpected out-of-pocket expenses, plus additional unclear billing. There were instances where patient confidentiality was breached, with gossip and the open announcement of medications by staff members. This created an unsafe environment where discussing personal conditions felt compromised. Furthermore, the facility engages in questionable billing practices, such as billing insurance for services not rendered and billing patients differently without clarification. This behavior borders on insurance fraud and is deeply concerning. The overall atmosphere felt more like a summer camp than a legitimate treatment center, with false advertisement regarding the quality of care provided. If considering The Refuge as a summer camp alternative, one might as well opt for an Airbnb vacation elsewhere, where the food and mental health support would undoubtedly be superior. In addition, the social workers at The Refuge lack qualifications and fail to provide adequate support. Patients are likely to receive more support from their peers, as the social workers are ineffective in their roles. This makes The Refuge unsuitable for those seeking substance abuse or mental health support. **In my opinion, those seeking genuine treatment should explore options elsewhere, such as in Gainesville or other areas of Florida, where certified staff with higher credentials offer superior care rooted in evidence-based practices.** **I urge potential clients to heed the negative reviews and exercise extreme caution before committing to services at The Refuge treatment center. You have been warned.**
Mar 10th, 2024

I had an awesome experience at The Refuge. I met many great people and made some friends for life. In my opinion, the program works but you have to do the work. Its works if you work it. And thats true. I gave it my best efforts. I leave with a lot of tools to cope with the outside world. The only thing I would advice anyone is that, you live in a bubble and no matter how prepared you think you are for the outside world, the transition can be very tough.
Mar 3rd, 2024

An unsafe, incompetently managed, ineffectual place. I was at the refuge for the last few months. 2023 I was referred by my art therapist based on another clients experience at the refuge 3 years ago. That CEO had been replaced and a majority of the therapists were fired or quit. Topics: -Predatory staff members (details below) -BUILT NEXT TO GUN RANGE -Dispensing the incorrect medications to clients about once a week (details below) -While I was there were two unrelated lawsuits filed by clients against the CEO and company -Peter took his investors on a safari tour of the campus while the waved at the clients and some took pictures of clients. -50% of what was advertised on their website was no longer usable (canoeing, high ropes, dual diagnosis treatment, and for the two months I was there there was no equine or eco therapy) -unlivable cabins (details below) (camera hidden in fire alarm in cabins) -no medical treatment (ended up in ER after I told them I was going to medically discharge) Peter the CEO while I was there hired his friends to work in certain jobs, and did absolutely no oversight of the hiring process. The man who worked in tech there verbally harassed my first day there. A staff member invited a client to live with him after she left treatment. A therapist said he didn't believe in psychosis during a DBT group. None of them were fired or punished in any way. There were multiple physical and sexual assaults between clients while I was there, none were addressed by staff until the victim would call the police themselves or leave AMA. People were given other clients medication multiple times. A nurse pulled out another clients bin of meds and gave it to me to dispense myself. I told her multiple times those weren't mine and that wasn't my name I even pointed out my bin. keep in mind she had my patient info up on the screen in front of her with my name on it. It took over 2 minutes for this woman to consider listening to what a client was saying, didn't look at her screen at all just smiled at me and told me my name was actually sam. There was a general problem with staff refusing to admit they were wrong. A different nurse gave me my adhd meds at night instead of ambien. When I asked him about it I brought up he never had me sign out my controlled meds which is mandatory. He said no it's not and I gave you the right meds and left. Next morning there was a Focalin missing and an extra ambien. I was in a "new" cabin which sounds nice and it was big and very pretty. It was also infested with cockroaches, mold, and a rattlesnake that lived above the walkway to my door. It also had a fire alarm that was "motion" triggered, meaning there was a camera inside of it that snaps pictures or videos when it felt a change in air pressure. So steam from the shower would set it off, which would then trigger all of the alarms in the new cabins. The alarms went off for over 10 minutes before a single staff member came to check. This happened four times. I contracted RSV from a client and was very seriously sick for over a week. I went to medical every single day I was sick, the first day I was allowed to sleep in medical. I got much worse overnight visibly and medically and they sent me back to my cabin without any medication to help. I continued to go back every day explaining how much worse it had gotten AND how I could get others sick. she then told me dehydration was my biggest problem I responded by pointing out there is no drinkable water in or near the cabins and she then prescribed me a single cup of gatorade and sent me back to my cabin. At this point clients and staff were going to the practitioner and telling her they were worried about how sick I was and that if I'm alone if something goes wrong. she did not care. Finally she went on vacation and as soon as the new practitioner saw me she sent me to medical.
Apr 6th, 2024