ABOUT HARTFORD HOSPITAL’S INSTITUTE OF LIVING
Founded in 1822, the Institute of Living (IOL) was one of the first mental health facilities in the United States. Located in Hartford, Conn., the nonprofit facility became a division of Hartford Hospital in 1994 and offers a wide range of residential and outpatient behavioral, psychiatric, and addiction services for children, adolescents, and adults. Suboxone treatment is available for opioid dependency.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
According to the facility’s website, at IOL, clients receive treatment specifically designed for them that focuses on the individual as a whole.
The facility’s best practices are based off clinical research, evidence-based outcome studies, advances in psychopharmacology, and input from former clients. Individuals can access the Assessment Center at any time to receive an assessment and advice for how to start or continue a path towards recovery.
Residential services are available for clients who require 24-hour supervision. The two on campus locations house individuals of varying ages and at different phases of their disorders. According to the facility’s website, access is typically gained by referral from a therapist in the community. Eli’s Retreat is a 13-bed facility that offers short- and long-term stays. Staff administer medications, and clients are sent on routine social and recreational outings. The Todd House, which is funded by grants, also offers residential treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders on the main campus.
Outpatient programs comprise a large aspect of the facility’s treatment. There are specific tracks for children and adolescents, adults, and the elderly as well as for those specifically struggling with anxiety, eating disorders, and depression. The facility also treats mood disorders in women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth and offers specialized tracks for those struggling with schizophrenia. Additionally, the facility offers assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for those with memory disorders or dementia.
IOL is the first facility to offer TMS Therapy, a new treatment for depression. For four to six weeks, clients partake in a daily, 40-minute procedure where magnetic fields stimulate nerve cells in the area of the brain linked to this mental disorder. The non-invasive procedure is meant for those who have been unresponsive to other forms of treatment for depression.
For young people between the ages of 17 and 26, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, and some residential treatment tracks are available.
On a volunteer basis, the facility also offers psychiatric vocational services. Clients participate in gardening, catering, or retail jobs to learn work-related skills. Support groups are offered for continued motivation.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The center’s website indicates the treatment team includes clinicians, social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses. The lone loved one questioned by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave four out of five stars.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND AMENITIES
The facility’s website programming is hosted in several buildings throughout the 35-acre, landscaped campus, which is planted with many rare and unusually large tree species.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
At the time of this writing, Best-rehabs.com has yet to receive feedback about this facility from alumni. However, the 23 people who left reviews on Google at the time of this writing provided an average 2.4 out of five stars.[1]
It’s important to note that many individuals left 1-star reviews who have watched a documentary about the treatment facility and to best knowledge haven’t actually attended Institute of Living.
However, some alumni complained that they didn’t receive enough therapy and were given too much medication. But, few alumni did praised the treatment center and the staff.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The lone loved one provided mostly positive feedback. They gave five out of five stars for treatment effectiveness and four stars for its ability to treat co-occurring disorders.
“Good treatment. To prison like. My friend was an addict. Now he is not,” they wrote.
CONCLUSION
According to the treatment center’s website, Hartford Hospital’s IOL program takes private insurance as well as Medicare, out-of-state Medicaid, and other state assistance.
Institute of Living is featured in a documentary series on Netflix called The Keepers . In the documentary, it’s revealed the treatment center once had a unit specifically for treating clergy, which was often for priests who have had inappropriate relationships with children, according to a 2017 Bustle article.
However, the treatment center no longer has a “formal relationship with the Catholic Church and its clergy treatment program has been eliminated,” the article stated.
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