I was at this place for 31 days in 2019, so my experience is a few years old. I decided to go to…read moreThe Guest House because of the success I'd had after my other experiences at The Refuge, the first treatment center Judy Crane opened in 2006 or so. I had layers and layers of trauma and no family support, so each stay worked on a deeper layer of stuff that was increasingly more painful. Judy Crane's trauma treatment model is unmatched and unparalleled in terms of effectiveness and outcome. I see so many reviews on here where people complain that they felt worse or left unsettled and committed suicide, and I'm sure that's all true. That is the problem with experiencing trauma, especially at an early age - you don't remember what happened to you, but your body does. You leave thinking you've done all of your work, or you'll somehow magically feel better if you leave. Trauma doesn't work that way. You can't put a timeline or deadline on how long it takes - they recommend 90 days because it takes nearly 30 just to acclimate yourself to the program and learn an entirely different way of living, especially if you had substance or process addictions. This place asks for a lot of money because it costs a lot of money to treat mental health issues. The mental healthcare system is so broken in this country that good care for trauma or addiction must be paid out of pocket. A single facility like The Guest House or even larger corporate places can't take advantage of economies of scale because people often have to fight their insurance companies just to get coverage for 3-4 weeks of residential treatment, and there's rarely much consistency, so this level of care at a place that will actually help becomes a luxury. I had to cut my stay there by 2-4 weeks due to insurance dropping my authorization after only 10 days. My plan is to sue them...if I ever get around to it. I did feel that money talks a little too much at this place, but it talks a whole lot more anywhere else, and it's not difficult to see why if you understand our broken mental health system. It is broken as I've stated many times in this review. I did feel that some staff, particularly senior management, didn't always make the right choices for me, but in the vast majority of cases, I believe that they did. I also think they remembered 'the Old me' from The Refuge which wasn't great because I much more difficult and 'broken' back then. They also knew that I know their treatment model and staff well, so I had no problem advocating for what I needed. 6 months after leaving this place too early but continuing the work I started there, I was the happiest I've ever been. I felt I could finally move on with my life. I felt hope that I'd find a relationship and have inner peace for the first time I ever, and I do. My advice to anyone who needs treatment for trauma would be this: go there sober. Do not waste your time or money in detox there. It's quite cushy, but if you don't have unlimited funds, detox anywhere that is medically assisted. If you can, start your trauma work in outpatient therapy before you arrive (if you have a clue as to what you need to work on.) You'll be more productive with your time there or at least feel more ready to work. Do not expect your first or second time to be your last time in treatment. Trauma is usually not single-event and is often layered, especially when it started in childhood. It will take months but maybe even a few years before you've dealt with the major things (8 years total for me.) Do not be discouraged by clients who don't take it seriously or get more attention because they've pre-paid for 3 or 6 months. You will get out of it what you put into it, and you can't lose the progress, even if you do relapse. I had 18 months between my first and second time at The Refuge and 3 years and 9 months between my second time at The Refuge and The Guest House because as I moved through different stages of my life, different things were triggered. On a less serious note, Tom is cool and amazing, and you want Angela, Nadja, or Tom as your therapist. Kelly, the head House Manager (called an OG there) is amazing too. Debi will take excellent care of you, and Dustin is an amazing cook which is comforting and consistent after a tough day in therapy. Dr. Davies is the bomb, and the psychiatrist will mostly leave you alone unless you need lots of meds. If you've been to treatment before, amazing is probably the word you'll use to describe everything. Good luck

Recently, I was having issues w/ Judy Crane's former staff member, previously my therapist…read more Context: Judy is the owner of The Guest House and prior to that The Refuge. I directed my concern to Judy b/c I formed a relationship with this person under Judy's supervision. I also thought Judy was related through a business partnership. Judy said she was no longer affiliated with this person and she fired her years ago over conduct. That info helped me gain context around something I was struggling to understand. I tried to figure out who the right person to address my concern was, discovering my former therapist never had a license. I tried contacting whoever issued her the "C.T.T." letters attached to her name, only to be led back to Judy Crane's Spirit2Spirit certification program. Contradicting herself, it appeared as if this person was certified/endorsed by Judy as a trauma therapist. Confused, I redirected back to Judy via formal complaint. Judy again denied affiliation w/ this person claiming she wasn't certified by her. She didn't show any concern over someone misusing her credentials & she didn't indicate actions would be taken to prevent it. Judy glossed over my complaint, telling me she loved me & that I was resilient, explaining she didn't have the capacity to address the issue due to personal circumstances. That response left me frustrated. Under Judy's supervision, my former therapist crossed boundaries & exploited my trauma history. Despite being aware of it, Judy failed to protect me. Judy allowed this person's kids on property ignoring that I was being asked to watch them. Meanwhile, I was doing intensive trauma work with their mom. It seemed innocent, but looking back I see the problem and how it gradually developed into more serious issues as that dynamic was continued through aftercare. I can't discern when the therapeutic relationship ended b/c my therapist made it seem like watching her kids was a form of therapy. She intertwined her personal life & children directly into my trauma processing, creating an entirely new layer of anxiety, dependency, and emotional confusion, while I struggled with increased panic attacks, agoraphobia, OCD and depression. Verbal & mental abuse, blatant violations of my confidentiality, constant criticisms, casual put-downs, unsolicited comments about my sexual orientation, offensive comments about my gender identity: all things I endured as a client and afterwards while this person remained in my life. Time passed while I failed to connect dots between how she treated me & what was going on with me internally. I struggled while she relied on me to protect her kids, monitor online safety; even inserting me into the middle of physically dangerous situations. This person's conduct more recently escalated into things that felt more manipulative, malicious, or calculating. Attempts to stand up for myself were framed as "being mean" while she obfuscated things, leaving me feeling so gaslit that I called Judy. Not long after, I disengaged from this person & her family entirely. I'm being conservative in what I say here. I don't appreciate feeling like I had to resort to sharing my private experiences online in order to have a voice in this matter. In my view, "Certified Trauma Therapist" implies "qualified to provide therapy" and "is a safe person during crisis or trauma". It's still unclear why this person was posturing herself w/ Judy's credentials all this time; she visually appears to be the subject of Judy's supervision. I'm unclear & concerned about this person harming others and creating damage in their lives the way she did to mine. Attempting to acknowledge the situation with Judy seems reasonable and appropriate. This experience impacted me in a significant way; it feels like something was stolen from me that I can't fully put into words. If Judy ever decides to do the right thing by finally giving this issue the attention it deserves, she knows how to contact me.