This is the absolute worst place to send a child with mental illness or behavior issues. Their doctors let my child go home said nothing was wrong with her well she tried to harm her sibling again. Not 3 months later then they were manipulated by a child and they reported us to dcfs turned our entire world upside down. We won. But my child had to go get treated somewhere else because they are not capable of handling or properly diagnosing a child at all. They got it wrong twice. Very rude staff please don't send your child here. Literally the worst childrens hospital in the United States.

I stayed here before Christmas and just recently got out. The techs, nurses, and doctors were all very nice and very clearly cared about the patients health. My experience here was much better than my experience at Cypress Grove Behavioral Health. They do mostly everything they can to make sure you're comfortable and they always use your preferred name and pronouns. If you're going to send your child to a mental facility, i'd reccomend this one. Music and art therapy helped me find a lot about myself that I didn't know and the outdoors area is very nice. Loved the staff and the people I met there. -Logan

Warning: BEWARE!!! Also be highly concerned that this facility is considered the absolute best in Louisiana which is really upsetting. I want to begin by saying that I understand that pediatric/adolescent hospitalization resources in the New Orleans area (actually, in the entire State) are very limited. With that being said, the level of care provided should not be in such a complete state of disarray. My son was admitted twice in February 2023 and again in March of this same year. Being involved with this institution TWICE over a two month period has only proven this to me: It's a revolving door to collect insurance money where no real help is provided, children and parents' thoughts, feelings, opinions, and concerns DO NOT matter. They want to get them in, pretend to care, discharge them when the insurance coverage stops with ZERO outpatient plans (yet they feel comfortable prescribing medications with potentially terrifying side effects which I find alarming, dangerous, and incredibly irresponsible) and a lot of false information is provided to try and appease the parents. Yet this is the only option when you need emergency mental health care! People need to know the truth about this place. I was too complacent the first time he was in and chalked it up to having one bad experience. Having gone through this twice now I know that was not the case; this entire unit needs a complete overhaul, and that's an understatement! To be clear, I was not misguided in that I thought a hospital stay would immediately cure him of what is going on. I just never thought it was going to be a total nightmare. NOT that it should matter, but my son is not a child with whom I've ever had behavioral issues. He's 15, cares about school and makes fantastic grades. We have a communicative, happy home environment. He's creative, empathetic, and incredibly thoughtful. He's not on drugs, he's not sneaking out. He's just a kid living in a scary time going through adolescence and trying to figure out his place in the world. Life was completely turned upside down when I discovered he was depressed, anxious, self-harming, and having thoughts of suicide in February. We went to the psych holding area in the ER where no one told us what was going on, we were simply whisked away and the next thing we know we're going through metal detector wands with police and ushered into a waiting room with a door that locked us in. I understand now and it was quickly obvious then that these are standard procedures and protocol, but wouldn't one expect ESPECIALLY WHEN IT INVOLVES A CHILD that someone would maybe explain what was going on? When you're going to the hospital in the first place terrified for your child you'd think someone might consider that the entire process could be a really jarring experience, for the child and the parent?!? I won't dive into the rest of our almost 20 hour ER experience, but the lack of communication was quite shocking. I do need to give credit to the staff that I interacted with in the Behavioral Health Unit, some of whom genuinely seemed to care and at least tried to make a concerted effort to pass along information and listen to concerns. Unfortunately, there were an overwhelming amount who didn't care at all, including doctors. AGAIN, the lack of communication was atrocious. Almost non-existent. Your child is locked in a facility where their symptoms seem to be worsening, and no one listens. The social workers seemed to care and I think the first one did and the second one didn't. They discharged him BOTH times when he was still telling me he was suicidal and still wanted and planned on self-harming, yet NO ONE LISTENED.That's criteria for entering that unit in the first place! Both times we were told we were set up with talk therapy/medication management only to go and find out there was no appointment at all. None of this is hyperbole. I'm a concerned parent who wants the best for my child and all children and no one should have to go through or continue going through what has been happening with us.

This was one of the more scaring experiences of my life I was sent here in 2015 when I was 14, I am now 20 and this place still haunts me. I got there very early in the morning ( around 4 am ) after not sleeping for two days, only to be forced to stay up for the rest of the night to do questionnaire and a physical examination. Later in the day I went to see Dr. Hanna and she told me the reason why I was depressed was that I was making a big transition into high school and that it was too overwhelming for me, so that is why I was sad. Not the case really, in fact I was never truly able to talk about why I felt sad or the reasoning behind it. Also it is rather hard to open up about childhood trauma and the recent death of my older brother when you are sitting at conference table and all these people with clipboards are just sitting there and watching you, all while taking their little notes. Within the next three days they had my hyped up on 100 mg of zoloft without even giving me a low dosage for a short period of time so that they could see how it affected me. We were locked in our rooms for prolonged periods of time while the nurses changed shifts and at night. The clock in the room didn't work, none of them did. I had no concept of time or even what day it was, I was just there. I have high functioning autism and they never even took that into account or explained anything to me, so I was left dazed, confused, and hyped up on drugs that I didn't even know existed. I watched people fight with the nurses only to have a code white called on them, which was when all the hospital staff came to that certain floor, restrained that patient onto a gurney that was laid on the floor, and sedated them. I saw this happen several times. I witnessed patients try to hang themselves and another who beat a nurse upside the head with a fire extinguisher they ripped out of the wall. I was there for two weeks and in that time I was only allowed to go outside once for 15 minutes. Me and the other girls on my floor all became relatively close and we all wrote down our numbers in tiny places in our workbooks so that we could check up on each other when we all got out. They go through your stuff, they found those numbers and punished us by taking away our level 3 privileges' so we didn't have extra time to call our families or the chance to go to the playroom. There was one male nurse that was particularly kind to me and I would stay up at night at the nurses station talking to him about marvel and rock music. He was kind, he routed for me and I thank him for that, he was the only person in that hospital that seemed to have my back. It seemed as if though we were all just diagnosed with depression and anxiety and the doctors just left it at that. I acted my way out of there, becoming a yes man to anything they said just so that I could return home. I was told that the reason I was depressed and tried to commit suicide was my fault, and I left there saying that, blaming myself of my mental state, WHICH IS NOT MY FAULT AT ALL. Young kids should not be told that it is there fault, no one should. Because it is not your fault that you have depression or any phycological problem. I was just taught to ignore my depression and left is fester up inside me. The practices with archaic and unethical here. My heart goes out to all who have been here, I understand your pain and I am so sorry this ever happen to you. Hopefully you've all gotten better and received the proper mental health treatment you deserve. I am so sorry. This place should be shut down and all the doctors have their licenses taken away. This is solidary confinement. This is not okay.

just recently went here and it’s the most professional mental hospital i’ve been to. extremely recommend. only downsides are the food, showers, and beds. bed are uncomfortable. showers are okay. but the food is disgusting.

staff was rude. one staff member (i think a tech) yelled at crying children and told a kid she was arguing with to hit her while she was surrounded by security guards. treatment team rarely listened to your concerns. you got a longer stay if you asked when you’d be going home. same breakfast every day. was told to “pray” to get better even though i’m an atheist. they keep you for as long as your insurance will allow bc they just care abt the money. hated it here.

The techs are the only good aspect about this place. I was admitted twice and each time it was disappointing. I'll go into detail. The first issue I was presented with, was when being asked if I had any problems with sleep. I said yes, I have sleep paralysis. The tech said "have you been watching too much keeping up with the kardashians?" What's that even supposed to mean tbh. Secondly, Dr. Hannah, when evaluating me, scolded me for not maintaining eye contact. She made it out to be as if I was disrespecting her for the lack of eye contact. I told her it was because I had a headache but it was because I was anxious. That wasn't an excuse for her, though. Thirdly, Dr. Williams (or whatever his name was) chastised me for seeking reassurance from the techs. I am not going to lie, I WAS excessively seeking reassurance, but only because I was unsure and scared and needed to vent to someone. Dr. Williams and Dr. Hannah DID NOT in any way, shape, or perform, provide that level of care or even a semblance of empathy. This should be apparent in me looking for care in the techs. My sessions with Dr. Williams and Dr. Hannah were pretty cut and dry. Fourthly, Dr. Williams again chastised me because I kept saying I was going to be "honest" about what was going on. I was never lying to him, but I was trickle truthing because I was afraid of what would happen to my family had I said something. However, it frustrated him and he made that very clear, going so far as making a point that he has heard all kinds of cases, then described in detail a case of one of his patient's (he did not disclose any personal information at least) that was incredibly traumatizing. I guess he said it to show that whatever I was going to say wasn't gonna phase him though, so I don't know. Finally, I kind of felt like I was being punished... for having emotions? There was a point where I was given packets upon packets of work to complete...in the hallway.. by myself.. while everyone else got to hang out or go outside. This was only a couple of times though. It just felt like I was being reprimanded for having feelings. The only highlight of my day were the techs.

Horrible place that could care less about your child. There is no outpatient therapist and it’s impossible to get an appointment with a doctor. I’ve called a million times to get aftercare when my daughter was told she would get it and when I call no one knows anything. I do not recommend but sadly this is the only place in the whole area.

My daughter was released, with no follow up, still don’t know till this day what we’re her issues, I’ve called multiple times an left voicemails an still nothing it’s been more than a month now

it was a very hard decision to make to either put 4 or 5 stars for this place. i stayed here all the way back in early september, so things might’ve changed since then. it was the first behavioral center i had been to, so it was a new experience for me. at first it was pretty scary, but it is most likely the best out of the few here in the area of louisiana. absolutely loved the staff. loved the kids. PARTIALLY liked the program they provided. the food was not good, but not gross. i HATED the group where you had to go inside a room with your doctor and tell over 10 random adults all of your problems in one room while theyre all writing it down. made me uncomfortable. some staff were creepy, and childish in a way. like that would help- 😐 the enviorment is alright, isnt the best. makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable. place isnt interactive enough. they have music and art therapy, thats it. but it was honestly really fun. staff were fun and interacted with the rest of the kids. i met a few kids who were like me, and i really felt safe around. if you’re thinking of trying to send your child here, i definitely recommend it. it depends on the child and how they percept the experience itself. overall, its a behavioral center. 4/5 . :) -liz

This was an absolutely horrible institution! I was a patient for 3 years, subjected to unspeakable abuse, it still haunts me.I tried to take legal action once I was of age and by some screw up actually ended up with copies of my medical records from the place. Statute of limitations keeps me from pursuing charges. Parents PLEASE do your research before confining your child and trusting others to care for them. I want to vomit at the sight of the place.

Beyond awful. I can’t explain how awful. Beyond words. I just wish I could find my friend Gracie.

I wrote a very long and thorough review but I realized that I used my personal email.. any who it was flagged and is not being posted publicly only makes me more sure of the one star.I don't think they want to know how people truly feel about this facility..or want it to be shared with any one.. just don't take your child there.. PLEASE. Called the number below, no answer, left a message no callback..

the food was a little bit dry, the staff were tolerable the bed was uncomfortable however when i put it on the floor i was in heaven. they heavily drugged on melatonin, free of charge! (included with my stay). overall i believe my experience would be overall better if the ice cream wasn’t generic.

Overall it was great, the bed was uncomfortable, and they had one rude doctor but the techs and nurses where really nice and helped me with everything i needed. Art and music therapy was very fun and helped me take my mind off a lot of things. 9/10 good learning experience. -Tj :)

Scheduling needs to be fixed. I had scheduled an appointment a month ago only to show up today and it's not on the schedule. Now I have to wait another month to get my daughter in for a follow up.

This was the best place I’ve been to help me so much I was here back in 2021 for Si and depression and my bipolar disorder this is truly the best place you can go for mental health help!

I went twice about two years ago for self harm. Overall, I'd say my experience was okay. I remember the first time I went, some of the staff didn't listen to my needs. I'm sensitive to loud noises as they cause episodes to come more frequently. I was put in a certain group of people who i got along with just to be moved to one with kids that were a lot more violent. When i mentioned that being with those kids made me feel a lot worse, the lady who was looking over me replied with how i needed to prepare for the outside world as if i didnt go to the hospital to learn how to instead of being put in the exact same environment that brought me there. The second time i went, she'd treat me differently than others and would skip over me in certain activities. I think all that's needed is that certain staff is more considerate on the kids they're dealing with. I also still deal with nightmares from this place. Overall, I believe some people are better off not coming here and looking for someone else as it can lead to worse mental health

I was a patient at this facility on December of 2022, I got admitted because of suicidal thoughts and being through a stage of depression, I’ll start of by giving a big shoutout to Connor (I believe thats his name) he was one of the nurses that actually helped through all of my process he didn’t judge me, he gave really good advices that I’m now following. Yet I don’t give it 5 stars because of some nurses specifically the old one were pretty rude and didn’t care about our mental state at all. This place helped me a lot finding who I’m really am, all the young staff is amazing and even tho I don’t remember any names they were great, after everything that happened with my mental state last year i can proudly say that I just graduated from high school with a 3.7 gpa and heading into college soon. If there is any way I could talk to Connor one more time I will just give him a big hug for being so supportive and for being such a great person that cares about mental health <3 Happy Mental Health Awareness Month and for all the tenemos out there struggling with depression , anxiety , etc please be strong and find a place like this one to help you out you all got this it’s just a phase and everything gets better at the end of the day. Your Life matter <3 Sincerely- Diego Alvarez

i was admitted September 28th, around 2 in the morning after a failed attempt. i never thought things would get better but this facility was the beginning of good things to come for me. every patient is kept on a schedule, from 7 am - 10 pm (i believe) and throughout the day, i attended group therapy, music/art therapy, went outside, and watched my favorite disney movie. my stay was 9 days and throughout these 9 days, i progressively found myself getting happier. huge shoutout to connor, kaitlin, and mark for making my stay more enjoyable too. on my last day, i had everyone sign a paper, and it’s now hanging up framed in my room so i can remember a time i was truly happy, which relates to something mark taught us in group.

I enjoyed this place a lot. The people were very caring and compassionate, I got sent there twice. The only time I had any trouble with this facility, is when an old lady nurse or tech talked to me after I arrived at the building. I told her why I was there.. and she responded with "You should be put in an insane asylum for doing that. Why did you ever do that? Adults do that, not children. You have nothing to be sad about." Passively aggressively raising her voice at me. I started to cry, I was DISGUSTED. I am so glad I never saw her again. That was back in April of 2021. But other than that, this place is amazing. Helped me a lot. :D

as a 2021 patient here, i can seriously say this place helped me. huge shoutout to mrs. allegra and mr. roger!!! i was here twice in 2021 following a suicide attempt. fellow patients and the therapists there gave me hope!! i did knock down a star just because there were some rough moments, but in the long run it helped me. my progress has not in any way been linear, and as im typing this im not in the best headspace. but im still alive, and that matters :))

I was very sad because I was away from my Papa. But on the bright side, they took good care of me. They fed me well 3 times a day, they were very sweet to me, I got a 1 hour phone call and 1 hour visiting time, and I had a pleasant experience aside from me missing my Papa. Thanks CHNOLA! (hopefully no one else ends up back in CHNOLA. But at least they will be taken good care of)

When I first got there they weren’t giving me food so I had to eat gram crackers for 2 days