Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center review: Review Another Treatment Center 12

This place is a joke, my wife has low potassium. The nurse that was on day's took my wife's blood after being there a week, which her potassium was 2.7 when that low you are a risk for a heart attack, so my wife told the doctor that worked in the lodge that she was assigned too the doctor was livid, sent my wife to bolingbrook hospital to get a 4 hour potassium drip then released to go back 2 day's later same thing, same nurse had to repeat the process all over again. So my wife signed her self out, and could get better treatment than this place.

Make no mistake if you are self pay timberline is expensive but, they are excellent. They saved my daughter's life after three attempted suicides. She's recovering from depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorder and more. Medically and psychologically it is the best facility for females we found after many other hospitalizations at other facilities. It is a business, all medical care is a business so let's not kid ourselves about that. Our insurance covered most of the cost of her stay, we were fortunate in that respect, as her stay was five months long. This can be a life saving facility but, any recovery is part help and a whole lot of deciding to make the most of that help. Not everyone is going to be pleased but, many times people want to blame someone else for their own failure to try to work on themselves. Family members should also join support groups and get therapy themselves to handle the help their loved ones will need.

I am considering TK as my family insists that it is the best place possible. Now after reading all of these reviews I am freaked out. My main issues our Borderline personality, depression, alchohol and ed -- But my main issues are the borderline and depression !
My ins company sayst that they are not in network - but TK swears that they will accept my insurance -- WHAT SHOULD I DO? If I show my family all of these bad reviews they are just going to think I am trying to get out of treatment ! !

I have just returned from TK. We had authorization to admit her there from our insurance provider. It was required that we pay our portion upfront, which covered 6 days. On the 10th day, we were informed that our claim had been denied. Not once during the many conversations prior to admission were we told that Timberline Knolls would submit a summary to our provider for review. Not once during those 6 days were we contacted by TK(or had phone calls returned) to discuss what issues we were looking to be resolved for our daughter who suffers from Major Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder & substance abuse issues. Our daughter had called us to complain about the therapies she had been assigned, which had nothing to do with any of her issues. She was, of course, put on a meal plan for eating disorders & a completely irrelevant second therapy. These stressors caused her some setbacks, but it was the time lapse of being informed of our claim denial, the lack of communication & the time that passed before appeals, faxing of HIPAA forms, etc., that caused animosity. Waiting for information @ $1000 a day is not a good will measure. I am not sure the young staff is truly equipped to deal with more serious psychological issues. They may be more suited to Eating Disorders, exclusively, but whatever they treat, they will not give you enough information to make an informed decision. Why would they? They are making money while you wait & pay. Had we ever had our family therapy session, we feel that our daughter would have been properly diagnosed & treated & our insurance provider would have had a better understanding of what her needs were & decided differently. Maybe their credibility in the industry is not all that they claim on their professionally designed website. I fault the insurance company as much as TK, but the treatment did not impress me as much as their environment did. I would definitely have asked more questions & obtained more guarantees before I admitted my daughter there had I known about this website...or I would have skipped TK altogether. Sadly, there are few alternatives, either. But corporations do not care about people, only about profits. Now, they have all of our available cash, & we are at the mercy of our insurance providers & the haphazard treatment we have endured for over 3 years. However, if you are a celebrity & can pay cash, you can get a private room!

I was a resident/patient at TK in January-February 2013. While the DBT courses were fantastic, and the nutrition education was great, the administration and clinical staff are a joke and make it very difficult to be discharged with medical support. In other words, it is just another business in which they try to have people stay longer than necessary. The clinical team would tell me that I was high functioning and that they supported my discharge after a 4 wk stay, but would then (behind my back) tell my husband that they believed I should stay another 4-6 WEEKS! On the morning I was to discharge, a nurse indicated to me that they were discharging me "AMA (against medical advice), " which may make it difficult to get full insurance coverage. Lucky for me, I have been around the mental health block long enough to be my own advocate and fought hard for myself; it was changed to "against Team advice" - which although still hypocritical to what they would discuss with me, was more insurance-friendly. I had also established a very close working relationship with my insurance case manager at BCBS and spoke with her almost every day - which also helped tremendously.
My first red flag was immediately upon intake, I was placed on an eating plan and labeled "ED (eating disorder); I was there for bipolar type I and, since TK caters very much to the ED population, my husband and I made this very clear before we agreed to going with TK. They would not take me off of the ED label for the first 3 days. Additionally, I did not even see my psychiatrist for 5 days, and he was not my psychiatrist, but a sub that I only saw just the one time for 15 minutes, and in that 15 minutes he discerned that I should be there for at least 6 weeks. Mind you that I was there for suicidal ideation, but was high functioning and was there specifically to learn DBT and life coping skills. I didn't speak with my "counselor" for 2 days, or my family therapist for 3 days. A resident should meet with their entire team within the first 48 hours; most importantly their psychiatrist.
While I did not mind sharing rooms with the other women, I did find it difficult as a non ED, non self-harming person to have to ask to use the bathroom 24 hrs a day every day etc. I also had issues with a roommate using my personal property to self harm. Though my concern was for her and not my property it was a troubling experience and left me shaken on top of what I was already dealing with. In other words, some of the women there were just not high functioning enough to be there. Finally, as with any all-women facility, there was a certain amount of cliques and cattiness that one must endure. In the end there is much support from the majority of the women and my positive experiences came from my roommates and other residents, regardless of this reality.
The last straw for me was a very inappropriate comment that was said to me by my "counselor" while I was waiting for my husband to pick me up. I had not seen him in over a month and was excited, I had put on makeup, and she made a snide remark about my "need to wear makeup when my husband was coming." Completely unprofessional.
My advice would be to make certain TK is the right fit; it is very ED and self-harm focused (as well as addictions). As a bipolar person I did find the DBT the most helpful thing I have ever come upon, but that can be found almost anywhere now, including intensive outpatient programs (which is what I stepped down to after a month at TK). Make sure the family of the potential resident is extremely involved and there is an agreed-upon (in writing) communication plan. There should be an idea of how long the resident is looking at staying and the family should advocate for their loved one because, when it comes right down to it, TK is a business that is looking to make money. I witnessed them kick people right out the very next day – hours after the resident’s insurance cut; without helping the resident arrange travel back home or even arrange aftercare. But when the resident has great insurance that does not cut (such as me with BCBS), TK will keep extending the discharge date every time you speak with the “Team”. It will start out as “4-6 weeks” on intake, changing to “6-8 weeks” the very first time the resident meets with their psychiatrist, and two weeks later, it will still be “6-8 weeks.” This is the clinical and administrative game at TK. Please be aware of the lack of communication and the possibility of discrepant communication- differing communication between Team and resident than Team and resident’s family. I will stick with Mayo Clinic for my mental health care. Good luck to you.

Timberline does DO NOT honor your confidentiality. They have totally destroyed our family relations by releasing information that they were told to keep confidential(multiple times) or we would not submit for fear it would ruin our family. Guess what., they released it anyway.
They contacted us several times to submit a form for evaluation of our grand daughter and why we felt she had such emotional problems. We reluctantly submitted the forms after her counselor promised the only way they would be seen is if we chose to tell them ourselves, which we never would have done. Our grand daughter, daughter, our grand daughter's step dad all read our families letters that we submitted, 5 letters all stating basically the same things. We no longer have contact with any of our grand children thanks to Timberline Knolls. Our grand daughter still loves us but has been threatened by her step dad if she sees us! How' that for breach of confidentiality. Don't trust them, they lie!

Im going to Timberline Knolls is a few weeks. Im so back and forth on going. Im willing to accept the treatment to see if they can really help me. But over the phone they have already broke some confidentiality rules. Once I confronted them about it I was informed " Since you are not on our campus yet, we have no confidentiality." Im nervous that they will break that also when im there. Ive NEVER heard that before, anywhere Ive been the moment your over the phone or in person intake starts they have to follow the confidential laws.
After my stay Ill try to report if there was any problem. But Im hope there will be none. This place almost looks and sounds to good to be true. I hope it is good.

Oh wow, It's been a while since I posted here.
Alexis, I'm so glad to hear you're doing well and that Timberline Knolls helped you. You should definitely let them know on their Facebook page!
I was there, as a resident, for 16 weeks. It was a while ago. When they were constructing Willow Lodge.

Lorena - I agree with you all the way!
I went to Timberline Knolls this past summer and spent 6 weeks there. I would've stayed a bit longer but my insurance dropped me. It's okay now because I am doing great and continuing therapy at home! Timberline Knolls saved my life! It was amazing! People need to experience it themselves before hating it without going there & going there for more than 3 weeks, & be willing to accept recovery. I have your back on this one! TK changed my life & made me a much better, stronger, & healthier person today! I'm guessing you went there? When & for how long?

Don't judge something if you've never experienced it for yourself! Don't listen to what others say... You be the judge of it by actually being there & knowing what it's like there for yourself!

Lorena how much do they pay you? LOL gtfo of here. 12 step process is BS, a false sense of family is BS. Some people just need a person to listen, bottomline. Being a recovering addict, I know for a fact these places are set up to make money, thats all. Sure some staff have good intentions, I won't deny that, however the "treatment" centers actually set you up to fail, over and over again. They want you back, they want that money. There is no money in a cure, but there is plenty of money in the "treatment" thats also words of a survivor of leukemia. That goes for all forms of medicine or "treatment". I only hope people better themselves, but frankly it's up to the person. Someone who is seeking "treatment" for any kind of addiction or behavior problems should not be treated like an inmate. That is so far from the point of rehabilitation. So Lorena I will quote you "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, especially when it has to do with your treatment plan. Your feelings and opinions are valid" are you a staffer? Seems so. If you are "recovering" then they sure brainwashed you. Maybe if society didn't treat people with such problems as "outcasts" we wouldn't need all this. Everyone has issues, just some people handle or closet theirs better, which actually is a ticking time bomb. FACT treat someone who is desperately seeking guidance as a inmate, it's of no help. ****For the poster - I hope you get through whatever it is you are going through, but it is all up to you. These programs can help but most of the time they don't, especially when they follow the 12 steps (You need to believe in a god etc), its a crock of crap intertwined with religion to get their way, and it's a way of brainwashing***. Sincerely I wish you the best. Oh and Lorena get a better hobby and know what you are talking about before you run your c*ck trap. Never did you mention you went through the program so that leads me to KNOWING you are a part of this center.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, especially when it has to do with your treatment plan. Your feelings and opinions are valid. In my opinion, Timberline Knolls offers more than you'd expect. Not only does if offer excellent groups that help you cope with current and future unhealthy behaviors and everyday life, they offer a homelike atmosphere that is beneficial for recovery. It is truly a healing environment. As far as staff goes, I can go on and on about how wonderful they are. I have never met a more caring and compassionate group of people. The are very knowledgeable in their field and will do their best to help each resident. Since this is a residential center and you stay for a while, you form bonds with staff and fellow residents. You become a family. I highly recommend Timberline Knolls if you are looking for a treatment center that approaches recovery with compassion, individuality, variety, and above all, your needs.

AVOID TIMBERLINE KNOLLS. THERE IS A BAIT AND SWITCH SCAM. THEY WILL SOLICIT THE DESPERATE BY CLAIMING THAT THEY HAVE VERIFIED INSURANCE COVERAGE. ONCE THERE THEY WILL CLAIM THAT YOU DO NOT REQUIRE IN-PATIENT THERAPY, HENCE THE VERIFICATION IS NO LONGER VALID. YOUR INSURANCE WILL THEN DENY YOUR CLAIM. YOU WILL OWE TIMBERLINE KNOLLS OUT OF NETWORK FEES.
PLEASE CONTACT stonecastle@live.com if this or something similar has happened to you