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Just wondering if anyone has had any personal experience with a child at the Angelus House at Wellspring in Bethlehem, CT?  My 21 year old daughter is there now and I'm just now sure... .  I would so welcome any real experiences that anyone has had with the place.

Thanks so much. 

Deena

I know you have not received any responses on Wellspring and though I've heard of it I don't have first hand knowledge.  But as a mother whose ds has been in so many places... .  if you are starting to have doubts I would start to plan as much time as possible there.  Talking to the administrators, see if they would let you observe anything, ask for a tour, sometimes other parents are open to talking about their experience so you might want to ask for some references.

If your intuition is kicking in that it might not be right then I would schedule lots of time with the staff... .  they can't deny you access to that.

This is one of the many places that I called about for my own daughter.  The only feedback that  I can give you is that my oldest sister is a diagnosed severe schizophrenic living in a wonderful, phenomenal group home in Massachusetts.  The program director is amazing and she and I have a special rapport.  About three years ago I asked her what place she would recommend for my dd and she mentioned McLean and Wellspring.  I ended up sending her to McLean.  I did notice that Wellspring did not offer DBT at that time and since my daughter has/had done so well using the DBT skills, at this point in time it would not be a good fit for my daughter.  Also, when I spoke with Wellspring a couple of years ago, they mentioned that a car is recommended near the end of treatment since a client may want to go to school etc. and there was no transportation provided by the facility.  Again, this was a couple of years ago and it may be different now.

Please let me know if your daughter ends up going there and what your thoughts are.  I'm trying to be a source of information for families in my area and any feedback is appreciated.

Good luck to you and your daughter!   

Deena, I'm not sure if you're on the forum any longer, but wanted to say I hope all's well at Wellspring. It's one of the options I considered for my daughter. In the end, I thought the focus on school would be a detriment to my daughter (who's going to have to find her own motivation, as the "faking school to please others model" was an epic fail). I also didn't get a great feeling when I asked them about meds (when I hear the word "control" rather than "help," red flags go up for me.) I'd be so curious to know what makes you "not sure." But maybe it's all worked out by now and you're feeling more comfortable about the choice. All best.