Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Facility Question and Answers => Psych Hospitals => Topic started by: Macadamia on January 29, 2009, 12:52:33 AM
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Has anyone else here ever had to go to Peninsula Hospital? I've been thinking about the place a lot lately, having recently learned all the dirty little secrets of the mysterious Village, thanks to fine people like yourselves who aren't afraid to speak the truth. I had no idea PV was so awful until I began reading about it online.
For those of you unfamiliar with PH, it's a private psychiatric hospital, serving both minors and adults, that some future Peninsula Village detainees are in before they're sent to PV for more intensive "treatment". I only witnessed one restraint while I was there, but there were lots of confrontations and guilt trips about things the patients couldn't help. I'm confident that several members of the staff would have shown more cruelty if they had been granted the freedom to do so. That was 1994 when I was just 14 years old, but I vividly remember a lot of the daily tasks/activities and many of the staff. I have an excellent memory, but I think I'd forced myself to forget some of the more humiliating details that are now starting to come back. I swear, I'll scream if I ever again hear a brisk "Ladies, take care of yourselves!" (the signature line used to staff to alert us that the boys were walking past and we were to turn away lest we catch a glimpse of youthful masculinity).
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I swear, I'll scream if I ever again hear a brisk "Ladies, take care of yourselves!" (the signature line used to staff to alert us that the boys were walking past and we were to turn away lest we catch a glimpse of youthful masculinity).
CPH did almost the exact same thing:
"Boys, take care of yourselves!"
If someone didn't comply, the Nazi guards would often shove their head down rather violently.
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Hi, Macadamia. My step daughter spent a week at Peninsula Hospital two months before her dad put her in Peninsula Village. While she was in PH she met girls from the Village who were being treated. One girl had attempted to kill herself to escape the Village, another had jumped from a moving vehicle in an escape attempt, and there were a few Village girls with mysterious broken bones and contusions. After talking with the girls from the Village who were recuperating, you can imagine how my step daughter reacted when her dad informed her she was going tothe Village:
____________________________ :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: _______________________________________
One odd thing sticks in my mind about PH: My wife and I were leaving the hospital, walking the long length of the unit from the meeting room. We noticed this grizzled old guy in a stained t-shirt and apron with the "1,000 yard stare" of a man who had seen horrors unimaginable. He had on a nametag that said "Chef Bob".
Was Dr. Reggie Raman the psychiatrist at PH while you were there? He's at the Village now, and I have mixed emotions about Dr. Raman. He was very kind to my step daughter when she was at PH, going so far as to protect her from her father when it became apparent her dad was a couple fries short of a Happy Meal. Dr. Raman called my wife early in her daughter's stay at PH and said "You are aware (your daughter) is terrified of her father, are you not?" By that time, half the staff of PH was scared of him. The father was demanding an RTC placement regardless of professional opinion (That's what Lon Woodbury calls "Parental Choice", and it's a fine example of why nutbag parents shouldn't be allowed to make choices for a goldfish, let alone a kid. ) but wasn't getting any support. Even though PV was next door, Dr. Raman would not approve residential treatment - a program placement would be AMA (Against Medical Advice).
But now...Dr. Raman has been at the Village for a year. I thought he would be shocked by the Village's practices and quit, or make a lot of noise about the over-medicating and physical abuse that are the norm at PV. Instead, I found out kids are still being over-medicated without informing the parents of the drugs their children were receiving. Business as usual.
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ZenAgent, I don't recall a Dr. Raman, but he may have been there. When I was at PH there were a few psychiatrists who were each assigned to several patients in the ward. Like the other patients, I would only see my assigned psychiatrist once or twice a week, for five minutes or so. That was a major disappointment to me, as personalized therapy was what I had been seeking instead of the half-assed group sessions I found myself stuck with. My doctor, who had a private practice in Knoxville in addition to his PH work and thus was rushed to get from one patient - or building - to another, was quite liberal with medication and wasn't afraid to double the dosage if results weren't seen fast enough for his liking! There was also a psychiatrist who would lead our afternoon group therapy. Sadly, those sessions weren't any more helpful than the evening groups run by the Keystone Cops, and my parents were billed mightily for each one of them no matter if I participated, sat there waiting for the session to be up, or was in another room having a fruitless and painful private session with my parents and a bored family therapist.
None of the current overlords featured on the PV website are familiar to me, but a few of the PH counselors who came in a few times a week were also working at the PV then. Those staff members, most of whom looked as though they were in their early to mid-twenties, were cockier than those who exclusively worked at the Hospital. One particularly memorable Village guy liked to lean back in his chair and smirk at us as he let us know how sad and screwed up we were. The way he tried to make us see it, all our troubles were our fault and we had no cause to be upset with anyone but ourselves. I have no doubt that he really would have cracked down on us if someone in a higher position of authority had given him the green light. I was afraid of him and made it a point not to speak in group when he was there.
My first roommate at PH was a heavy drug user who had been there for five or six months, waiting for an opening at the Village. I knew a stay at the Village would be lengthy and the thought of going there frightened me, but I had the impression that it was more or less like the Hospital, just long term. The girls who were headed there didn't seem at all afraid of what lay ahead, either because they were genuinely eager to defeat their demons no matter the pain involved or else they had no idea how rough it would be. I was really surprised to find out how cruelly the kids are treated there. It's good that this board and a few other places online are getting the word out.
I never saw this Chef Bob character, but you've painted quite a picture of him. He could probably tell the world things that would curl its collective hair.
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One particularly memorable Village guy liked to lean back in his chair and smirk at us as he let us know how sad and screwed up we were. The way he tried to make us see it, all our troubles were our fault and we had no cause to be upset with anyone but ourselves. I have no doubt that he really would have cracked down on us if someone in a higher position of authority had given him the green light. I was afraid of him and made it a point not to speak in group when he was there.
LOL...What you describe is the PV process - it's all your fault, whether you shot smack, were sexually abused or suffering depression following the death of a parent, PV holds everyone "accountable", they will over-medicate and physically abuse vicitmizer and victim alike. PV doesn't treat, they process.
A lot of parents were unaware PV went against their admission policy and took kids who were tried and sentenced as adults for violent crimes. Imagine how the father of a young girl who had been raped would feel knowing there was a convicted rapist at PV less than 100 ft. away from his daughter. That situation existed when Andy Klepper was "sentenced" to PV for luring a female escort to his home, where he and a few friends sexually assaulted the woman, at one point sodomizing the victim with a baseball bat. Here's PV's exclusions, from their website:
Exclusionary Criteria
Peninsula Village is unable to help every adolescent. Some problems that we cannot treat are:
* Intelligence below the average range (Full Scale IQ below 90)
* History of fire setting and pyromania
* Sexual Offenders / Sexual Disorders
* History of chronic/severe physical aggression including use of weapons
* Physical or medical condition that would hinder participation in vigorous, outdoor activities (diabetes, epilepsy)
* Homicidal intent at time of admission
* Psychotic Disorders
* Pregnancy (females)
* Impairment resulting from traumatic brain injury / Neuro-psychiatric issues
* Eating disorders that are not medically stable
Klepper certainly falls into the highlighted categories, and yet PV took him with open arms - his dad was paying cash, don't you know. PV lost the little cash pig when Tennessee refused to allow Klepper to be in the state, making no bones about the reason - no one wanted the degenerate breathing the same air as they did. What about this:
* Pregnancy (females)
Gee, I'm glad they clarified the pregnancy exclusion. Does that mean PV accepts pregnant males?
The guy from the Village you describe sounds very, very familiar :roflmao: - did he look like the fat guy from N'SYNC, with a goatee and two tons of gel in his hair, or was he Filipino? If it was either of those two...heh....what I'm going to call individuals, you did well to escape their notice. They both got fired from PV last year. With a satisfying quickness, too.
Macadamia, thank you for sharing your knowledge of PH. I thought PH really had no clue about the Village's practices, and it's becoming apparent that what happens in the Village, stays in the Village. PV doesn't interact with the hospital much.
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I never met a Filipino staff member or one who resembled a portly boy bander. The guy I'm thinking of looked more like a scruffy J. Crew model. What does one have to do to be fired from a dreadful place like PV, I wonder?
The admission of a rapist, clearly in violation of their guidelines, is more proof (not that more is needed!) that the Village exists for less than honorable reasons. How disgusting that there are people in power who care more about money than about the safety and health of our young people. The pregnancy bit is interesting as well. I read a glowing endorsement of PV by a brainwashed young lady who was signed in while she was pregnant (I believe it was in one of the Village newsletters). I suppose she had a rich daddy too, or at least one with excellent insurance.
PH is no doubt the lesser of two evils, but they did tell some lies to my parents. Upon my admission, Mom and Dad were told that they could expect a phone call from me later that day after I'd gotten settled, but the counselors denied me use of the phone and told me it was against the rules. It could be that the admissions folks don't know what's going on in the murky depths of PH.. The counselors also refused to let me call my mother to come and get me on the day of my release, saying that she knew I was getting out that day and would come when she wanted to. I didn't know at the time, but my mom had been informed by one of the counselors earlier that week that I hadn't progressed to the next level and the psychiatrist assigned to me probably wouldn't sign for my release on the day originally planned. One of my roommates was released the same day and left in the morning, but I had to go through another day of group therapy and utter boredom while I waited for my mother to pick me up. She was startled when she arrived at 7 or 8 PM and saw that my bags were packed. I was almost crying because the counselor made me believe that my mom didn't want to pick me up sooner. Thank God it was a visitation day, or else they probably would have kept me longer! They tacked those extra hours onto the bill, of course. It's all about the money with those people.
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I never met a Filipino staff member or one who resembled a portly boy bander. The guy I'm thinking of looked more like a scruffy J. Crew model. What does one have to do to be fired from a dreadful place like PV, I wonder?
No one knows why the firings took place, that's the problem. PV won't say because if we knew the reason it might be used again, either at PV or some other program with similarly abusive practices. The terminations started with the head of Parkwest, then the administrator of PV, the clinical director, the psychiatrist, the Filipino guy who was toadie to the clinical director, and a long-time therapist. Not a reassuring sign to desperate parents when the treatment team gets axed in short order. The educational team went through changes, too.
The admission of a rapist, clearly in violation of their guidelines, is more proof (not that more is needed!) that the Village exists for less than honorable reasons. How disgusting that there are people in power who care more about money than about the safety and health of our young people. The pregnancy bit is interesting as well. I read a glowing endorsement of PV by a brainwashed young lady who was signed in while she was pregnant (I believe it was in one of the Village newsletters). I suppose she had a rich daddy too, or at least one with excellent insurance.
PH is no doubt the lesser of two evils, but they did tell some lies to my parents. Upon my admission, Mom and Dad were told that they could expect a phone call from me later that day after I'd gotten settled, but the counselors denied me use of the phone and told me it was against the rules. It could be that the admissions folks don't know what's going on in the murky depths of PH.. The counselors also refused to let me call my mother to come and get me on the day of my release, saying that she knew I was getting out that day and would come when she wanted to. I didn't know at the time, but my mom had been informed by one of the counselors earlier that week that I hadn't progressed to the next level and the psychiatrist assigned to me probably wouldn't sign for my release on the day originally planned. One of my roommates was released the same day and left in the morning, but I had to go through another day of group therapy and utter boredom while I waited for my mother to pick me up. She was startled when she arrived at 7 or 8 PM and saw that my bags were packed. I was almost crying because the counselor made me believe that my mom didn't want to pick me up sooner. Thank God it was a visitation day, or else they probably would have kept me longer! They tacked those extra hours onto the bill, of course. It's all about the money with those people.
Yep. PV (and I guess PH was included, too) was sued by two former Peninsula Behavioral Health employees for discrimination. The employees were told to change the focus of some patients treatment from mental to substance abuse when insurance coverage for mental health ran out. The two employees refused and claimed it led to them being fired. That methodology explains why Pegler forces all the kids to admit to addictions, regardless of why they were admitted. All about the money.
Bastards.
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http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.as ... yid=119422 (http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=119422)
The psychiatric facility the shooter was committed to in February has not been named in the local news. Although Parkwest sold Peninsula Village last November they still own Peninsula Hospital across the street. To my knowledge, it is the only local facility he could have been committed to.
Taking a risk here, but after my experience with Peninsula Village, NOTHING that goes on in ANY Covenant Health Concern surprises me. That includes implanting a tracking chip during an appendectomy...
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Hopefully they manage to examine his body before they burn it. I remember that an undertaker ask some of my relatives if their father had an artificial kneecap because they discovered some metal along with the ashes.
While he was in the hospital they were watching for a thief who stole from the staff and the patients. Among those things missing was an expensive watch owned by the doctor who operated their father.
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:bump: