Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers’ Kirkland Inpatient Residential Program — Local services in Kirkland

Lakeside Milam Inpatient in Kirkland, WA has given me a second chance at rebuilding my life and laying a foundation for sustainable recovery. After a 10-year stretch of sobriety, I relapsed—quickly spiraling into a dark, painful place that lasted longer than I ever imagined. When I reached out for help again, LMRC admitted me within just a few hours and welcomed me straight into detox. During detox, patients are given the option to rest and regain strength or to begin joining group processing, lectures, and meals as soon as they are stable. Once detox is complete, the structure kicks in—every scheduled activity is required and punctuality is expected. That accountability, though challenging, sets the tone for living life with purpose and responsibility again. What makes LMRC stand out is the depth and passion of its programming. The lectures are engaging and evidence-based, providing proven strategies for confronting addiction and personal struggles. Patients and families are educated on brain function, the science of addiction, communication tools, and practical steps for recovery. Family workshops and lectures reinforce the idea that healing is a shared journey. The staff are another reason this place works. Many openly share their own recovery stories, modeling service and honesty—the cornerstones of active recovery. Compassion and accountability go hand in hand here; the team genuinely cares while also calling patients out when needed. The presence of doctors, ARNPs, psychologists, and nurses every day adds reassurance and professional oversight. The daily life at LMRC also helps patients reset. Structured routines, balanced meals (with a salad bar, soups, snacks, and coffee in the mornings), designated tech time, movies on weekends, and free time for assignments or connection with peers all create a balanced environment. It’s structured without being suffocating. Recovery is hard. It’s painful, emotional, and messy. But LMRC makes the path a little more manageable. They emphasize the fellowship of AA, CA, NA, and HA by offering in-house meetings with volunteers and trips to outside meetings several times a week. These opportunities remind us that addicts best help addicts, and alcoholics best help alcoholics. Every patient receives an individualized Tx plan, with assignments and goals tailored to their needs, and the support remains consistent through the ups and downs. More than just a program, LMRC fosters willingness over denial, growth over shame, and community over isolation. For anyone serious about breaking free from addiction, LMRC Inpatient in Kirkland is more than a treatment center—it’s a place where recovery begins or restarts, and can truly take root. Special shout-outs: •Maddy - your compassion and honesty are beautiful and you take your job seriously. It has been a pleasure talking with you. •Frank, Chuck and Jake - You guys keep us all safe and do the best job helping those of us who have trouble sleeping. •RT’s Kenzie, Nick 🎶, Caitlin H, Caitlin, Charissa, Carrie, Ryan, Brendan, Katie, Meaghan, Kollin, Luke, Ty, Jay, and Andrew - Thank you for your examples of genuine kindness and recovery!! •Dr. Rogers, Dr. Rose, Yadira, Jamarah, Marty, Steven, and Karen - Thank you for dealing with me and my meds while keeping it humorous. Thank you for listening, staying 100% ethical, and allowing me to be scared while never changing your efficiency! •Mary Kay, Renee, Holly, and Jessica - I will always be grateful for your empathy, grace, expertise, and hearing me when I needed it. Jessica, my heart broke that day, and there you were, just like you said you’d be. To have a “mom” hug while my mom isn’t available anymore, was comfort I didn’t know I needed. • ADRIENN and HANNAH - you two beautiful women both deserve 20 stars!! I’ll def miss you both greatly, and I know I’m privileged to know and love you both!! You’re amazing at your jobs, stand on your truths, and have really blessed my recovery and life by showing up every day, keeping it real, and standing in the gap for me! I wish you both the...

Please for the love of everything good, DO NOT take your loved one here if you actually care about them. Terrible experience with this rehabilitation facility. My husband self admitted here to get help with his severe alcohol withdrawals. They were one of the facilities that seemed reasonable, the outside looked nice, and the pictures shown of the facility looked decent compared to the local ones we were looking at. They also took Premera insurance which was a plus. We spoke to a representative on the phone to get him admitted asap, they scheduled an assessment the next day. When we got there @0930, they took us to a room and discussed medical concerns, I asked questions about their services, if they have on staff doctors/nurses and they said yes. The facility was made AWARE of his severe withdrawals and they said, "we have medical professionals on staff, he will be well taken care of. We have a doctor who is available M-F" I placed my trust in them that they would do what they could to help my husband but this is all LIES.

They did not make me sign any medical forms to receive consent to check up on him if he was doing okay. When I called later that evening, the rep. said he is doing fine, he has been in bed most of the afternoon. I said okay, has he been seen throughout the time he has been there so far from the nurses? The rep. said he will be seen by the nurses at least 4-5x a day to make sure everything is okay. THE NEXT MORNING, @1045 I get a call that my husband has been admitted to the Evergreen Hospital due to a seizure, mind you the facility was AWARE of his severe condition. They did not have any information of how long the seizure was or who called 911. EMT reports said he was given NO MEDICATION the whole time he was there. The facility specifically said to make sure he does not stop drinking until he gets there. It was not until my husband told me his experience 5 days later when he came to, that he had to blow a .0 to be given medication and low dosage of withdrawal medication if any. He even went multiple times to the desk to ask when he will be getting any withdrawal medication and the nurse cut him off and said he has to be fully clean of the alcohol. Are you KIDDING ME??? If he goes even 5 hours without drinking his body goes into shock, cold sweats, stomach pains, delirium tremors etc.

It was not one of the nurses on staff who witnessed the seizure, it was his room mate who witnessed it. The rooms they placed him in is nothing like the pictures you see on the website either, they placed my husband in a small room where you can stretch your arm out and touch the wall with a cot.

DISCHARGE: After my husbands hospital stay, he refused to go back to that place because of the way he was medically miss treated. It took about 45min to get back his belongings and not even all of it was there. The guy attending to us gave a list of what my husband came into the facility with, my husband had to ask the guy where his smart watch was. Apparently, they had that in a lock box. They didn't have his wallet or phone in a lock box, they had his $300+ SMART WATCH. He also magically "lost" his black Carhartt truckers hat and his black/white adidas slides he came with. In his backpack, there was someone else's fleece jacket that reeked when we opened up the bag to check if all his belongings were still there.

Overall, this place has been reported to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and I hope that this facility changes their ways on how they treat inpatients here. I get it, most people here have been court ordered to attend for certain substance abuse but that does not mean there are people out there who ACTUALLY want to get better. Everyone deserves a second chance at a better life and this facility WILL NOT...

I wanted to like this place and tried my best to be engaged in recovery. However, this facility is NOT accommodating to people who suffer with clinical depression. First off, what the other reviewers say about people bringing in contraband is true: You will see people actively using while you're supposed to be in a safe recovery space. Second, it is also true what they say that there is no mental health treatment what-so-ever. I had x2 1-hr visits the entire time. That's it - and I had more visits than most people. Their "individual counseling" is a complete check-box so they can say they offer it as a service. You MIGHT get a single 1 hour visit. You might not. I had met other patients that hadn't had a single visit their entire stay.

When I got there I had a few days of my antidepressants left (an SSRI & Wellbutrin), and warned staff of this every day for the first week so that my medication would not be disrupted. My mental health was stable on this medication aside from the addiction I had to psychedelics. What they did was intentionally withdraw me off this medication the first few days. Cold turkey. Then when I restarted it and ran out they said they would order more. They never ordered more. So I ended up being forced off of my antidepressants cold turkey, and predictably, that spun my mental health dangerously out of control. By the 3rd week in I was fantasizing about hanging myself in the bathroom nearly all day every day, and couldn't focus at all on anything related to recovery. I told the staff this and their response was simply "have you seen Dr. Rose yet" which I hadn't. I never saw a doctor at all the entire time by that point, just nurses. This facility doesn't actually have medical staff available like other posters had warned about, and I saw several seizures occur during my time there. When I brought it up to the staff how awful I was feeling, that I was having suicidal thoughts, and that I wanted to get back on the antidepressants, their response was to just keep emailing other staff members with no follow through to ensure I could restart my medication. I ended up leaving 2 days early for my safety because I went from actively thinking about suicide to having actively attempted it in secret, but I was unintentionally disrupted by the cleaning staff. So be aware that if you take antidepressants to manage severe depression, that they will cut you off of them while you're stuck in there. And that you will not get individual counseling they say is available to address the issues that led you to use in the first place. I felt pretty horrible leaving early: like I had failed, it was all for nothing, and I wasted my money. Leaving was very unceremonious and I was just dumped back out onto the street back into my life, sober, but with significantly worse mental health that I'm still trying desperately to stabilize almost two months later. They really need to educate the staff on the dangers of stopping SSRIs cold turkey. It is almost guaranteed to make most people suicidal, which is why it contains a black label warning by the FDA on it.

I'd really hoped I could have gotten a life changing experience and that things would start looking up for me and improving, and I could begin healing and being myself again. I was so wrong.

Also it is not a safe or welcoming place for LGBT identifying people. Just full-stop do not go here if you're LGBT. Seek an alternative facility. If you don't, then don't say I didn't warn you. It is not a friendly, safe, or welcoming environment for...