Parkwood Behavioral Health System — Local services in Olive Branch

PLEASE listen to the bad reviews. You see many people liking them. Parents, there is nothing wrong with seeking help for your children but PLEASE seek elsewhere. I went here when I was 12 and again at 14ish. Both times, forced in against my mother and I’s will. I am a young adult now and still remember the horrid treatment here. I expect a lawsuit or something to come out eventually, and I will definitely join it to testify. I have no clue how the adult unit is.

I witnessed the abuse of others at this location. I, along with other patients, was threatened that "going home points" would taken away for various activites including crying and not participating in activity time, napping during activity time even if given a medication. My first stay was extended until I ate something. We had to earn points as a group to be allowed outside time. A religiously psychotic patient was referred to as "Jesus" and "God" the whole time by staff and laughed at by them. A girl with tremors was threatened in front of everyone by her doctor and shouted at repeatedly to make herself fall in front of him to prove she was not purposely falling or faking her disorder. The doctor kept making jokes to insult and blame her for "faking her illness", including talking about her body odor from not showering. This caused many people in the room to cry hysterically. We were forced to watch "Scared Beyond Straight" juvenile prison episodes and write about what we learned from them, because "it was our faults that we were there." Both times that I went, my mother was told that I had to be kept against my (and her) will or CPS would be contacted. Meanwhile, the staff taunted me saying that I could have had my parent take me out of the hospital at any time.

(they would repeatedly mention this and show us a paper with numbers and tallymarks, rating our behavior).

If I remember correctly, about the girl with tremors, the doctor have even have been pushing down on her shoulders to knock her off balance as she was crying hysterically due to his comments and actions. This all started because she fell in the shower. He went into the “activity” room where all the patients were kept during the day to do this.

There was a single nurse named Nurse Cupcake who was very sweet to me. During my first stay (age 12) my period had come on during the night and I was nervous about asking for new sheets but she was very motherly while assisting me. There was this other volunteer guy that watched us, an older man named Eric, I think. He said he did not understand why young people would be depressed or attempt to take their lives but he was very kind and bought us snacks from the vending machine. One cafeteria lady was very nice. My first stay was due to severe anorexia and undiagnosed OCD, so naturally was very picky over the food options there and with anxiety on top of that, wouldn’t eat much. She cooked a piece of meat without seasoning and brought it to me in the activity room to eat. I appreciate their kindness.

This was 4-6 years ago and I really hope they’ve improved their service since. But beware. I understand that at inpatient facilities, the actions of patients are outside of the staffs control. There were meltdowns and fights of course, but that is not what I and the other reviewers are commenting about. We are complaining of mistreatment from the staff or organization of the program (like some others said, we just had coloring sheets or math/ writing assignments that we had to turn in or we’d be threatened with staying longer.) If you took a nap during the day, they’d show you the paper and you’d have points removed. They’d also talk about everyone’s points out loud.

Only saw the doctor once to check weight and sign papers. I think I saw a therapist (?) once while here. If you have a cry and god forbid—have a meltdown , they would take off points AND to some, give a shot that literally tranquilized them. Didn’t happen to me but saw it happen to others. I understand if someone is violent but one girl just was sobbing loudly and they...

If I could give less than one star, I most certainly would. This is NOT a place to put someone you love or yourself. Drive the extra miles to find literally any other hospital, trust me.

I was in Parkwood's adolescent unit when I was 16 (I'm 21 now). I suffer from Asperger's syndrome, severe depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and I was sent there after I was having trouble coping with a traumatic event.

When we had panic attacks, we were put into an isolated hallway where we wouldn't disturb others. This wasn't like other hospitals I've been in where someone was kindly escorted out and had to sit by themselves to figure out how to cope on their own. This was "a staff member just threw a chair down in the hallway and is now yelling at you to go sit in it". Because THAT helps with anxiety. Oh wait. It doesn't.

The doctor they assigned me responded to my Asperger's diagnosis with "girls can't be autistic". This is misinformation that has its roots in the stereotype that for girls, it's just a behavior problem but for boys, they actually need help. It's been so frequently disproven for so long that it's appalling to me that there are people who work in the mental health field that still believe this--even more so that this person was employed in a place specifically for teenage girls with mental health crises.

One of the staff members screamed at me just for looking in her direction when someone came in the door that was beside her (because it's unreasonable that someone would hear a noise and want to see where it came from, right???), and another one told me she wanted to choke me because everyone else in there had "real problems" while I was just "faking it". When I confided in her about what had happened to me, she said "what else do you expect teenage boys to do?"

I relapsed back into self-harm (I had been clean for 4 months before Parkwood and was not having any urges at all) after my parents decided it was appropriate to call me at every chance to blame me for what had happened to me and the staff had repeatedly shown that in every matter concerning my wellbeing, they didn't care at all. My roommate tried to hang herself with her jacket one night and when I needed to talk to someone about it because that's kind of a traumatizing experience, they told me to go back to bed. I hurt myself because I didn't know how to cope with what I'd just seen, and the staff responded by getting frustrated and angry and telling me I had no reason to be upset because obviously her jacket wouldn't have supported her weight so she was never in any danger. But hey, I wouldn't think belts could support a person's weight but apparently they do so I don't make judgment calls about "could this actually kill a person" before I get upset. Oh, and what'd they do for my suicidal roommate? Put her in the hallway like they did for panic attacks. Instead of, y'know, helping her. Because it's not like it's their job or anything.

I escalated to self-harming multiple times a day and because of it, the doctor told the insurance he had helped me all that he could (I don't have his exact words anymore, but he phrased it in a way that sounded like he'd helped me get better when the actual meaning felt more like "she's hopeless, there's no help for her, get her out") and I was discharged. When I was about to leave, I opened one of my pockets to throw away pieces of a fork I'd broken and was planning to use to cut myself later. My therapist saw this (bless her btw, she was the one person here who ever helped me) and asked "should we really be discharging her?" to which my doctor replied "yes".

I was far worse when I left Parkwood than I was when I entered, and they released me with the knowledge I was still a threat to myself. They made me feel absolutely hopeless and it's taken years to recover from the damage they did to me. However, if you're looking for a place for someone you hate and never want to be the same again, this place is excellent! Top recommendation!

If you want an alternate, try Lakeside. They actually...

Only review I've ever left in my life. My fiancee and I went here two night ago. We were referred by urgent care to get her medication refilled. Basic anti depression medication that she ran out of.

We got there and waited for about 2 hours with no information given on when she would be seen. Fine. Pretty normal doctor visit type annoyance. After hour 2 I asked the front desk worker when we'd be seen. He said he'd check in a moment. Another 20 minutes or so pass by, and my fiancee and I agree it's probably best to just take off and try again the next day. Mind you, the exit doors are locked to prevent... Well, I'm not sure actually. Not 100% sure how the exit doors in the waiting room can legally be locked.

I go to the front desk worker again, only this time I let him know we're going to leave and come back tomorrow. He said he'd let his supervisor know. Let his supervisor know we decided to leave? We were there for a new prescription, not to check her in to this facility. She was not a threat to herself or anyone around her, and the assessment she filled out did not imply either of those things.

Another half an hour or so, and one of the other people checking in (who had been waiting for about 10 hours, mind you) started throwing a fit to be let out. Again... this is a WAITING ROOM. We are not checked in to this psych ward. We are literally just sitting in the waiting room. None of us could leave (except for those who could, which seemed incredibly selective and arbitrary) EX: One person was able to leave to hit their vape, but another couldn't step out to smoke a cigarette.

After the third time I officially realized we were trapped in this facility. I'm sorry, is this One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest? How are me and my fiancee trapped in this waiting room, unable to leave, when all she needed was a basic consultation and prescription? In what way is that legal? Well my conclusion is that it is NOT legal.

My solution was to wait for a new group of people to come inside, and slip out when they open the door. It worked! We left, only to be followed by several nurses and security who I can only guess were trying to get us to stay. My fiancee ended up running into one of the other people there that night, who applauded her for leaving and said "when they chased after you we officially knew we couldn't leave."

I am a strong advocate for mental health. I spent a few days in a mental health facility last year, and though the behavior techs were pretty unprofessional the experience did help me. I want people to seek the help they need, and not let stigmas or fears prevent them from doing so. So believe me, when I say to experience something this anxiety-inducing, unprofessional, and downright criminal, will forever make me rethink institutions such as this. It's a shame. Mental health treatment should be a compassionate, fair, and respectful situation. Everyone in the waiting room at Parkwood Behavioral Health was on edge, angry, and hopeless. I wasn't even there as a patient and I felt trapped and helpless.

Do yourself a favor and shop around for mental health. Make an appointment with a proper psychiatrist. And if you see doors that lock in the WAITING ROOM, turn the other way. Get the help you need, and get it somewhere that isn't here.

Oh, and to the lowly paid Behavior Tech or Intern reading this from Parkwood. Maybe consider working somewhere you can actually make a difference, and when you inevitably respond with "I'm so sorry you had this experience. Know we are doing all we can to help people, and we take your comments very seriously" that I don't care. Don't trap people, and don't make...