The Emily Program Eating Disorder Residential Treatment Center, Anna Westin House for Adults - St. Paul, MN — Local services in Saint Paul

They try but they fail miserably, at least if you have any complexities to you or neurodivergence. They know how to work with run of the mill cases but nothing else. They kicked me out of residential due to a situation with my dog, after having been there almost 2 months. They would not allow me to check myself out due to my high safety risk, yet they kicked me out bc of Otis. They pushed and pushed my boundaries and expected it to be fine. They kicked me out 8/22/2024 and I have waited until today, 10/14/2024, to leave this review, bc I didn’t want my high emotions to cloud it. I have given them the chance, now almost two months, to figure things out. Bc they kicked me out, I had no transition of care, not even a therapist, or a step down like IDP. I then resorted to doing an intake again as a last ditch effort. I needed hope. Told by intake to go back to residential due to my symptoms; well they won’t let me bc of Otis, and not even allow me to advocate for myself directly to compliance like they gave me their word I’d be able to. Offered therapy or virtual IDP, except that is what they could have done months ago. Their BHTs are poorly/undertrained, one refusing to let me use my bathroom bc it was group time, until I explained it was a product for my vgina only in my personal bathroom. This completely triggered my PTSD bc she not only had to know every detail (I had to say my vgina was on fire) but also made me do so in the lobby where everyone is. BHTs argue about every little thing. They will care about something so minor but not the fact your symptoms are high or you are self-harming or having suicidal thoughts. I was left to figure out so many things on my own. The clinical therapist manager means well but fails at consistency & follow through which is vital to someone like me. We had switched me to her because she “understood” me yet she failed me time and time again including since D/C. Tried to say it was bc she had Covid except she was like this the entire time I was there, and she hasn’t had Covid this entire time. Another resident told me she was not like this prior to having a baby, which the therapist herself alluded to, so maybe there is hope for her brain to get better the longer postpartum it is. The doctor I had first was traumatic, so I had to switch, only for the new doctor to not follow through with needs after I was kicked out (no refills on meds until I fought for weeks - needed refills since I had no transition of care to anything outpatient including a psych). Not sure if I have something personally bad to say about the site director but she does lack follow up on facility issues. It ended up being the least of my worries so I let it go, but objectively things like mold and laundry and shower issues, are a serious concern. It is an old facility, you need to take care of things and we deserve proper facilities. When they kicked me out; they made me sign a piece of paper promising to stay alive (i.e. not take my life) until I had appointments; well, those never came. They only made me sign it because they knew they would look bad when something happened and didn’t want to be liable. I was corned into signing it like it was okay for me to leave that day in August, but my other option would have been a transfer-hold, which would have made my situation 10x worse. What would you have done? You would have signed the paper. I have stuck out that promise all this time regardless, for no outcome to arrive. I tried to do this the nice way and offer my input on how to better your faculties and the care people receive; but being nice never got me anywhere. Thus I don’t care anymore. I just want you to know when I’m no longer here, it is your fault and you are liable. Whether or not you are liable legally is fine, but you are 100% liable morally and ethically speaking. If you are considering going to the AWH, and you don’t have run of the mill depression or anxiety with the most basic traits of anorexia, don’t come here. They won’t only fail you if you’re a “complex” case - they will hurt...

I went here in 2021 over Thanksgiving weekend. The intake coordinator often didn’t know the answer to my questions and/or answered the question wrong. (I found out after being admitted the intake coordinator told me the wrong thing). This facility is only one of a few facilities in the state, so I decided to go through and trust the process anyways. The therapist I was assigned to took vacation for the holiday. While she was gone there was not a fill in therapist. I was also never supported by the other therapists meaning none of the other therapists tried to have a session with me. The other therapists didn’t even talk to me during that time. Not even to say hi or ask how I was doing. I did not feel support from any of the therapists there. The dietician, however, was helpful. She took time to work with me.

The EBTs were very clique-ish and there were cliques within patients and EBTs. In other words many of the EBTs and clients had more of a friendly relationship than a professional relationship.

Something that drew me to this program was they advertise that they do “art therapy.” I thought a trained, licensed therapist would use art to therapize and help me through my eating disorder. This was not the case. The “art therapy” was a college student making friendship bracelets with us. Mind you, I took time off work and paid to go to this facility.

Lastly, the cleaning lady was very nice. I did not stay long at this facility because of everything I have just explained. When I left I made her a thank you card. I asked the staff what her name was. NONE of the staff could tell me the name of the woman who cleaned the building because they did not know, not even the director of the Emily Program. I was so embarrassed for them.

To recap, the program couldn’t provide mental health services while a therapist was on vacation. The other therapists did not even check in to see how I was doing. The EBTs have an unprofessional relationship with clients. The art therapy that is advertised is not lead by an actual licensed therapist, and none of the staff bothered to know the name of the person who cleaned the building.

I do not recommend this program to anyone. I understand options in Minnesota are limited, however if you can avoid this facility then I strongly...

This place saved my life, but the facility had some issues. Issues with therapist-patient confidentiality, my therapist often told my mother things that she didn’t need to know, aka my love life. Even though I had asked her to keep it between us and to NOT tell my mother. There were also issues with listening to the concerns of residents, for ex: once I was in a community meeting, my friend and I tried speaking up because there was special treatment among some residents, and we weren’t treated the same as them, even though we had done nothing wrong. Many things sparked us to talk about this, but a part of it was because they had taken my friend’s book and ripped out the pages without telling her. which seemed unfair because they easily could’ve just kept it locked up, and let her have her book when she discharged. our ideas were shut down by the staff before we could even finish our sentence. Which was super frustrating. Also one time they made me eat yogurt with bugs in it. Even though they replaced another girls yogurt, they refused to replace mine. Which was frustrating and hurtful because I have a huge phobia of bugs and expressed it to the staff, but they still would not replace my yogurt. Meanwhile everyone else’s got replaced. Aside from all of that, it truly helped me so so much. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for tep. It does have issues and flaws but overall it’s still a good program that has helped tons of people, including myself, and I’m extremely grateful I was able to go. I just hope it can continue improving as time goes on.

Also just want to say that the EDTS are so amazing. I appreciate them and miss them so very much. I hope they know how much they mean to me and the other...