Reviews of Spruce Mountain Inn (Psychiatrist)

Elliot Ritter

I am a current resident at Spruce Mountain Inn. I've been here for almost 11 months. SMI has changed my life. Since coming here, I've learned so much about myself: my struggles, my gender identity, my traumas, and - above all - my strength. Throughout my stay, I've learned to drive (my road test is this Friday), I've worked through traumas using EMDR and DBT, I've volunteered at the local library, and I'm currently taking classes at the local community college before I transfer to a university in the spring! Staff is supportive and kind, and the program is structured in such a productive way. It's a lot of hard work, but it's so worth it. I'll be leaving in a little over a month and I'm SO excited to return to life as a stronger and more independent individual.

Dorothy S.

My support team threw me to the wolves, but at least they fattened me up on trust for 8 months beforehand.

V D

Please do NOT send your child here and here's why: I have lost sleep over how awfully this place has treated my child, me, and my husband and how much of a financial burden it has placed on my family. *Later I found out they have even been sued before for their horrible treatment of residents.* In fact, I decided to make this google account JUST to warn other parents from paying their hard earned money and avoid unnecessary financial burdens and heartache. The staff members are incredibly rude and unprofessional. They have sent aggressive, threatening, rude, arrogant, self-important, downright obnoxious emails regarding my child and their treatment. Many of them do not even have a background in mental health. They have called them uncooperative, and representative of "bad upbringing," even "stupid," when my child had been suffering deeply from depression and anxiety. Their approach to treatment is to punish residents for the very symptoms they claim to treat. When my child could not participate in certain activities due to extreme sluggishness, fatigue, and insomnia, they threatened to kick them out. When I finally gave up on this place not once did they show any concern for my child's wellbeing, or follow up on how they were doing. My child has also reported the staff members treating female patients particularly unfairly, punishing them more harshly, enforcing rules more strictly, and prioritizing care for male patients. Other testimonies were that internet usage was too restrictive, they were unsupportive of gay/lesbian/nongender-confining individuals, such as my child. If there are any parents out there who decide not to send their child because of this review, I will sleep better. I am inclined to believe other reviews were written by staff members. Other suggestions for treatment are inpatient treatments, group therapy, and family therapy, all of which have helped my family greatly. Otherwise, I think really any place other than here would be better!

Josephine Gray

I was a resident at Spruce for a little over a year, and I only have positive things to say about it. The program is led by a team of people who truly care. Spruce helped me tap into my best self. Since leaving Spruce, I have more stability, self-confidence, and direction than ever before. No money, time, or energy was wasted here. Spruce Mountain Inn is a very special place. I would highly recommend this program to any young adult who is struggling.

Maddie Cross

I started treatment at Spruce in February of 2017. Before that I'd been living at home for a year, doing nothing, and getting more depressed by the day. I'd reached a point where I knew that if I didn't get help, I'd likely take my own life. My parents didn't "send" me here--I found it on my own and reached out to the director, Candace, without their knowledge. I discharged over a year ago and and can honestly say that Spruce saved my life. The work was difficult and often unpleasant. I had to rewire my brain and unlearn years of negative thinking patterns. I had to deal with parts of myself that I hated. But a place like Spruce doesn't work unless you do. If you're a parent or a doctor and your child or patient doesn't realize or won't accept that they need help, sending them here is a waste of your time and money. You have to accept that you need help, seek it out on your own, and commit to unpleasant, difficult work for a long time. Before I went to Spruce I thought I'd never go to college again and I'd never have a fulfilling career. I'm now a full time student at UVM and I've had internships in my field. I made some of my best friends at Spruce. My team was amazing and I realize, in hindsight, that they always had my best interests in mind. There were times I felt like my treatment was moving too slow, and I wanted to get on to the next thing: move to the apartment program, take another class. I would get frustrated when my team told me no. But I know now that Spruce is about learning to spin multiple plates at a time. That's why it works best if you stay for a long time (I was a resident for 10 months). You have to build up your arsenal of skills before you take on a huge load. Spruce gave me countless new tools for my toolbelt. I owe my team and the staff an enormous debt of gratitude. If your young adult is serious about turning their life around, you should absolutely consider Spruce. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Tom Noodles

Ketamine helped me more in 10 minutes than Spruce Mountain Inn did in 10 months. Allison says that people who don't want to get better will fail at Spruce. That is a mean way of saying that people with severe conditions will struggle there. I did not receive good care at Spruce Mountain Inn, but I know that some people do, so I am giving them 3 stars. The program is better than some of the others ones that I have been to. I could have succeeded at Spruce if my depression had been properly treated.

Colin McMahon

I had the fortunate experience of going to Sprice Mountain Inn. For anyone looking for help, either for themselves or for a loved one, I highly recommend this facility. The staff there truly helped me to become who I've always wanted to be, and I've seen the staff do the same for many others.

Taylor Small

SMI helped me to go from a fear of leaving my house to holding a full time job. That’s not to say my time there was all easy and happy. I was at spruce for 2 years and they were the hardest years of my life. I often butted heads with the staff there and considered leaving on multiple occasions. What kept me coming back to the table was how much they cared me and my success. Candace is wonderful and I have so much respect for her and what she does. My advice for someone thinking of going there is to use the other clients as a community of support. You are all there working on some of the hardest things and I know from experience that you can’t do it alone.

Alli son

I will try to make this as punctual and accurate as possible for anyone who is wondering about Spruce Mountain Inn for their child. I was at SMI for over a year, and I can proudly advocate for it, while expressing a very balanced opinion of it. The experiences I have shared at SMI have changed my life, thanks to some of the staff, thanks to my supporting family, and mostly, thanks to myself. This is a hard program if you do it right. If it were easy it would not be worth the personal growth I have continued to evolve with after leaving. By doing it right, I mean doing whatever it takes to change, and evolve as a being. So, if your kid is not willing/ does not want to change, and is not open to constructive feedback, there is no way they will get anything out of any type of therapy based program. Bottom line. I found some of the staff members extremely helpful, and some aggravating. It is to be expected wherever you go. It made all the difference to be able to check in about how I was feeling throughout my process with staff and feel comfortable enough to be open and honest. The SMI staff has been under some transitions so I cannot speak for them as much now, but I loved the ones I connected with a lot. Both my support workers were very significant in my process at SMI, my therapist was awesome, and both of my case managers always advocated for me when I couldn’t figure out what to say. At my vocational meetings, I started volunteering at a senior center, and then moved into three different jobs while always having the vocational teacher to speak with when I was unsure of myself. I feel I did not need much assistance in that department, because a lot of what I needed to process with my jobs brought me back to the core issues that I could discuss with my therapist, support worker, or a favorable staff member. The staff people such as the cook, the cleaners, and the “behind the scenes” people are awesome if you don’t take them for granted and treat them as people. My interactions with them especially made me really appreciate the common unrecognized efforts of staff at SMI. I appreciate people in general so much more now. I found the restrictions quite ridiculous when I got there, but the rules are established for a variety of clients with all kinds of struggles, and it makes sense to me that you cannot trust any client before you actually work with them for more than a few months (which is when these rule enforcements really relax). I did not like group therapy personally, but being it in gave me the opportunity to ask myself why I didn’t like it, and then how I could still gain and learn from a situation I really didn’t like. Every annoyance I had became an opportunity for me to develop. There is always room to grow. I am happy to speak to anyone over the phone that is considering this program. I would like to offer an honest opinion of SMI, and one that I have grown with, and I love what the program helped me realize about myself, through all it had to offer. All I can really say is, if your kid wants to change and is willing to ask the hard questions, SMI is a very good place to go to.

Karen McVay

Spruce Mountain Inn really helped me to completely turn my life around. Through the various groups and therapy I discovered a direction to go in and I am much more self-sufficient and confident than I was before. I can't even begin to describe how much this program helped me. Especially the staff, they are very supportive and understanding and really care about what they're doing. I very highly recommend this place.

Madelaine Greenbaum

I'm very grateful for the caring, passionate and creative staff at Spruce. I was a difficult client who had trouble trusting others. I consider the people at Spruce to be my family. They saved my life.

Mary Stoddard

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this program. The people at Spruce genuinely cared about my daughter and her well being. She absolutely blossomed there. She learned how to take care of herself, how to manage living with bipolar disorder, how to hold down a job, and even how to cook! She learned to think about others and not just herself. She learned to love herself. I just can't believe how much better my relationship with her has been. 2 years later and she is living in her own apartment, taking college classes, and forming healthy relationships. It is everything my husband and I've ever wanted for her. Thank you Spruce, for helping our daughter find her way back to us. We will be forever grateful.

Skye Forest

Spruce Mountain Inn was my workplace "home" for more than 25 years. I was privileged to serve the Spruce community as a Case Manager and Marketing Director. I can say with confidence that the quality of care, service and support is beyond compare. The values and integrity of the program's mission have been the consistent and effective core of treatment for over 37 years. The quality, longevity and qualifications of staff contribute greatly to providing individualized treatment of the highest standard in an effective, warm and welcoming program.

Jessie Moraine

I cannot recommend becoming a resident at Spruce Mountain Inn. The community environment is similar to a high school. I experienced bullying. Guidance, direction, and clarity are not part of the SMI treatment model, which is simultaneously restrictive and haphazard. I urge prospective residents to carefully consider whether this program should be trusted with 12 months of their life.

Penny Peacetree

I can say nothing, but "WONDERFUL" about Spruce Mountain Inn. After completing 2 years of college, my son went to SMI for treatment. During his stay at SMI, I can tell you that the staff was nothing short of "INCREDIBLE." The director, assistant director and case manager were my main points of communication and they were each outstanding in their own right. All were highly clinically skilled and communicative. Our son's case manager was amazing. He not only had exemplary clinical and counseling skills, but he was inarguably respectful and diplomatic during ALL of our communications (even when we were needy :). At no time during my son's stay were we ever made to feel like we were overstepping our boundaries and never felt "in the dark" about what was happening with our son. All other staff that we interacted with from reception staff to support staff to administrative staff were also always very nice, respectful and professional. They followed through with everything that we asked and often took the initiative to offer help without our request. Our parent coach was also great. She helped us to navigate the therapeutic process, as well as helped to moderate our fears, angst and worry over our son's situation, placement and progress. The main house at SMI provided a non-institutional living environment and was exceptionally clean, warm and inviting offering our son the most normalized treatment setting. Our son's bedroom was bright and naturally lit and the common areas were also clean, casual and home-like. Our son greatly benefited from SMI's program structure and he participated in more activities at during his stay at SMI than he had during the first 2 years prior to his admission. When it made sense, SMI recommended that he move to another therapeutic program as a "logical next step." This recommendation came at a difficult time for us as we had other family issues that also required our attention. Fortunate for us, SMI approached our son's transition like they approached everything. They rearranged their schedules, made phone calls, sent texts, moved appointments, scheduled new appointments, faxed documents, sent emails and collaborated with us to make this transition happen expeditiously in a way that was most effective and least disruptive to my son's progress. They really "stood on their heads" for us and our son. We also know that if it were not for the positive professional relationships that SMI's director had within the mental health community, our son's placement in his current program would not have happened. Finally, I want to say that the SMI director and her team are highly ethical and have integrity. SMI could have both admitted and kept my son for the money. Instead, they took the time to carefully assess my son for his appropriateness before "allowing" him to be admitted. When my son reached his maximum potential at SMI, they did not try to keep him there. When the next best program for my son was full, SMI "held out" waiting for an opening, rather than recommending and transitioning him to an "available," but less appropriate option. For these reasons, we always felt that SMI had our son's best interest in mind, over a need to accept or keep him for monetary purposes....a refreshing feeling in today's world. As a final note, I have had the opportunity to work within the healthcare system and have seen the "good, bad and ugly." As a result, I tried to evaluate SMI from a highly critical perspective prior to my son's admission. I researched the program, talked to the staff and visited. We wanted to make sure that we were making the best choice with our limited financial resources. Today, I can say (without a doubt) that we could not have made a better decision. Our son has a long way to go, but SMI gave him the foundation that our son needed to begin his journey to a healthier and happier life. I recommend SMI without reservation.