ABOUT MIRROR LAKE RECOVERY CENTER
Located on 75 acres of land in Burns, Tenn., Mirror Lake Recovery Center offers residential substance abuse treatment, along with a partial hospitalization program (PHP), a 32-bed medically monitored detox unit, and a specialized opioid detox service that lasts 12 days. Clients with co-occurring disorders are also treated.
TREATMENT &ASSESSMENT
All clients receive a comprehensive assessment upon admission, which includes learning their medical, substance use, and treatment history.
Treatment at Mirror Lake involves three phases: detox, residential treatment, and a PHP program with housing. The residential program includes round-the-clock supervision and incorporates 12-step methodology with a variety of evidence-based practices including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, and the Stages of Change treatment model. Clients receive individualized treatment plans and participate in individual, group, and family therapy, as well as experiential activities such as yoga and art therapy. Medication management is also offered, if needed.
Once clients have completed the residential treatment phase, they can move into the PHP, which provides greater amounts of freedom, as well as room and board. While continuing to receive the same therapy they were getting during the residential phase, clients also focus on strengthening the recovery skills they’ve learned, as well as developing a comprehensive plan for discharge, including aftercare suggestions.
All clients who successfully graduate become members of the Mirror Lake Recovery Center Alumni Program.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
According to the facility’s website, the treatment team includes a full medical staff, nurses and nurse practitioners, therapists, counselors, and other specialists.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Images on the facility’s website show a serene environment with ponds and large areas for outdoor recreation. The five alumni surveyed by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave the facility an average of 3.8 out of five stars for its accommodations and amenities.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Alumni reviews for Mirror Lake are mixed. Of the five former clients surveyed by Best-rehabs.com, four gave the facility positive reviews, awarding it mostly four and five out of five stars across 15 different evaluated metrics, including its treatment effectiveness, its cleanliness, its affordability, and its usage of 12-step practices. Erica described the staff as “very kind” and told Best-rehabs.com: “They truly help u get threw everything and help u live a good life.” J.A. lauded Mirror Lake for providing a “great atmosphere;” however, the reviewer did note that the program could use a wider variety of treatment options.
The one negative reviewer gave the facility ratings of mostly one and two out of five stars across the 15 different metrics, including the accuracy of the facility’s marketing materials. “It wasn’t as big as it looked online. Was not enough room for people to sit,” they wrote.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The three loved ones surveyed by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave Mirror Lake mostly positive reviews, praising the facility for its caring staff and effective treatment. “The staff was caring and truly invested in my loved one’s recovery…My brother got better and has stayed substance-free since discharge,” wrote an anonymous family member in a representative review.
One loved one, Teresa, complained that it was extremely hard to get through to anyone at the facility on the phone, and M.W.B gave the facility just one star for its treatment effectiveness because their loved one relapsed.
CONCLUSION
According to the facility’s website, Mirror Lake accepts most major insurance plans, however they do not accept Medicaid or Medicare.
Note, when the facility was known as New Life Lodge, it was hit with legal problems — according to a 2013 article in The Tennessean, a resident died in a Nashville hospital having been transferred there from New Life Lodge. The resident had collapsed while being transported to the hospital by a member of staff from New Life Lodge, who didn’t know how to check whether she was still breathing.
When details of her death emerged, a whistleblower reportedly released more condemning information about the facility, and a 2014 follow up article in the National Law Review reported that that the facility’s owner, CRC Health, “…knowingly submitted false claims to TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, by providing substandard treatment to adult and adolescent patients suffering from alcohol and drug addiction at its facility, New Life Lodge, located in Burns, Tennessee.”
Elements of that “substandard care” included failing to make a licensed psychiatrist available to the facility’s patients and for admitting more residents than the facility was equipped to treat. CRC paid more than $9 million in a fraud settlement related to those charges, and reached a private settlement with the victim’s family.