The Meadows - Wickenburg, Arizona

Dusti S.

Do not be fooled. This facility is a 12-step immersion program. It is not the "premier mental health treatment center" that it bills itself as. If you are attending for trauma informed mental health counseling, find some place else. You are required to attend 12 step meetings daily, twice on Sundays. They brag that the staff have all been through the program. The "counselors" push belief in religion in groups and at meetings. If you don't conform, you are ostracized. Victim blaming and bullying are part and parcel. This is a harmful program for those seeking actual healing.

brooke M.

I spent 8wks at The Meadows. It was life changing for me. The Survivors week helped me with my childhood traumas and learn how to heal my inner child. I met with my trauma therapist several times after this. Also met with evening and weekend therapists. Family week was intense but worth it. My husband joined me that week. They have a brain center where I got to use a CES device to help my anxiety and panic attacks. Also the Chi Machine. I was able to do the safe and sound protocol daily therapy (SSP) for a week. This is suppose to help get you out of the fight or flight mode. I went to acupuncture therapy and found it helpful for my fibromyalgia pain. There were daily evening mediation therapy and 12 step meetings. I got to learn about codependency and CoDA meetings. I also attended ACA meetings. I learned effective coping skills while there. I would recommend this place to anyone that needs help with mental health issues, addictions, grief and loss, traumas, and just need a reset in life.

Richard M.

THE MEADOWS = ARROGANT, NO HUMILITY, LACK OF PATIENT-CENTERED CARE FROM MOST (but not all) STAFF AND LEADERSHIP

THE MEADOWS = 1-size-fits-all cash grab

Part 2, continued

Cons

3. (cont.) My small group instructor was literally the “woke police.” Which is hilarious because I am a highly socially conscious liberal (in the military, adds to the degree of difficulty). I’ve 46 y/o and I’ve dedicated my life to social justice.

So when she chastised me for using the word. “WOKE” my head was spinning. She completely ignored the context. The context was that we had a fellow patient who was walking around where white nationalist t shirts talking about “2nd Amendment” solutions for the “woke.” Seeing his tshirts really set me off. The point I tried to make was that if “woke” means respecting other cultures than I’m all in on “wokeness.” I mentioned that I met the most incredible people while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and that they’re much more like us than we understand. But the group leader hyper focused on that one word “WOKE” and warned me never to say it again because others find it offensive.

Again, I was afraid to ask to switch groups because the leadership seemed to blame the patient for making these types of requests. So I just sucked it up and pretended to agree with her.

Finally, the group leader focused on what she wanted to talk about — childhood trauma. I’ve got plenty of childhood trauma but I worked through it in 10 years of therapy. Id been avoiding my combat trauma — witnessing unspeakable torture and unlawful detention of Iraqi detainees, engaging in hand-to-hand combat, IED explosions. Daily mortar impacts within 50-100 meters. Then the moral injury of getting “thrown under the bus by the military and President Bush for my units actions at Abu Ghraib. My group leader had no interest in any of this. She wanted to talk about how my dad “abandoned” me (he didn’t).

The small group experience gets 0 🌟s, unfortunately.

I’d also like to know how having an intern as group leader benefited The Meadows profits.

4. FAILING THE STANDARD OF CARE: I had only 3 individual PTSD EMDR sessions in 28 days. The individual sessions didn’t start until week 3. That DID NOT meet the standard of care for PTSD therapy. To meet the standard of care, I should have had minimum 2 individual PTSD sessions per week. Other patients had as few as 1 or 2 individual sessions over the month.

5. They treated me like an alcoholic/drug addict throughout the program. I’ve never abused drugs or alcohol (except maybe in my 20s I did some binge drinking) and have never been diagnosed with an SUD.

6. They adhere to a 12-step model. If I’d known that I would never have agreed to attend. I’m a proud atheist. So being forced to say that I am “powerless” and that a “higher power” had all the power goes against EVERYTHING I believe in. My small group leader tried to shove these concepts down my throat. I very politely declined. When I refused she would shake her head and give judgmental sigh for my noncompliance.

THE MEADOWS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT PATIENTS DON’T RELINQUISH THEIR 1A FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION RIGHTS, I love AA and 12-steps for my patients who add appropriate for it. And I love 80% of the 12-step model. But forcing patients to change their core beliefs is UNETHICAL and MORALLY WRONG.

CONCLUSION: The Meadows is a moneymaking endeavor. Take the good and leave the rest behind. 🙏🏻

justin M.

Do not consider the Meadows for a loved one needing support and help with mental illness. After my loved one attended their PHP program and had some positive interactions with specific staff they suggested she needed "a higher level of care" and recommended their inpatient program. The AZ Meadows program decided to reject her disregarding her experience in their out patient program and consultation with her therapist. They left her on her own and wouldn't consider her until she had "self soothing dbt skills". She has gone through 2 dbt programs over the past 6 years and we are dumbfounded. If you need to be able to self sooth before you attend their inpatient program why would their PHP program recommend their inpatient program? It makes no sense and pulls the carpet out of the hope their PHP program tried to offer. I have zero faith the Meadows can help with real trauma and their false sense of hope has caused more harm to someone who thought they might get the attention they need to process real trama.

Kathy E.

I attended the Meadows IOP in Denver in 2024. I had a very positive experience there but working with corporate finance was a nightmare which is reason for this poor review (would give zero stars if that was possible). It took 6 months to get reimbursed for insurance overpayment. If it wasn't for my persistence (I spent countless hours on it and hit many walls), I don't think I would have seen a dollar back. Not only that, I was shorted what believed I was owed and was never provided any explanation/documentation. Don't count on their stated reimbursement policy, keep insurance records and be prepared to self-advocate as needed (not fun especially when going through recovery).

Ashley T.

Coming to The Meadows was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I had tried to get sober and relapsed after attending another prestigious rehab, when our searches led us to the Meadows. We chose The Meadows due to their specialization in trauma recovery. The combination of somatic experiencing, and holistic therapies including yoga, accupuncture, art therapy, brain spa and equine therapy is hard to come across. The whole program is backed in scientific methods, and focused on understanding why addiction might develop. As a fellow professional, I am extremely impressed by the Senior Fellows on staff who have dense research in all field related to trauma and addiction. I still read all of the literature published by them to this day.

The Meadows doesn’t just treat the symptom of addiction, it treats the root causes of it. I was SAD to leave. I continued to do their intensive outpatient therapy after discharge. My life changed COMPLETELY for the better because of this program. I believe so much in their methods that I then went on to enter the Somatic Experiencing Professional training to be able to integrate them into my own practice (I am a physical therapist). This place is nothing short of miraculous and I would attend again in a heart beat and have recommended it to numerous friends, patients and family. This is THE place to be for trauma and addiction recovery.

Now, I am three years sober and have no urge to drink. I am in a healthy, loving relationship and have opened my own private practice.

Ghoul I. T. W.

Was treated extremely disrespectful and judged by *MOST* of the staff here. Attitude and judgement. Disregarding any medical records. The people that run this place lie to get you in the door. They care more about money than actual compassionate healing toward other human beings.

Steve W.

I'll be a 30 year grad coming up in mid December. I was admitted on suicide watch. I didn't care how much it cost, I planned on being dead. My case was a bit complicated and a diagnosis and treatment plan took 2 weeks. I needed to do a lot of work in a totally safe place with the best guidance and The Meadows provided that. My life since hasn't been great all the time but it's been good overall. The main thing is that I learned to have a life, my own life, at The Meadows. My discharge papers weren't very encouraging but even that helped. I knew I'd have to use every single thing I learned. And I did. And here it is 30 years later.

I can't thank this place enough.