I was admitted to TPoT in November 2024, and I was released December 2024. So, I was there for a month. I was in their residential program, my insurance didn't approve me for PHP while I was there, but I was okay with that.
Some of it is wheelchair accessible but not all of it.
They treat all genders. I will say I am a transgender man, and the staff kept calling out my deadname in front of clients & continuously calling me she/her. And I have diagnosed gender dysphoria, so that did not help my mental health. I was also housed in the female house, which they did only have one house open for ED clients because there weren't that many, and it was an all-female house. But it did cause discourse amongst clients, who were trying to figure out "what I was". Which did make me uncomfortable. But my housemates were awesome with my gender identity. Something else I will say on this topic, I obviously brought my Testosterone, and the nurse who was doing my intake almost didn't let me have it because I received that vile (which was unopened) in May 2024. The expiration date was May 2025. The instructions say: "Discard 90 days after first use." And I was panicked when the nurse said something along the lines of me not being able to have it because it had been more than 3 months since I had gotten the vile (keep in mind it had not been used, it was unopened). And I quickly pointed out that it stated to throw it away after being opened. I don't even remember the conversation that fully took place because I knew I was walking out right then and there if I wasn't allowed to have my Testosterone. She ended up letting me have it, but if she didn't and I stayed it would have been destroyed, and I pay very close to a full day's paycheck for my Testosterone, so I would've had some major issues with that.
I only saw a medical doctor once during my stay, but I was there for 2 holidays, so I am unsure if that affected that. I saw a psychiatrist once a week. I had a therapy session once a week but saw therapists whenever I needed to at any time. I saw a nutritionist once a week. And I saw a nurse when needed & for med times.
They were kind of under-staffed.
Therapy wise we did DBT, CBT, I think we did ACT as well, and we did Family Systems/Psychodrama therapy which was pretty cool. They do a bunch of other therapies too; those were just the ones I did. And they also had a Bio Sound Machine which is super helpful, and I'd totally recommend signing up for it once a week. It does stuff with your vagus nerve which was nice. Another optional therapy is equine therapy which I'd totally encourage you to do once.
The daily schedule for the ED Residential clients was:
meeting (optional), breakfast, group, lunch, two groups (15 min breaks in between), dinner, meeting, meta (metabolic snack). We had ED group 4 days a week. Mens/Womens Recovery Support Group 2 days a week. Family Systems/Psychodrama therapy 1 day a week. Primary group (men & women together) 2 days a week. Topic group 3 days a week. And the ED clients went grocery shopping in a very supported environment 1 day a week. Weekends have less groups so it's more relaxed which is great.
You are not allowed visitors the first week because the time overlaps with new client orientation, but when you do have visitors, visitation is from 1:00pm - 3:00pm on Sundays.
As far as food goes, meals are eaten together at the table with just the ED clients in the ED house. You could pretty much eat anything, if it wasn't on the list, you could just ask the nutritionist. Like I wanted heart of palm for my salads, and that was easily approved. The food categories are Protein, Starch, Vegetables, Fruit, Dairy, and Fat. You can't have very sugary things, which I find very understandable, but once you level up in their system you can have things like dessert so you can learn how to properly eat that, you discuss it with your primary therapist. If you didn't finish a meal that is okay, especially your first week. The goal is to finish your plate, but all they really ask is that you prep your food & come sit at the table. What you don't eat or finish you get a boost/ensure/owyn for. So, if you ate like 90% of your food, they won't make you drink one. But, if you only finished 50% of your food, then they would measure out how much boost you would need so you can get the proper amount of what your body needs. I have been vegetarian for almost 7 years now, and they supported me and helped me learn how to properly substitute meats. There are 3 levels, I am not going to lie, I don't remember the details of the 3rd one, but they do explain it to you. Level one, you have to measure your foods, you are moderated. Level two, you get to eyeball measurements, and you aren't as highly watched. I got to level 2. Also, you cook your own food there. Which was highly intimidating for me, I didn't know how to cook. The staff was super kind and gentle with me and taught me how to and also tips/tricks. My housemates also stepped in and was giving me guidance if they saw I needed it.
As far as exercise goes, no one is allowed to run for insurance purposes partially, but also because it might cause panic. Which may seem stupid, but for me it isn't because of events that have occurred in my life. You are allowed to go for walks around the village (if you are seen over-doing it, they will ask you to stop). And they also have gym & yoga that you can sign up for, you just have to get approval from your primary therapist.
Their program was trauma informed. I had multiple episodes, including hallucinations (something I experience as a part of my PTSD and have for years), and they responded so well to it. I'm extremely embarrassed of my hallucinations, even the fact that I do. And the support I got from them was literally amazing.
We were not allowed to know our weights.
The average stay seems to be about 2-3 months. My case was different because I was diagnosed with ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), and my team there and I determined that me going to another recovery facility would be best because my OCD effects a lot of it, and we felt I should go somewhere with a program specific for OCD. (Which I would like to highlight this because they genuinely care about helping you and this is one of the centers that is not a part of the FL rehab shuffle.)
Age range was 18 and up, more middle-aged people.
Phone calls, any time that you had time you can pick up the house phone and call someone. And once approved you could have your cellphone for 30 minutes on certain days. And in PHP you got it for 2 hours every day.
They have a strict set of rules which gets complained about a lot, but they really were not hard to follow in my opinion. I didn't get in trouble once, my whole stay. If you do get in trouble, you get a consequence, which is like doing an assignment watched by a tech for 30 minutes. Or cleaning.
We go off property for things like gym, equine therapy, meetings (NA/AA/OA/EDA), shopping, etc.
You come up with an aftercare plan with your therapist that is very thorough. They help you set up a treatment team for when you get out. And the employees will help you with things if you need. For example, writing a resume. Or getting into sober living. Finding a nutritionist for when you get out. Etc.
There were people there from all over the country, which I didn't expect. But after being there I can see why. Their team is awesome.
Besides the trans stuff being mishandled, the only other complaints I would have is:
At meetings we are intermingled with other people, and there are creeps. I felt like the techs on those outings didn't watch closely enough and had multiple encounters with old men specifically. And the same happened to my younger female housemate.
The meds being at specific times sucks. While you are told you can get a Tylenol when needed, some nurses will tell you to come back later when the med line opens. And it was also irritating when I would come to get my morning med because I couldn't take it during med line time on days I went to morning meetings, and I can't take it on an empty stomach (legitimately labeled as so on the bottle), and they would be like "You should've gotten this earlier" when ED clients are supposed to be excused from that sort of thing. There are not many nurses like this (like 2-3), so you will quickly figure out who your favorite nurses are.
They were very disorganized. I used to work a caretaking job where I worked 126 hours straight, I didn't get to go home, I got a two hour break a day, I had to prioritize feeding the client over myself and was expected to eat at the same time I was feeding the client, etc. And we were more organized there. I don't mean it disrespectfully, but I just feel like they need to figure out a better way to clearly communicate.
Last complaint, they do not know how to properly work with individuals with autism. Which absolutely sucked. I was constantly educating not only techs but therapists. And I asked if they were suited to work with people with Autism, if I was them, I wouldn't have said yes. I had multiple shutdowns that easily could have been avoided with proper training. And it's not that hard to have a group come out and educate their staff about autism.
So yeah, that is literally the only negative things I have to say about it.
On the positive side, I am so much healthier now. I was at the point where I had to wear knee-braces because my legs would give out. I couldn't pick up a gallon without shaking horribly, etc. I learned so much helpful information about how to properly feed myself, conflict resolution, thinking patterns, coping mechanisms, trauma, boundaries, thinking before reacting, etc. And then not only that but we also had people come in and educate about STIs, etc which is so important.
Something that may be off-putting to those of us who don't follow an Abrahamic religion is their use of the word "God". I won't state my exact religion, but I am polytheistic. I was worried at first that they were going to push this "God" onto me. But they use it just as a short word for spirituality, any god, higher powers, higher self, etc. Which comforted me a lot because I constantly get people trying to convert me. Everyone there, staff & clients, took interest and would ask me great questions about my religion which also made me feel better. Because instead of them coming from a place of judgement it was a place of curiosity. And I appreciated that a lot.
I would rate this recovery center 8/10. The positives definitely out-weigh the negatives here. No recovery center is ever going to be a 10/10. It's just like schools. I would highly recommend this center to anyone struggling with an ED and/or Chemical Dependency.
To the reader - I wish you strength and healing on your journey, you are worth it.
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