I also went to La Amistad in the adolescent program. I was there for approximately four months. The staff that is hired does not seem properly trained in how to handle children with issues such as depression or anxiety. Girls were often harassed and embarrassed in front of the other girls. Staff would sometimes refuse to make phone calls for me at the appropriate time. (I live in Germany and had to make my calls earlier because of the time difference).They would text on their phones and gossip about the patients. At night it would be hard to sleep because of the staff playing music or talking loudly. We were not treated with respect or as patients, we were treated like we were there to do chores and follow orders. We are always told to comply and not ask questions, which for some of us is hard or very confusing. Staff also showed a lot of favoritism and punishment would vary from person to person even if the offense was the same. Variety of food was very limited and so was activity. We were limited to watching Disney Channel, reading old ripped paper backs, journaling, and talking with other patients. When you enter, you are made to feel like La Amistad will be a warm and caring place personalized to help you get better. This is a complete facade. La Amistad did change my life, but I would never recommend that anyone go there. There are many other MUCH better residential treatment centers that will offer your child better opportunity to recieve therapy.
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