Southwestern Behavioral Health Center

i personally got sent there, in adolescence unit and my experience really changes me and how my point of view of life is. the staff was amazing and treated the teens amazing no matter how stubborn we were. if you are in need of seeking help i 100% recommend this place.

Was locked up there back in 1992 it was called great plains at that time . think i hold the record of going in and out a bout 9 times in a roll from age 12 to 14 in patient and out patient got slamed more times than i could remember i even put toast and jelly in a vcr just for kicks made where all the tvs was off limits from that point on . only takes one to screw it up for the next i guess . i remember they use to call doctor strong when you'd get out of control they even killed an ol boy who was 14 years old back when i was there even had a ol girl knock a staff in the head and run out the side door in rtc unit . i use draw lot in the school they had i refuse to do the work so they got lot my drawings wish i had them back lol last time i was there 26 yrs ago they sent me to a tulsa boys home of course but damn them was the days im 40 yrs old now and just a part of my childhood that had pass but i think it made me who i am any ways anybody from them times 1992 serve time there hit me up lol anyways hope it still helping ppl these days

My daughter went here they called everytime something happened or they changed a med. They have really helped her alot.

Wife was in she said it was great and it helped her out greatly im so thankful to them and the food is awesome

Adult Unit

Nobody likes to be taken into inpatient care.
I know this, as someone who has been taken into inpatient care twice now.

But, after the first initial day of shock, homesickness and anxiety- you begin to realize why you're here to begin with.

And that is because you need help.

I had a pleasant experience, despite the grossness of my room's bathroom and the one snotty nurse who talked about patients as if we were animals.

Food was fantastic and the other nurses were phenomenal.

Groups were decent yet repetitive and verbal- not many hands on activities.

It was deathly boring, but I wasn't there to be entertained- I was there to be medicated correctly and taken care of.

Overall, it helped me, and I hope it helps you.

Adult unit deserves so much more love than its been getting from the company as its very shabby, and it makes the stay awful for its patients.

My son was sent to Southwestern children center they was great while he was there 28 days but then he got sent home with no meds here it is 4 days later and we are still without his meds ! We have called and get the run around and the whole reason my son was sent to them is to get the help he needed !!!

Hated it, I’m still traumatized to this day. This was an absolute hell and I felt like the staff didn’t really care at all. That wasn’t therapy, that was a sad excuse.
I was put in a section with other teens my age and many of them made me very uncomfortable but I couldn’t do anything except deal with it. Two were obsessed with me and one hit me in the face with a ball and called me stupid. Absolutely nothing was done about that whatsoever. Legal names and pronouns are based on what’s on your birth certificate, if you asked them to call you differently they refused and said they didn’t have a choice or something along the lines. They made us go to the gym that smells like sweaty feet and school everyday, the scrubs they make us wear are garbage. It was absolutely FREEZING 24/7. I asked for a sweatshirt several times and they never gave me one when everyone else had one. No extra blankets were provided and if you had a “roommate” you would just put one bed out in the hall and switch every night. Neglect, Passive aggressiveness, nonchalant and uncaring people is what you will find at southwestern behavioral center. The only good thing about it was the food, but even so I wouldn’t send my worst enemy there.

I seriously recommended going somewhere else, unless you want to be much worse than you were before. Save yourself, and your loved ones, please.

This is by far the most uncoordinated mental health facility I've ever encountered. Covid really did a lot to facilities people are so unorganized and there's people and places that they should not be. The intake is a joke I literally did their job for them. Amanda is suppose to be one of the managers and she needs an assistant cause she cant keep up. I was told that there was no bed for my daughter we may have to go out of state. So me being in the medical field I started my own digging. I called facilities not only did I find three beds in oklahoma but I had to get names and faxes call to verify that all my childs information was received. We were at swmc hosp for over 40 hours. My daughter was even forgotten about at the hospital by nurses my child did not even get her mental health meds for 40hrs. I was back and forth Amanda didn't even want to return my phone calls. The director at the hospital told her to call me at the hospital and she didn't I had to call her myself as well. What is a shame we live in Lawton and whenever my daughter has problems again I'm going to have to encounter the same kind of problems again. Due to lack of resources communication and unorganization the process is going to be a long road. And she had the nerve to give me attitude when they drop the ball. I will make sure to know I have to do their job if my daughter needs Services again so we'll be going to Oklahoma City no ifs ands or buts. As you can see I don't think this place will ever have a five-star rating. Look at all the other complaints and I hope that other people will share their experiences well. Maybe if they're understaffed they can get fully staffed so that way that they could get their ratings up and be a better facility for children.

This entire facility is a joke. From the "school" to the therapist. IF they have either. My child went a week without school because it was "too cold" and they didn't have heaters. The therapist is just as useless as the air system. Talks in circles, contradicts herself and doesn't hold the patient to any sort of accountability.
I honestly feel like my child will be leaving here worse off than they were when admitted

Please consider taking your child to any other hospital other than this one. I was not pleased that this was the first clinic available while sitting in ER for many hours. I have worked with this hospital in the past and have found it to be just the same now as it was then. Very frustrating. My daughter was admitted almost six weeks ago. The first week in, I anticipated receiving the first medication phone call. I did not anticipate all five medications being given at one time. Any other hospital we’ve worked with in the past with other children, gradually introduced a medication after spending time with the child’s team. The nurse that phoned seemed very agitated when I did not give an immediate “yes” and seemed very taken aback when I told her I wasn’t going to allow my child to be given Lithium on top of the other new medications. All of which the pharmacist advised caution due to the high dosages and them being within the same class. Every week, we would have our therapy sessions by phone and at the end of the call I would ask what my child’s diagnosis was, never getting anything other than, “you’ll need to call and speak with the psychiatrist.” Each time I’ve called, the phone has continued to ring and ring without an answer. My daughter did not have any complaints about staff being improper or rude to her. She said that they were pleasant. She did note that a staff member was advising other patients about if they were pulled early, they would not receive their medications. This made her very nervous. My child had a continuous rash off and on. Has spoken about falling asleep during sessions because she was very tired. It was brought to the doctors attention but nothing adjusted. When I mentioned pulling my child after being their for almost five weeks, I was told it would be against medical advice and was then followed up with how they could and would take me to court if the doctor doesn’t not feel she’s ready. I can understand if it was a short period of time, but after five weeks of being told, “we’re continuing to work on our goals, and will continue with the plan.” Still no diagnosis. I was spoken to like I had lied about calling to speak to someone about her diagnosis.After a nurse was called in to speak about my child mentioning being given different medications, she confirmed how the possibility of reaching no one was very likely. Only then did the therapist step back in and tell me the “official diagnosis” and that the therapist doesn’t call or reach out to parents. Perhaps we were spoiled in the past with each member of the team calling to introduce themselves, talking in depth about the treatment and diagnosis, and giving a call for permission for everything from medication, lip balm, or a laxative and keeping us updated about everything going on. We were not told about the lethargy, the incontinence, or the rash she experienced while here. We mentioned revocation of treatment twice and both times were denied. Instead, given a single day pass one week and then discharge closer to the 6th week. Upon discharge, we tried to pick up the medications from the pharmacy because they were sent ahead. Soonercare let us know that discharge was not showing on their end and it was a fight for the pharmacy to fill the medications. Even now, we still do not have all of the medications prescribed. All six. My daughter is currently going through withdrawals. She has stated that she feels worse now than before she went in. Her depression is better but everything else is just worse. That she feels like she needs to return to a hospital just to feel normal but that she doesn’t want to feel excessively tired anymore. She is distraught that her life is not “normal”. This has been her first experience and so far it’s been horrible. Please do not leave an auto reply of how I should call and speak with whomever about my experience. I have no intentions of returning to this place or utilizing its care again. I would rather make a daily commute to Oklahoma City or Texas than this place.