CASA Recovery

I went to Casa Recovery PHP and it was so bad I left after 5 days at a last minute flight to my hometown. They do not treat mental health very well there; my therapist and councilor did not know what to do for me; the nurse was rarely there to go over medications; we were constantly crammed in one small room for mostly everything; the "holistic services" were a mockery; and the director of the place herself told me essentially to suck it up (when I was having severe anxiety on that Friday I left) and get back to class or she will have to resort to "Plan B". I was afraid to find out what that meant. She also told me I don't need to see the doctor despite me requesting to see one, and there was not going to be a doctor there. When I was leaving and I needed to get my meds since they were locked up, I was told there "might" be someone to get them. No one did. But later that night when I was at the airport I was told the nurse (the one that was never available) was actually available, got my meds and sent them Fed Ex. But not overnight; maybe sometime Tuesday they'll arrive. So in the meantime I had to go to an urgent care to get some emergency prescriptions. Casa also complained how much it cost to ship them to me. The House Manager was also barely there. I was left alone a lot of the times in the house I was at and this was terrible for my anxiety. When I went to the House Manager for help when my anxiety got bad, she didn't know what to do; she refused to call the nurse because she didn't want to bother the nurse over my anxiety. And since she worked 2 jobs, she would leave me alone. It was when I was leaving and in an Uber to the airport that suddenly everyone in the world in Casa was suddenly available to talk to me and to work things out to get me to stay. While I was talking to the director over the phone about why I was leaving she abruptly hung up on me and never called me back. The classes are awful too. The "therapeutic and gentle" yoga was over 20 of us squished so compactly in the main room they used that there was no floor space left. The yoga instructor complained the mats smelled and to clean them with a cleaning solution that she said she did not know what was in it. Once yoga got underway, it was so fast, loud, and too advanced only 4 people in the entire room were still doing it; everyone else was using the time for nap time. The "meditation" was run by a 25 year old guy that was freaking high the entire time. He blasted his indie rock music for 2 hours and told us to relax; he also went around the room asking us about our concept of God, which I did not appreciate. The mandatory Alumni meeting they had Wednesday night was horrible. It was someone that dropped out of Casa after 2 months there (she was there for addiction) so she could go get high. The entire hour speech she had was glorifying her drug and alcohol use, and not one part of it was talking about how Casa helped her...which it obviously did not since she dropped out to go on a drug binge in a tent. And it was f-bomb this and f-bomb that every sentence. But the people at Casa thought she was amazing and inspiring. When I brought up my concerns about the speaker to my councilor, she said that it should be inspiring enough that she's sober for 8 months now. The staff there are highly unprofessional too. Loud noises trigger me; everyone was so loud and blasting music when they could; they were all dropping f-bombs all over the place. We also were required to go to 4 evening meetings in one week at places outside of Casa; most were for addiction. When I went to an AA meeting, I was told I had to introduce myself as an alcoholic so I wouldn't get kicked out (I don't drink). No one helped me there; no one listened. As long as I showed up and went to classes and didn't bother them about anything else, things were fine. The main contact there is their pitchman or salesman. He made the place sound incredible, profession, and organized. It was anything but. But he was excellent in selling it.

Facility was okay, meals could have been better.

Strengths included; effective treatment and exercises. Weaknesses were meals and schedules. I loved it. I got so much better there and it helped me grow as a person.

Casa Recovery saved my life. They not only helped me break free from the bondage of addiction, but also were instrumental in repairing the relationship with my family. The therapists and counselors really cared and I feel provided very personalized treatment to address the issues I was dealing with. The accommodations were great — beautiful, comfortable, beach community homes. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to get sober when I first went to Casa but, after the first 30 days, I knew that I had found a new way to live... happy and clean!

Total Commitment to client's and their families.