Review by Angela Conner

My daughter (15 yrs old) spent just over 3 months at Newport Academy. It was incredibly difficult to send her there, but we were desperate. When your child no longer has a desire to live and is self harming, your options are limited. I was very concerned about sending her to a residential treatment facility due to the stigma and the stories of abuse, unnecessary restraints and using an excessive amount of sedatives. That said, I NEVER had to give any of that a second thought at Newport Academy. There approach is very client driven. If someone goes AWOL, a staff member will simply follow them and engage in a conversation until they can both calmly return to campus. If a client is refusing to participate, they allow that, realizing that the client will become bored and will eventually participate, which is what happened with my daughter. She also developed wonderful relationships with many of the staff members as well as other’s in her group (pod.) She spoke of some of the cc (client coordinators, who were with the clients 24/7) as being her mom or dad. She didn’t like all of them, but that is to be expected. She was able to participate in many different activities from ropes courses to petting zoos to golf and many many more. I was frequently send pictures of her participating in these activities. Seeing her posing or making a face was so rewarding; I could tell my daughter was climbing out of her pit of despair and depression and was coming back to life. Newport isn’t perfect, I don’t think a perfect place exists, but when you are out of options as we were, it is an excellent choice. My daughter really liked her clinical team. She had therapists working with her each day. She had access to a therapist any time she wanted to talk, as well as, her scheduled weekly appointments. She participated in DBT and CBT. We, as parents, could e-mail, call or text, her family and individual therapist anytime. Occasionally, this occurred even after business hours, which was so greatly appreciated. My daughter will tell you it was difficult, but I believe it was because we insisted she finish treatment rather than quit and come home. But she will also tell you how she connected with so many people there, and misses many of them. I am so happy to have her home. She is in a much much better place now, than when she left. She is happier, and is participating in life again. Her depression isn’t completely gone, I wasn’t expecting it to be, but she has skills now to deal with it. Her communication is so much better and she is more herself again.