Wellspring

I was a resident in 1992 to 1994. Wellspring helped me tremendously. Especially the Adventure Program where we would go on hikes. I found a love of nature and friendships for a lifetime. The current director, Dan Murray was my therapist and he was so gentle and caring. He cared a great deal about all of his patients. Many of us are still friends and remember him so fondly. I also went on to Angelus House at 18 and finished my senior year of high school at the local public high school. The transition helped me gain confidence and lifelong friendships from there as well. Thank you for the lessons. Many sunk in much later in life, but you helped plant the seeds.

Wellspring gave me back my daughter who smiles again. As my gift back to this wonderful organization, I painted this image, using happy colors to describe my happiness. It represents hope for healing, calmness, happiness and a return home with big changes. Thank you very much!

Wellsprings was very nice and treated me for the most part well. What I didn’t like is them knowing I was on a medication that caused a lot of weight gain and instead of taking me off it kept me on which obviously put my health at risk.

I attended Wellspring for a whopping FOUR years. I essentially grew up there. I began my journey there when I was 11 years old. I was originally in Shiloah house, and later moved on to Beauvais. I struggled a lot as a child with ODD, and fought back with the staff a lot. But y'know what? Those amazing people NEVER gave up on me. My therapist, the wonderful Kathy Dowling, saved my life many many times, along with her coworker/assistant/other therapist Joe Mancinone. There, I met Trish and Jamie, who showed me love, however tough it was. I fell in love with the animal program, and school was amazing. Shiloah house was my family for almost four years, and I will never forget anyone. My mom was fighting cancer while I was in Shiloah, and she unfortunately passed away while I was still there, on a home pass. Kathy and Joe took time out of their day on the weekend and drove all the way from CT to NY to attend her funeral with me. I was 16 when I left. I spend my entire adolescence there and if I could go back, I wouldn't change a thing. They were my family, and I loved them. Please, if you have a child in need of therapeutic help, CONSIDER WELLSPRING. I cannot tell you enough how this place changed my entire life. This picture is me and my mom in the Shiloah kitchen before she passed, baking.

Wellspring is a wonderful place. Before she got there, my daughter spent more than a year in and out of various placements to address her mental health. No matter how great the program, she wasn't getting any better. Once she got to Wellspring, the fabulous staff offered her and our entire family the wrap around care that was needed to fully support her. Her knowledgable therapist understood what she was going through in ways we could not, and helped us to understand. The staff saw her through things she hadn't been able to reveal before. And during her time there, she attended school - realized how much she loves learning, made friends, and even found a special connection to nature while participating in the land and animal program. It will always hold a special place in our hearts. I can't recomend it enough.

Simply put, this place needs to be investigated and shut down. I know far too many people who have had horrific experiences at Wellspring, myself included. The expressive therapy methods, which Wellspring swears by, have been proven to cause more problems, and multiple professionals have warned about these negative affects. Beyond the professional opinions, my personal experiences have left me needing more therapy from actual caring individuals to process everything that happened during my 10+ years in Wellspring's care. I suffered everything from verbal abuse, to inappropriate touching, to gaslighting and neglect all at the hands of the people at Wellspring. Keep in mind, the abusive staff weren't just a few people here and there. The very founders ignored what was happening in my home so that they could better use my family as their legacy. Please understand, my story was in papers; we were Wellspring's "golden family" and they were dead set on keeping us all together, even if it meant neglecting to address the abuse that was happening in my home. If I talked about it, I was verbally abused and shut down. Only one staff member cared about what I was saying, the rest led groups against me trying to leave my abusive household. Staff would lead my peers into calling me an idiot and they would ignore anything I said, even when I told them I was suffering. While I was in school, a kid I had been friends with murdered his mom. Another kid committed suicide. After I graduated in 2014, nearly everyone I knew from Wellspring struggled with addiction and a couple more people didn't make it. This is a place that brainwashes kids and families into thinking that the abuse is beneficial. This is a place that allows predatory staff to work there, and forces out the few people that actually cared. This is a place that reprimand kids hugging, but allows and encourages adults to swaddle and pet children. This place played a big part in my brothers suicide, and they will never acknowledge it. None of us were set up for success and those of us who have survived have done so in spite of, not because of, Wellspring. Avoid this place at all costs.

Wellspring works wonders! I was a resident at both Beauvais House and Angelus House. It is astonishing to see the person that walked into the doors and then the person who left several months later. I was initially depressed and lost touch of the "real Julie". Wellspring helped me on my path back home to myself. The work was hard, to say the least, but my life changed because of it. I am now happily in college, have a better relationships with the people in my family, speak kindly to myself, take care of myself, have strong and healthy relationships with friends, and so much more. I want to say that Wellspring changed my life, but that is not true. I changed my life because of the love and support I received each and every day. The people that entered the doors of Wellspring were magnificent. I could easily tell everyone cared for us so deeply. I always said, "the staff are in for life or not at all." I also made life-changing relationships with the other residents. I still keep in touch with almost all of them and I am forever grateful for the bonds we have. So long story short, Wellspring is a place of healing, love, and growth. It is a place I am forever grateful for and will always hold in my heart.

I lived in the girls house for almost 2 years in the early 2000s. Best thing that ever happened to me. I still look at my sand tray photos and replay the stories. I miss the sock contests in expressive. It was a safe, loving, supportive environment. I learned a lot about myself and how to get through life with my toolbox. Mad without mean sticks with me to this day. I don't know where I'd be without Ann, Holly, Liz, Marty, LSD(Laura), Courtney, Patti, and everyone else I crossed paths with at the spring. Kinda wish I could go back and stay forever. Thank you to all.