Anyone Decided To Get Inpatient Treatment For Cptsd At Timberlawn?

[purpleiris]

Hello everyone,
I'm looking into checking myself into Timberlawn in Dallas, Texas for complex childhood trauma/PTSD.

I'm in my mid-30's, have a successful career and family business. I finally decided I needed therapy to deal with my long-repressed abuse. After 3 sessions my emotions were so overwhelming that my therapist urged me to consider Timberlawn. I really researched the program and it looks like just what I need.

My insurance should cover it (I'll find out Tuesday) and I know I really NEED to do this....but it's really scary to leave home and everything/everyone I know for 3-4 weeks. I have read some positive and some very negative reviews online on the hospital (not necessarily the trauma program).

Does anyone have any fairly recent experiences with Timberlawn or any other inpatient treatment program?

Was it worth it?

 

[Justmehere]

I did inpatient at River Oaks. (I looked into timber lawn but River Oaks in the US was a better fit for me.).

I was terrified to go - but I am so thankful I did. It was well worth it! It really deeply changed the path of my recovery in the right direction. I put a lot into it, and did everything I could to gain everything I could from my time there. It involved a lot of hard work, but I came back in much better shape than when I went. It made therapy back home a lot more effective.

 

[purpleiris]

Thank you for sharing, how long were you there? Did it take you long to transition back to work when you got back?[DOUBLEPOST=1401068450,1401068375][/DOUBLEPOST]One more question: do you remember having to be homicidal or suicidal at admission in order for private insurance to cover the program?

 

[Justmehere]

I was there for 4 weeks. When I was there, the therapist I saw for a very short while before going, she was fired from her clinic ... and despite my efforts and the treatment teams efforts, we couldn't get new care lined up before I left the hospital. (I lived in a different state than the hospital.)

So I basically had no transition in terms of professional support - which was not avery good situation at all. Three days after I got back, I sort of suddenly emotionally crashed. But, then all the work I had done really started to kick in, and I got back on track. I pulled on friends who offered support and I eventually found a therapist who was a great fit. I went about the therapy is a very different and much more healthy way.

Ideally, I would have preffered to come back and see a trauma therapist 2-3 times a week for a month or so to transition back down, or even a few weeks at a partial hospitalization program.

 

[purpleiris]

Thank you again, your responses really help!

 

[Justmehere]

Oh, to answer your additional question, I'm not sure. Much of the time, if the hospital determines that you meet the criteria for inpatient admission in one of these specialized trauma impatient programs it is because the person has suicidal/homicidal thoughts, has self injury or eating disorder behaviors that are impacting health, and/OR the person is struggling to function day to day due to their symptoms. They consider things like the patients global assessment scale number is low - that's a scale that is used to indicate how well someone can function day to day.

When I was admitted, I was not homicidal nor suicidal, and my old self injury problem was not a huge problem. I was falling apart in various ways every day, and not functioning very well. So they accepted me and my insurance paid.

My insurance approved two weeks initially. Some patients would only get approval for 3 days initially and then the hospital would have to keep asking for more days.

Different insurance companies will cover based on different criteria and for different lengths of stay. At the place I went to, they were really good at checking insurance coverage for me and making sure I had coverage needed before I went and while there, and they really fought for approval so I could stay longer.

For many insurances, it seemed like 3 weeks was the average max approval people could get. Some would be able to get coverage for 6 weeks, and some only days. I imagine a lot of this was due to how severe symptoms were and progress being made, as well as alternative cheaper options and what the policy max rates are.

I would highly suggest talking to the facilities billing and admissions folks and asking how all of it works their, what the average length of stay is, is they have experience working with your insurance company and how it typically goes. Where I went, they were able to really explain a lot to me before I went.

 

[Joan]

I did a 4 month residential treatment at Brookhaven Retreat in TN. It was kind of a forced thing as I was not safe, but it ended up being the best thing ever for me. It removed the stress of the world and let me focus on me and what I needed to do to begin on a journey of healing.
I wish you the best and that the the decision becomes clear for you.

 

[purpleiris]

I've decided to do it. I am in the waiting room now at Timberlawn waiting to be evaluated. It was terrifying filling out the paperwork, I was shaking. But I believe this trauma program is what I need to begin to heal. I will post on here after I leave to let you all know how it was/what it was like.

 

[KJL321]

I've decided to do it. I am in the waiting room now at Timberlawn waiting to be evaluated. It was terrifying filling out the paperwork, I was shaking. But I believe this trauma program is what I need to begin to heal. I will post on here after I leave to let you all know how it was/what it was like.

I have a loved one who just checked into Timberlawn's trauma program yesterday (10/21/14). Would you be comfortable sharing your experiences? I've seen both positive and negative reviews -- and I'm a little nervous about her wellbeing. And kudos for you for getting help -- I can only imagine how scary it must have been. I hope today finds you well and happy.