I was at Havenwood Academy from February 2022 to August 2023. When i entered Havenwood i just turned 16 and had a past with drug addiction, acting out, and mental issues. I was assigned a therapist who then left the company after getting pregnant. I got a new therapist, Kyle who is the best therapist i have ever had including now. I was scared at first because of the traumatic experiences with men in my past but he made me want to trust him. Another staff who is also the PE teacher is Ms. Lopez. I would not have been able to get through Havenwood without her. She made it easy to talk to her and i was always looking forward to seeing her everyday. I feel like the head people of Haven wood did not like seeing us get closer to our staff. Considering the staff were the ones actually talking to us and working with us everyday and the head people didn't, I obviously felt more comfortable getting closer to my staff. I got accused of sexually assaulting a girl in this treatment whose parents also reviewed which was completely determined CONSENSUAL after the other girl was the one who initiated it. I spent over a month in the bunk house because I "legally" couldn't be with any of the girls. When I got released from bunk house, i entered the 3rd house out of the 3 houses that were at Havenwood. I wasn't allowed a roommate at all because of the reasoning prior yet anyone else who sexually acted out wasn't treated this way. It especially confused me because the case was dropped after cps determined that there wasn't anything wrong. There would be fights, throwing food, and girls putting blood on the wall. we had chores everyday but the houses were yet still super dirty. One time I was laying in bed reading when my roommate next to me started cutting their arms. There was a staff in the hall way who said they couldn't do anything yet because there wasn't another staff and it was a sharp object. The same roommate, a few days later, would go on to hitting her head over and over on the wall in our room until there was blood on the wall. I asked the staff for over a week to clean the blood off the wall, they said they would but never did. At one point i asked for them to spray some bleach on a rag while i put gloves on and i cleaned the blood off the wall myself. I had an experience where a female staff gave me and another client edibles one weekend at North house and they would also hire employees that didn't fit at all. I had a staff at the ranch house who would try holding my hand and told me he loved me over and over, he then told me he was waiting for his background check to clear after asking me all of these personal questions about my life. I'm pretty sure they need to pass the background check before? Anyways he did end up getting fired after being weird with multiple girls. In the middle of my stay, a 17 year old client and a staff started having a relationship. The client was my roommate and i didn't believe her until she told me she would show me. He would enter our room late at night past lights out and they would be doing stuff in our room. One time she told me to stay awake so she could prove it to me and she sure did. The staff was already quitting and left the day after and the client graduated a few days later. We got van rides taken away after two clients were sexually acting out in the back. I was only allowed one phone call with my grandma a week, plus family therapy. One time me and a few girls got in trouble and they made us clean the whole house and do all of the chores while the rest went to equine therapy. Haven wood was definitely a life changing experience and it helped in some ways and didn't in others. Please do lots of homework before sending your child anywhere. read more

Havenwood was, an experience. I went there October of 2022 and stayed there until July of 2024. I have childhood trauma and mental disorders. Havenwood (sometimes) really helped with that. Some parts of it were great. I met a lot of friends and built great relationships with staff. Parts of it really helped me. I loved my therapist and really thought I was getting help. But there were a lot of horrible things going on there. Girls sexually assualtting each other, staff putting kids in illegal holds. A lot of my friends would come out of restraints (including myself) with bruises up and down their legs and arms. It was hard to sometimes watch the staff do nothing while kids were cutting themselves in the corner of there room. Staff there also need to pay attention to all the kids not just the ones they like. My friends and I would have to interfere with each others issues because the staff weren't doing anything. I miss you havenwood besties. Stay safe. And if your thinking of sending your kid here seriously think about there issues and whether or not you think there strong enough to go through some shit. Treatment is hard, sometimes we come out with more trauma.Have Fun! read more

UPDATE! UPDATE! IMPORTANT UPDATE! This is an update from my posted Yelp review back in January of 2018 where I outlined the terrible experience we had when our daughter was at Havenwood for 10 months. In that posting I put my phone number and personal email. ***Since then, we went took Havenwood through a lengthy 9-month arbitration with the Better Business Bureau of Utah. The arbitrator found Havenwood to have "major discrepancies between what was advertised and what was delivered" in four major areas of our daughters treatment. The complete document of that final arbitration can be found here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ILxmaPOQkgUV3PBnBkJP6xQo_2fKTBVo?usp=sharing. Our claims are the first part of the document and make reference to an 18 page document we submitted that showed all proof of our claims. The detailed findings from the arbitrator start on page 4 for you to verify these discrepancies. Also, the last page of this document is the BBB final arbitration decision where they told Havenwood to REMOVE all the falsified information from their website and their parent welcome letter. Did Havenwood do this? No. They are no longer accredited with the BBB, but that was the only restitution we had with them. So, why am I posting this update now? ***We have since had a wonderful experience at a residential treatment facility and our daughter has now successfully graduated and transitioned home. I want that same hope and help for any person reading this review, it does exist - just not at Havenwood. ***I am STILL receiving calls/emails from parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, who currently have their daughters at Havenwood and their sister program Zion Hills Academy and are having major issues similar to mine, or even WORSE. ***I also am still receiving calls/email from those who are telling me what Havenwood is promising and getting a "bad feeling" (for good reason) and then searching the internet and finding my review. ***And, I am also getting calls/emails from teens themselves who have been at Havenwood and were treated poorly. ***I have also gotten calls from concerned social workers. I contacted Havenwood on 4/5/2020 asking them for any updated policies and procedures, their new parent welcome's letter, and why I continue to get phone calls of concern. ***I am asking anyone who HAS or HAS HAD a daughter go through Havenwood or any of their other affiliated programs such as Zion Hills Academy, to please call or email me with any pertinent information about their experiences. Thank you, Natalie (916) 934-3270 natgebhart@gmail.com read more

I was at Havenwood Academy for for 16 months from June 2020 to October 2021, I did everything in my power to work the program and it was physically and mentally impossible. The only way that girls graduate this program is manipulating the system and submitting themselves to be compliant to everything the program and staff want to do to them, including physical, abuse SA and isolation.I was severely medically, neglected I was throwing up blood for nearly 4 1/2 months before they even took me to the ER. That's just one of the numbers of abuse I experienced and my peers experienced that Havenwood. My peers and I consistently Bruises on the under sides of our arms from the rough restraints I witnessed my peers being slammed through walls screaming get off me you're hurting me and Staff, ignoring and continuing to hurt them and I did not only witness Atrocities on a daily basis, I was a victim to them myself I was tripped and laid on top of as a form of a restraint with my arms behind my back and my body being pushed into the floor. I was covered in bruises after this incident. The restraint technique used on me did not even exist. There is no restraint that involves tripping someone or laying on top of them in the way that was used on me and I know this for a fact, this is not a restraint technique or a hold technique because I overheard the staff members trying to figure out what to put in the incident report for the hold technique, but it didn't even exist I have lifelong trauma from the things I witnessed at Havenwood Academy, there are so many things I witnessed that I cannot even begin to think about let alone discuss this this program does nothing to help girls. I'm still recovering from the trauma I experienced and I know you guys are probably gonna delete this because that's what you do to all of the negative reviews but I hope one parent debating to send their child to this program will see This because this program equally takes advantage Parent struggling, not knowing what to do with their children just trying to help them. read more

My daughter has been at Havenwood for almost 6 months. During that time I have spent more than 10 days either at the school or the group home. During this time onsite I have developed a good feel for this program and how it works. Havenwood is not perfect - no school is. If you are looking at a RTC then you are desperate for help. And the two most important things should be a loving environment and good therapeutic help. Havenwood is very good at these two things. And most importantly, they love these kids and greatly care about their needs on an individual level. They are not a one size fits all program - they tailor the needs to the child. I could tell many stories about staff going the extra mile to make my child know she is loved and valued. The staff here put in endless hours, endure physical and verbal abuse, and they show up again the next day to do it all over again - sort of like being a parent of one of these kids :). Does it work? All I can speak to is my experience. In six months my daughter has gone from severe self destructive behavior, and no longer wanting to live, to smiling, loving, and laughing like I haven't heard in years. She is maturing and gaining tools that will serve her all her life. They ABSOLUTELY do not push drugs on your kids and do not use drugs to stop an out of control child. Their Psychiatrist and nurse are very careful and thoughtful. Your child will get whatever they put into the education program - just like any other school. There are FEW other schools I would consider in the entire Country for a child with severe RAD that needs help. read more

Over the past 3 years, we have had 2 daughters at Havenwood Academy. Both girls did really well there. They have a great program and ther structure was what my girls needed. The staff was great and always friendly. The girls got to go on lots of great activities. One of the favorites was an overnight hiking/camping trip. Havenwood did a great job with communicating with us as parents. Jessi was a fantastic coordinator and so easy to get in touch with, we all loved her. Therapy was a big part of the program and Kyle was the best therapist. He worked really well with my daughter and she learned and grew in so many ways. It was really hard for us to make the decision to get more help for our daughters. They were both really struggling in ways where we could only help so much and they did not want our help. Havenwood helped us develop a better realtionship with them. We are grateful for the difference they made in all our lives. read more

Our daughter was enrolled in Havenwood Academy for approximately one year during 2014-2015. It may not be for everyone to leave your child in the hands of strangers. We felt we had no other option, as our daughter had spend two years in a local enthusiastic sobriety group and ended up worse than before she went in. It took a lot of trust to drop our child off 3,000 miles from home in hopes for a better life for her and our family. Bottom line: The counselors were top-notch. My daughter was no longer called an addict but a real person with issues that needed to be resolved in order to function without using drugs to solve her problems. We also counseled as a family long distance and I cannot say enough about how it helped us grow, mature and overcome. The quarterly "in person" parenting classes were excellent. We were educated and left with many tools to handle our family situations. The communication was very good. Havenwood had been recently purchased by new owners and there was adapting and changes going on to make it a better place. We were always informed of the current situation. The teachers were first rate. Our daughter was able to graduate high school shortly after leaving Havenwood, after being a drop out for two years. It takes participation from the child and the parents to succeed. If either doesn't want to do the work, it probably isn't going to. When our daughter decided after a couple of months that she was going to put in the effort, it made all the difference. Were there bumps along the way and things that weren't 100% perfect? Yes. You must always be your own best advocate. We were able to address our concerns when they arose and work through them with the staff and the management. Would we do it again? Yes. When we took our daughter away to Havenwood, I felt like I going to lose a year without her. I can now tell you we gained a lifetime. In words straight from her mouth..."it probably saved my life". read more

I was placed at havenwood twice. The last 6 months of my first time being there were exceptional. Management, the staff, and my therapist were extremely amazing. However, I did have to come back a year and a half later because although I got help the first time around, I do not feel my family got the help they needed so that we could have good lasting communication skills. Which is one reason I believe I got into bad things again. I did not fall back into old patterns, but found new dangerous coping mechanisms that brought me back to havenwood a year and a half later. I was glad to have gone back to havenwood instead of a new facility because things felt familiar. But I do admit some of the things happening were not okay. They have this thing called "shutdown" where all 16 girls are placed in the garage to sit and stare at each other and do nothing. When I say nothing, I mean NOTHING. We cannot talk, read, lay down, or even rest our faces in our hands. We could only sit and stare into space. I went through two shut downs and the second one lasted 6 days. We were forced to only have two changes of clothes during that time since we were not allowed to even do laundry. This means that we had to sit in unwashed dirty underwear for 6 days, and you could only rinse them in the shower to get them somewhat clean again. We were given our meals as normal, and a shower, and it was off to bed and awaken the next morning at 6am to sit on the garage floor with everyone else until 9pm that night. During that time, many girls physically hurt themselves, in which a lot of us were exposed to witnessing self mutilation of someone our very own age and were forced to run upstairs to another room so staff could restrain that peer until she stopped screaming and crying so we could all come back down to the garage once she was calmed down. The staff on shift are all very young college students who can barely manage their own emotions, and don't know how to deal with 16 unstable girls at once going through mental and emotional problems without lashing at us back. Trainings were minimal and some staff would use it as a power control. There were some amazing staff who I still keep in touch with, but those were the ones who were most loving and patient and did not punish us for reacting in the only ways we knew how. Girls try to run away during shut down and I don't blame them. That was probably the worst part about havenwood. I also gained 30 pounds from the poor nutritional diet they were offering and we almost never got to go to the gym and exercise. We did not have a lot of physical activity, or fun outings, and we were pretty much forced to all sit in a tv room all weekend and watch the same movies over and over. Sometimes they would take us on drives, but they even took that option away at one point and all we would do was sit in the cramped home. We did not have music therapy, and if we did it only lasted 2 months until the therapist would quit and we would be promised another one.. which never came. There are girls there who crap in other girls pillows, and get no consequences for it! Because the excuse is that's just the way they are and there's nothing they can do to control that. Girls who hit and bite and assault multiple other girls and staff and we get in trouble if we defend ourselves back. When I first got to havenwood my second time was great. But after about 8 months of being there, stuff started falling apart for some reason and I believe it is due to them admitting so many hopeless nut cases who belonged in an asylum, not a group home for girls with emotional trauma. However, I do have good things to say. I was the first girl at havenwood to go to college while being there. I graduated early and was able to take online college classes, and they really helped me succeed in schooling. Especially Kris the counselor, she was absolutely so helpful and amazing. I've grown great friendships with some staff and peers that I hold close to this day, and although I've gotten back into the old things I was doing I would like to say I appreciate the patience the therapists had with me. I did get a lot of help dealing with stuff from my childhood which has helped me understand my emotions better and I can prevent myself from acting out. I'm not entirely perfect but I did get more help than I did the first time so I don't feel like being at havenwood again was a waste of time. I definitely was there longer than I needed to be since I didn't act out crazy like the other girls there, but I had no other choice. Kirsten and Blaine hoffeling and Lou Trotta are fantastically generous and kind and loving. And the equine therapists were extremely helpful, horse therapy was definitely a highlight (continue to photo attached for rest of review) read more

Havenwood Academy - Rehabilitation Center Near Me - Cedar City, Utah

Wow! Where do I begin?? We were at the end of our rope and, honestly our parenting skills. We had tried everything!! We had nothing left to offer but knew we couldn't give up. Our daughter was beyond our control. I laid in bed one night ready to scour the Internet for the "right answer." I said a prayer aloud with my husband and began my search. The very first site I saw was a woman named Marie who basically advertised herself as a parent advocate who helps other parents find the right fit for residential treatment based on your specific issues. She has 2 daughters that had issues and said she wished she would have had the help of someone to lead her in the right direction when she was in the same position as us. Well, I was skeptical at first but her words struck me so I figured why not reach out and see what she had to offer. I searched and found many more options but kept coming back to this woman's site. She contacted me the next day and recommended Havenwood Academy to us. Now we live in Austin, Texas & this place is in Utah, so we were initially put off. After talking with Marie and the admin at Havenwood we made the heartbreaking choice to send our daughter to Utah. It was so scary to walk away from that house and leave our daughter in the hands of strangers that we were supposed to trust with our already fragile child. I'm here to tell you that it was the best decision we could have made for our family! We participated in weekly counseling sessions over the phone and our daughter received tons of individual, group, equine, nature, etc therapy. She learned so many healthy coping mechanisms that she still uses to this day. We were able to spend a weekend with our daughter quarterly during her year there and those were the best weekends! We got to spend time with our "new" daughter and Havenwood provided us with so many new tools as parents that we also use to this day. Our daughter's time there was during a transition of ownership and though there were kinks here and there, we always felt informed of what was going on and they were transparent with their intentions. EVERY SINGLE staff member was top notch and we just fell in love with everyone and they even still check on our daughter to this day!! (3 yrs later) I will say that your child & family will get back what you put into it. Not every child walks away successfully and though we knew it was a risk, the risk of not sending her was much more detrimental. My comfort was knowing that even if she didn't walk away with success, at least the seeds would be planted and she would leave with new information, tools and skills that she didn't have coming in, and that's exactly what happened! Once she put her mind and heart into it, she blossomed. The educational staff helped her get back on track to graduate as she was at risk of failing her junior year and possibly dropping out of school. It gave her the self confidence she needed to finish and she walked the stage with her peers!!! Best. Day. Ever!! I am convinced that wouldn't have happened without Havenwood in her life. We will forever be grateful to the people who opened their hearts and even their homes to us when we were at our lowest with no hope or direction left. I have many times in the past, and will continue to recommend Havenwood to any parent who is struggling with their out of control child. They saved all of our lives!!! read more