Northbound Treatment Services

I will leave a second review because my first one was viewed and never posted. Boy oh boy. My spouse and I found this place online and were so excited by the phenomenal reviews they had! I experienced a miscarriage while my husband was here and no exceptions were made in reference to allowing a phone call as I went through this alone. The patient can’t speak with anyone for a minimum of 14 days. His case manager did call me and update me at one point stating how sweet and kind my husband is and how he would be attending sober living in California following his discharge for about 6 months. I was very surprised, but hadn’t had the chance to speak with my husband yet, and I wanted what he wanted so I accepted this. When I brought it up with him on the phone as soon as we could speak he started crying because he had no idea that this was even an option. It seemed as if my autonomy was stolen from me. He told me he felt his case manager was being inappropriate in their conversations and berating me and our marriage to him. To this day, he still cries over the phone telling me that he has to remain cordial to receive a letter for his court date from the facility. The case manager knows he is not assertive and is using this weakness against him by manipulating him into conversations that lead him to believe it is in his best interest to stay as long as possible in California (even though we live on the East Coast) and he has a wife and son far away. He has told me numerous times he has been honest, compliant, and kind during his time there and the staff has nothing but positive things to say about him. At one point, his case manager told his mother that she would like for my husband to return prior to his discharge date. That if he must return home for his court date, he could come back. My husband told me this was not an option for him. Something rubbed me the wrong way about this. So I called another Nortbbound facility and asked if I was a patient experiencing addiction, if I could return to the facility following a discharge and court date after my 40 days. They told me this was not the primary objective goal of northbound and they want for us, the patients, to excel at home. This lady was changing policies for my husband. I have never written a bad review about anyone before, this place just makes me so upset. The staff is highly skilled in communication so that they can manipulate people like me into thinking we are a part of our loved one’s treatment plans, when really they have meeting behind your back. My husband requested me to be present in his discharge meeting and asked for his mother to not be part of it. The facility then called his mom behind our back, with him stating that he does not wish to have her involvement anymore, and she (my mother in law), contacted me and said she received a call (for the meeting I was supposed to be a part of), saying they wanted her opinion before discharging my spouse. This seems like a HIPAA violation to me. I am a healthcare professional and the way these people have spoken with my spouse disgusts me. I would never share the information that has been shared with my husband, to one of my patients. If you try to leave against medical advice, they will take your phone and wallet until someone calls the police and your items are rightfully returned. This facility has done everything possible to keep my husband as long as they can, without keeping his best interest in mind. I have text message documentation from his case manager that I would be present in a conversation with his lawyer, the clinical staff, and her, and him. He told me every night we talked he wanted me on this call because he struggles with being assertive and that I would be better to speak. His case manager had the entire meeting without me present then told me he would be leaving Sunday. This is after he was told he could leave Friday and I canceled a very costly weekend trip because I thought he’d be returning home. My husband then expressed to me that these people didn’t have me present on the call because they know I would talk him into coming home Friday as opposed to Sunday, and for some reason, his case manager wants my husband there as long as she can talk him into. Keep in mind he was told he will start IOP on Monday. His flight, the earliest available one, will fly in at 10:30pm because of the layover (they all had layovers) and he will be expected to attend IOP with no time to recover from jet lag. There are also inappropriate comments that were made about how she personally recommends he go to a sober living home and not IOP and how he can spend time “in the bedroom” with me during the day. I could never imagine speaking with my patients the way this staff speaks with theirs. I have all of this information because I have listened to hours of my spouse’s pain and hurt over the phone as he tells me he’s stuck at this facility and forced to comply to retrieve a completion letter. The case manager handed my husband her phone number and told him if he needs anything at all to contact her. I trust my spouse but this is an incredibly inappropriate and disgusting move to make on a married man. I cannot bare to hear my husband’s pain any longer. He has been violated by these people, lied to, manipulated, and even had his privacy rights violated. At what point is it acceptable to leave a facility that is bullying you into making decisions that will affect other people, without their input. I have documentation supporting these claims and when my spouse spoke with someone higher up and was told this is a “miscommunication” error I felt baffled. This is clearly not a coincidence or misunderstanding. I would be glad to provide said documentation to Northbound if necessary. I reached out and made so many phone calls during his stay there and received no calls back. This place is ethically, legally, and morally unjust. The feeling that I yearn for is relief. The conversation that I had with my spouse tonight consisted of him telling me the moment he’s in a car on the way to the airport, he will feel so good. So relieved. I’m concerned about him missing his flight because the same case manager tried talking him into returning to the airport an hour later than he had requested. The intentions here are clearly not good. I apologize for the way that my thoughts are scattered in this review, but I find it imperative to leave all pertinent information to anyone looking into becoming a patient here. I will never recommend this program to anyone which is a shame, because the trauma therapist has been exceptional and provided an extra level of care to my husband. Unfortunately not everyone in the healthcare industry or mental health industry has clear and good intentions. Do not let your loved one go here if you would like for them to have power over their recovery. Addiction is an illness that requires support, love, and community. This facility cares about personal business and money. I look forward to my spouse returning home and can’t wait for the moment he is free from Northbound.

I found this facility for my spouse prior to his admission. We read so many wonderful reviews online together and were thrilled. Unfortunately, that has not been the case for him or for us. The communication offered by the staff is horrible and there were so many times that I felt disrespected by the employees at this facility that I have an entire list that takes up two pages on paper. I have actually NEVER complained about a business publicly but I do so in hopes that this will prevent someone else from experiencing what we did. Everything was wonderful here for a few weeks. I experienced a miscarriage as my spouse was away and he was not allowed to so much as call me to make sure I was ok because it was in his first two weeks. Then I was told by his case manager that we would have a meeting about him discharging because he had been there for well over 30 days, and she has the meeting behind my back then called me to let me know what decisions were made. My autonomy has been stolen from me as my husband has done nothing but request to make decisions regarding our future and marriage together and that does not seem to be the case. They claimed this was a miscommunication when he spoke with someone higher up, but I’d love to provide them the text message documentation from his case manager that stated explicitly that I would be called at the time of the meeting and she’d like for me to “join us” for the conversation as that was husband’s request. I was then told over text message TWICE that I’d receive updates in regards to issues that have arisen while he was there and I never did. They told my spouse he could come home Friday so I canceled my weekend girls trip to Florida that I had planned and made a loss of about $750 which was justified by me because I was under the impression that my husband would be coming home. On his first week there, I had very strange feelings in my gut about his case worker as she seemed a little too friendly when speaking about him over the phone. My husband called me when he could at the 14 day mark and told me he felt she had inappropriately been sharing personal information to him and speaking poorly about me and praising him when he expressed concerns about our communication in our marriage. His request simply was to have therapy with both of us present, not to berate me. I was also told that he would be attending sober living in California, even though we leave on the East Coast. His case manager told me this over the phone and I accepted, because I still wasn’t able to speak with him and was under the impression (by the assumptiveness of these statements), that this is what HE wanted. When I got to speak with him about this he was so upset that he cried to me over the phone because he didn’t want to be away from his wife and child for an additional 6 months if he could attend IOP or sober living at home. When we finally had a discharge meeting scheduled, my spouse requested that it involve him, myself, and whoever else needed to be there from Northbound. They went behind his back to contact his mother and ask her opinion about him discharging although he did not consent to it. I may be wrong, but this sounds like a HUGE HIPAA violation to me. His mother contacted me immediately and described the late night phone call as “very strange” and felt violated. Finally, we got a Sunday discharge date, which sounds good. However, I booked the earliest available flight for his return and he return time is 10:30pm, because there is a layover for EVERY flight coming out of the John Wayne airport. They want him to start IOP the following Monday, so I will pick him up at 10pm, take him home, and we will both wake up early the next morning to attend work/IOP. He will have ZERO recovery time from jet lag and be expected to be up by 7am which is a 4:00am PST. The staff here is trained very well in communicating information to families as it seems more manipulative than in regards to what is best for the patient. Unfortunately, despite the decency of his level of care, I would never recommend this facility to a family or friend or anyone who wishes to have control of their treatment and life. I am constantly told by him of the people who use (yes, I mean “use”), in this program, and how although it does not negatively impact my spouse, it could be a LARGE trigger for many other people. My mother was an alcoholic for over 15 years and we have been with her through so many experiences with treatment facilities. This is by far the worst one and the policies that they have in place are insanity. My spouse even gave him roommate my phone number because he expressed concern to leave against medical advice at day 40 in order to return home on time for his COURT DATE that they did not want to let him go to, and he said that they will take his phone and wallet from him. He then stated that if that was the case I would need to call the POLICE like other patients do to have his belongings rightfully returned to him. DO NOT send your loved one here. I am begging you. If I could save another soul from the struggles of this profit based facility then I would. It’s difficult enough to recover from addiction as is, don’t choose a place like this that only cares about Money.

My Grandson came to Northbound from another facility. There really are no adequate words to express my overwhelming GRATITUDE and APPRECIATION for Northbound and their AWESOME staff and program. He had lost his way, was addicted and feeling hopeless. At Northbound, he was welcomed with the facilities, staff, expertise, groups, support, and direction he needed as well as the caring, love and concern that he desperately needed to get well. He will tell you Northbound saved his life. He recently expressed to me that he truly has never been as content and happy as he is now! He is surrounded by continual support even after completing the program. And most importantly, he now has the tools, support and confidence necessary to navigate the ups and downs of life. When I see my Grandson now I see a very happy, motivated young man, excited about his future and opportunities he never had thought possible before. My prayer would be anyone suffering from the debilitating disease of addition could have the blessed opportunity to be immersed in this program. Truly, if you have a family member with this disease you will find immediate guidance and relief for yourself and your loved one the minute you call. Our family is eternally indebted to the beautiful souls at Northbound.

Very disappointed when visiting my loved one in this facility. They do NOT get what is promised on their multiple websites (under different names). The house is in a low income residential area miles from the beach. No effort in developing health or wellness lifestyle, smoking and vaping is not controlled, and "therapy" actually consists of AA meetings in the community with no affiliation. You can get that for free at home. My loved one really wants help and this company does not provide it . He is feeling even more lost now.

Northbound saved my life. I was addicted to drugs for over 16 years. I was transferred to Northbound from Menninger and that's when my journey really began. I was picked up from the airport by David Gates who has stood by my education and sobriety for the past 17 months. While at Northbound I got my CADAC and learned the coping skills that have made my sobriety successful. If your looking to change your life this place is the best of the best from the accommodations to the groups to the outings and staff. I am forever grateful to have been connected to such an amazing place. You walk into Campus and can feel the love. #Northboundforlife