Rita D i started my journey with Bell in January 2020 and although I struggled the first year and a half I never gave up because at Bellwoods I learned that I could always keep trying and my struggles were never a failure but my path to sobriety. I am now 6 months cleans and sober because I learned at Bellwoods to just keep trying and that I was worth it thank so much Bellwoods and everyone I met there read more

i wouldnt recommend this rehab to recovering addict at all they are playing a vey weird mind game that made my condition even worse . and when i tried to discuss things with their clinical general directors ( reza ) whom mentoind he is been a therapist for around 20 years . agitated me and called me crazy to the point that i had to laeve the treatment and i was scared that they ask for cancellation money so i kept my mouth shot . this is just a tip out of my courage . try to stay away from their staff , directors , pc and sc cause they dont care about you and they are up to sth else , they say everything is "confidential" only between themselves which sound interesting to me . just do your best to focus on you rather thank listening to "fake" and "egotistical" therapists and drs . kind regards my friends stay hard and safe at all time dont let them abuse you and tell you otherwise . read more

This review is a direct result of our personal experience over the last month with Bellwood. I would never, ever recommend this facility no matter how desperate you are to help out a loved one with their mental health struggles. Bellwood is marketed extremely well, but you quickly realize the substance of what is advertised is not delivered, and our son was in nothing but constant crisis while at this facility. They talk about access to the proper healthcare professionals...this did not occur, and as a result our sons condition did not change while in their care, and he chose to leave the facility 3 weeks into the 7 week program as a result. The facility allowed someone in a full mental health crisis to just check out and provided them no medication, no resources and left him to fend for himself...this is an absolute disgrace and is negligent care. I would never expose anyone I love to this facility, as their disorganization, lack of support for clients and terrible communication will surely leave you disappointed despite paying them tens of thousands of dollars to attend their facility. I will be filing a formal complaint with the Ministry of Health about this facility as they should not be allowed to operate. read more

Bellwood is a shambles as a mental health treatment center. While it is challenging enough to be dealing with a loved one that has been diagnosed with a mental health issue, the challenges of an organization such as Bellwood multiply charging its fees on your cc adds exponentially to ones stress and detriment of mental health. Despite contacting the accounting department after the first 'error' in charging my account double the amount before my loved one even started the program, my account was fraudulently charged after 3 weeks into the program!! There was no notice that I was to be charged again and it was not time to be charged again. They were only to charge the second 4 weeks if the patient was to continue. Although the patient wanted to continue Bellwood discharged the patient with no support and no plan!! YET they charged my cc!!!!!! The start was also very challenging for the patient...counsellors would make appointments with the patient that were cancelled within half an hour of the appointment!! This is a very challenging situation when dealing with someone that has mental health issues - you;d think a mental health support program would at least be able to offer stability in their practice. Cancelling someone within half and hour of an appointment is challenging enough for someone without mental health issues when it might cause you to consider oneself irrelevant, cancelling on someone with mental health issues that has spent hours mentally preparing for the appointment is beyond unacceptable. And this is coming from a facility that deems to be a force in managing people with mental health? The experience has left our loved one in a more vulnerable position that before interacting with this program. - No one at Bellwood can be trusted, the program itself and the sales people that say they are empathetic and supportive Definitely cannot be trusted - they just want YOUR MONEY!!! Money hungry Bellwood...that they certainly do with efficiency. When asked what type of support they can recommend, we were told that they would submit a report with recommendations....when my husband said 'we need more than to tell us to read psychology today' . The letter that followed recommended we read Psychology today!!!! seriously????? read more

I would not reccomend this health facility for anyone needing treatment for Anxiety or Depression. A dear friend of mind suffering with anxiety spent 7 weeks there. He came home worse than when admitted. They put him on Benzos and an antidepressant. Took 3 weeks to see a Psychologist. No one to one consultanting. Cost was almost 40k which would have been fine if the treatment protocol would have helped his condition. No difference whatsoever. Maybe their programs for addiction are facilitated more professional manner. read more

A recent decision to pursue help with sexual addiction issues brought me to Bellwood for an intake and assessment. Based on the limited interactions I had with their staff and facility, I would go no further in seeking their assistance. The phone assessment was brusque, invasive and immediate, asking intrusive questions for their purposes with no concern that I may feel comfortable discussing my issues with a stranger over the the phone. When I did arrive for the assessment, I was asked to answer a variety of yes and no queries that seem to arrive at the same conclusion - I required their $23000 residential stay. I was not given the option for outpatient, or asked what would work best for me. This was their recommendation. I had repeatedly told them what I needed and was looking for, but this was seemingly disregarded. Understanding the mental health system, and supports, as I have been in residential settings before, I do appreciate the need to collect information; however, yes or no questionnaires tend to skew results and turn people from complex individuals to a numbered result. I felt that the intake worker, an older gentleman, was insensitive at best ("your results don't need to be scored as I can see clearly you have a problem" is not a very kind statement for a professional to make, nor was it necessary). In addition, I kept being referred to as homosexual. In the year 2017, it boggles my mind that I am given three options for identity - heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual. No opportunity to self-label. And to refer to me throughout as homosexual was clinical and offensive. I wouldn't expect a facility that was privately run to use language from the medical texts of the 50's and 60's. The intake worker also could not address any of my questions regarding LGBTQ sensitivity in the programming. He referred me to a counsellor who he said would call, and as of yet, has not (over a week wait, when he said they'd call the Tuesday following my Saturday intake). Unacceptable. If I were truly in crisis, I would be spinning from the wait. No private facility should drop the ball in this manner. I would expect delays in the underfunded public system. When facilities, private or public, stop using long form, yes or no questionnaires that dehumanize subjects, and when they open up the dialogue and ask "what would help you best" versus what works best for them, we may see improvements in patient outcomes. Bellwood certainly needs to take a look at how they assess and intake their potential clients, and work on LGBTQ sensitivity. I would never trust my mental health to a patronizing and backwards institution such as this. If you are LGBTQ, I strongly urge you to look elsewhere for care, where the opportunity for mental health partnerships exist, and where they understand the diverse and unique needs of our community. read more

I attended Bellwood for the OCD program run through Sunnybrook. It's the first OCD treatment program in Canada. I've been in other facilities trying to get treatment for my condition; the sad fact was I didn't get better because treatment for other psychiatric conditions can make OCD worse. Of all the treatment facilities I've been in, Bellwood is superior. Every single staff member I encountered from the receptionist, to the cleaning staff, to the nursing staff, to the kitchen staff to the support counselors to the treatment counselors are exceptional. Just the small touches all add up to feeling cared about and that goes so very far. Kitchen staff smiled continuously and since I rarely asked for 2nd's didn't mind giving me that extra slice of bacon. I got hugs from one of the cleaning staff ladies I had lovely talks with after return for aftercare. I would walk down the hall doing something and the very nice gentleman who cleaned my room asked me if I would like the laundry room opened after hours so I could put my wet towel in laundry. I have panic attacks and more than once support counselors walked me to my treatment room because I just wasn't feeling okay to get there on my own. During adjustment period I was very panic riddled. A support counselor spent a good 2 hours with me. The next day I went to sleep early without dinner, one of the nurses told him, and he knocked on my door to see if I was okay and to offer to bring me food. The receptionist and I had hilarious pun jokes going on between us, she would look after my daily per because we couldn't take food to our rooms and she became my "peartaker". That started a daily run of pear puns between us. A couple of nights I woke up around 2 am and couldn't escape my obsessions. I'd wander the facility and go from room to room OCD sorting. A nurse that I'd become close to tracked me down, sat me down, and we had long talks. Instead of continuing to sort I would return to bed. The other clients all support and challenge each other. At Bellwood we aren't segregated by treatment type so I had a wide range of people I could eat with, watch hockey with and socialize with. They truly gave me my value as a person back. People often went in saying they went there through no choice of their own and didn't want to be there, then after a very short time were having the time of their life, found the treatment very inspiring, and if they did have to leave the facility for an outing or appointment, couldn't wait to return. I personally left Bellwood feeling better than I had in years! Amazing place :) read more