I took my daughter to Lakefront Wellness because I believed that she needed help with depression…read moreand anti-social behavior. The first thing that her counselor did was make her feel like she was a victim and virtually elevated and legitimized her bad behavior. As her behavior got worse, we shared our great sense of urgency that this part of the process needed to be expedited and moved on from. Her counselor was very kind to us but virtually ignored our sense of urgency and was quite comfortable to bill us every two weeks with virtually no progress reports. "this process takes time." Unfortunately she was never able to elevate her performance and get our daughter to a better place. We both felt that she was actually being manipulated by our daughter. So here we are a year later and it is so much worse than it was before we stepped through their door. I am not prone to write something like this but it is shocking to me how badly this turned out and I would strongly encourage you to proceed with great caution.

I have been seeing Dr. Beth Johnson for the last 7 years. I was terrified of starting therapy…read morebecause I thought I might lose my mind. I was severely abused as a child and this knowledge was just surfacing in flashbacks. I tried to ignore them but then I started having panic attacks in public. That was the final straw. My husband insisted I start therapy. The first therapist I started to see (NOT AT LAKEFRONT) was not a good fit at all. Her first question was "tell me everything that happened". I told her all that I remembered. It was too much for a first visit. I went home severely depressed and feeling victimized all over again. The next visit I told her I thought I might have other personalities. She pretty much shamed me for thinking that. Some of my flashbacks were of me doing things I had no recollection of. I would also "lose time" and have no explanation of what I did for a few hours. The thing was I already felt I was crazy and she wasn't even trying to help me sort my thoughts out. Then she wanted me to start on medication. It was time for me to move on. That's when I started seeing Dr. Johnson. I told her I didn't want to talk about my memories yet because I thought I might lose my mind. What she said next has stayed with me to this day. "Actually the people who don't deal with their memories are the ones who end up having psychotic break downs". Then she said we don't need to talk about your memories yet. It's too soon. I thought she's exactly the therapist I need. She said we'll wait until your comfortable for that. It only took me a few weeks before she proved to me that I could trust her with my vulnerable state of mind and the memories started coming out. I decided not to tell her of my suspicion that I might have other personalities. If they were really there, she would have to figure it out herself. I didn't want to lead her into something that may or may not be true. After a little over a year in therapy, a "part" came out and talked to Dr. Johnson. Still she waited some time before officially diagnosing me with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). You don't want to jump the gun on a diagnosis like that. I was mortified. I told her I'm a freak. She explained that everyone has different personalities. It's a matter of degree. It's just that mine have been hiding because of the abuse I had suffered. Most of them were little girls who held a few memories or beliefs. She explained it was healthy for me to have split into parts. Otherwise I would not have survived the abuse with my mind intact. Dr. Johnson has brought me from feeling I was crazy to someone who became brave enough to look at and heal the wounds of abuse. I never could have done it without her at my side. I understand and appreciate the development of DID. It's not crazy; it's survival. I have held many unhealthy beliefs about myself. Dr. Johnson in her wonderful and gentle wisdom has always been able to help me release those beliefs and replace them with healthy beliefs. Example: Me: I'm not lovable. That's why my mother did not save me from my father's abuse. Dr. Johnson: Have you ever heard of puppies or kittens being abused? Yes I answered. DJ: Do you think they were not lovable? No, I think they were lovable. DJ: Then why do you think they were abused? Because the people who abused them are sick. DJ: Do you think your mother was sick? Yes she was sick. DJ: So are you not lovable or was it that your mother was sick? My mother was sick. Done. Belief of not being lovable enough to be saved was gone. I know there are many people who can't get past that belief. Dr. Johnson blew it out of the water in less than 30 minutes. Above all, Dr. Johnson is a very effective therapist. But more than that, she is kind, wise, compassionate, patient, intuitive, firm when she needs to be, yet she has never made me feel ashamed. I trust that I can tell her anything, and she will respond wisely and compassionately. For someone who was as mentally ill as I was, anything less would have broke me. She helped me pull myself out of the darkness and into the light. In the beginning I was afraid that maybe she won't be able to handle all that I may dump on her. But her strength to handle all the gore details helped me face them. I only saw her flinch once ha ha.