Rowiteen Reviews 3

My son was in and out of treatment at ROWI’s Thousand Oaks location for several months. For the most part, it was a great experience—ROWI has a strong team of therapists and a solid program designed to support kids struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse.

However, we later discovered that ROWI had not drug tested my son for several weeks, despite the fact that he was supposed to be tested weekly. Unfortunately, during that time, he had been using drugs. As soon as we found out, we immediately reached out to his therapist to discuss the situation and determine the best course of action. Had we been informed sooner, we could have addressed it right away, so learning about this delay was incredibly upsetting.

When ROWI became aware that he was using, they abruptly discharged him over the holidays, leaving us in crisis mode with no support system in place. It was an overwhelming and distressing situation, and we had no idea how to handle it. What made it even more painful was that not a single person from ROWI reached out to offer guidance or support, despite the strong relationships we had built with his team.

I struggle to understand how a treatment center that specializes in helping teens facing these exact challenges could dismiss a patient so suddenly. It was an incredibly disappointing ending, and I believe new families entering the program should be aware of this possibility.

My teenager attended the Tustin location of ROWI, and I had concerns about the therapists' level of clinical experience. It seemed like many had minimal, if any, hands-on clinical practice after graduating, and there was no evidence of supervision from senior therapists. One therapist, for instance, was working part-time as a barista in addition to their role at ROWI, which was concerning given that PHP programs often handle complex and challenging cases.

There was no intake session with the parents to discuss my teen's mental health history, which felt like a significant oversight. Moreover, communication with families was minimal--they only scheduled one family session over a two-week period. Overall, the program seemed to keep families at a distance, which was disappointing given the importance of collaboration in mental health treatment.

My 14 year old son attended ROWI in Long Beach from 2022 to 2023. He started with the PHP program and progressed into the IOP program. In total, my son was in the ROWI program for five months. In that time, he did make progress with his depression, defiance and behaviors: however it was very slow going and he had little respect for the ROWI program except for his individual counselor who he felt was helpful. My wife and I kept him in the program because he was making slow progress, and because there were very few alternatives available.

Throughout the process, I had requested copies of the treatment plan, and the progress notes with regard to my son's treatment at ROWI. My son signed a release form so I could receive the notes. Until a few years ago, I was also a healthcare professional and am aware of the confidentiality laws within the State of California and the Federal patient confidentiality laws. Unfortunately, ROWI summarily denied all requests for information pertaining to my son's clinical treatment. While my son was attending ROWI, California patient confidentiality laws allow for keeping records confidential from parents unless a release of information is signed, and my son did sign the required release.

Tragically, my son lost his battle with mental health and took his life while attending the ROWI intensive outpatient program. There was no warning, and the ROWI staff reported not having any idea that he was in the state of mind to consider suicide. However, I have learned that the elevation in mood and increased energy and cooperation in the few days leading up to his suicide are clinically documented warning signs that the patient is in a dangerous transitional phase. Unfortunately, the staff at ROWI were apparently not trained or aware of these characteristics and instead reported during family group that my son was having a breakthrough in his treatment. However, I do not blame ROWI for my son's death as they were doing the best they could.

I do have a significant problem with what has happened since my son's death. ROWI has still refused to provide any of my son's treatment records. Now that my son is dead, there is no longer any protections afforded by the California patient confidentiality laws. The executive management at ROWI has refused to communicate with me. To add insult to injury, none of the staff at ROWI had the decency to attend my son's memorial service. We did get a phone call from someone who was not on our treatment team that provided us with the names of a couple of therapists for counseling. However, none of the treatment team has bothered to check on how my wife or I are doing after this terrible trauma.

So I am left with the following perception. ROWI really does not care all that much about their patients. I don't think they write treatment plans or monitor progress according to any treatment goals; at least I have not seen any evidence of it. They seem to provide the highest level of treatment that insurance will pay for, and when that runs out they go after the next highest level of treatment insurance will pay for, and so on. And when the patient is no longer in the program, even if the patient dies while on their watch, they cut all communication with the family that had been participating in treatment as well. I think their actions speak volumes: the leadership at ROWI violates the law with regard to the disclosure of patient records, and the therapists and staff that supposedly cared so much for my son did not even write so much as an email to express their condolences.

ROWI is so very disappointing. My recommendation is to find other treatment options somehow. I know it is difficult, but clearly this program is simply not operating in the best interest of your loved one.

To add further information, when the CEO of ROWI saw my review, she reached out and ended up calling me a liar. After the Department of Health and Human Services contacted them on my behalf, I was promised a treatment summary report within a week, but so far there has been no further contact or report generated.