Extremely disappointing experience with D'Amore Mental Health, especially for a facility that is…read moresupposed to help people seeking mental health treatment.
My fiancé and I spent nearly two weeks communicating with D'Amore Mental Health, trying to get him admitted for residential treatment. From the very beginning, we were completely transparent about his medical history, including the fact that he has been prescribed Concerta for ADHD and has taken stimulant medication for approximately 10 years. At no point during our initial conversations did anyone indicate that this could prevent him from being accepted into their program.
D'Amore instructed us to go through Kaiser to obtain a referral, which was an incredibly difficult, time-consuming, and emotionally exhausting process. We spent days making phone calls, navigating insurance obstacles, and advocating for the treatment he desperately needs. When we finally secured the referral, we felt an overwhelming sense of relief. We genuinely believed he was finally going to receive the help he had been actively seeking.
Yesterday, we began the intake process with D'Amore and were told he could potentially be admitted as soon as 9 a.m. the following morning, pending medical and clinical approval. We were assured we would receive a call early this morning with an update.
That call never came.
After waiting anxiously all morning, we finally called around noon ourselves. We were told the psychiatrist had additional questions about his stimulant medication, specifically how long he had been taking it. My fiancé explained that he had been prescribed stimulants for 10 years and even expressed that he would be willing to discontinue them during treatment if necessary and medically appropriate.
We were once again promised a callback. Once again, nobody called.
At approximately 4 p.m., we had to reach out ourselves for an answer. Only then were we informed that D'Amore's medical team did not believe he should discontinue his prescribed stimulant medication, but they also would not accept him into treatment while taking it.
So after nearly two weeks of communication, being directed through an extremely difficult insurance referral process, and being told he could potentially begin treatment the very next morning, we were ultimately turned away over a medication we had disclosed from the very beginning.
I want to be clear: I understand that treatment facilities have medical criteria and that medication decisions must be made by qualified professionals. My frustration is not that they refused to make a medically inappropriate decision. My frustration is that this information was available to them from day one, yet nobody identified or communicated this potential barrier before we invested so much time, effort, and hope into their program.
What makes this experience even more disappointing is how we were left afterward. We were offered no meaningful alternatives, no recommendations for other facilities, and no guidance on where someone with his treatment needs could turn. Their only suggestion was to contact Kaiser again, despite knowing how difficult that process had already been and that his Kaiser psychiatrist had previously declined our request for inpatient treatment.
Seeking residential mental health treatment is not an easy decision. By the time someone reaches out to a facility like D'Amore, they may already be struggling tremendously. They are placing their trust in professionals to help them navigate an overwhelming and unfamiliar process.
Instead, we spent nearly two weeks believing we were making progress toward getting him help, only to be turned away at the last minute and left to start over entirely on our own.
The lack of proactive communication, transparency, follow-through, and assistance was incredibly disheartening. Having to repeatedly call a mental health treatment facility just to find out whether someone can be admitted the following morning is unacceptable, especially when that person is actively seeking help.
We were genuinely hopeful about D'Amore and excited for my fiancé to begin treatment. That makes this experience all the more upsetting.
I hope D'Amore takes this feedback seriously and reevaluates how it screens prospective patients, communicates potential admission barriers, and supports people when its program is not an appropriate fit.
People who are actively trying to get mental health treatment deserve clear communication, compassion, and guidance--not nearly two weeks of false hope followed by silence and a dead end.
