Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health Center

In general facilty set up for addicts not so much the seriously depressed. Staff over exercise their rights to give an opinion that has lasting consequences. Tend to provide heavy sedating drugs then critique patient for not participating. Basically no discharge planning, just take your stuff and paperwork for next steps and be on your way. No discussion with family who is picking up patient. Felt paternalistic, controlling, and passive aggressive.

Eight weeks after giving birth to my son, I suffered from postpartum depression which led into postpartum psychosis. I called Kaiser for help and this is where it landed me. I was held against my will for a month. It has taken me close to three years to recover from the trauma and abuse that I suffered at the hands of medical professionals that should have helped me. The three psychiatrists that I came into contact with lied on paperwork or in court. I was not allowed to breastfeed my newborn or to see him and I was not allowed to practice my Buddhist religion. I was physically harassed by a male nurse in my room, had another nurse threaten to syringe me if I didn’t orally take a medication that was causing horrible side effects, had medications and dosages changed without my knowledge, had my room searched and property taken out of my room while they had me in mandatory classes, witnessed a man pick up another man and slam his head into a wall right in front of me after he threatened to kill me because I was Asian, had to sleep in a room near a man that told me that he was hearing voices to tell him to go into rooms of women to rape them… I could go on but you probably get my point. The staff try to mentally and spiritually break you down so you take the medications. It is impossible to sleep because you are terrified that some lunatic will come into your room and rape you if you are a female due to the co-​ed room structure and the staff open and close your door shut every 15 to 30 minutes throughout the whole night (they do these checks to make sure the no one is trying to hurt/​kill themselves). I was finally released by Dr. Shazada because he didn’t want to leave the Kaiser campus to meet me at the Superior Court in downtown San Jose for my release appeal. He sent me home psychotic and suffering from PTSD. Kaiser did not offer any classes or support groups for caregivers so my husband did not know how to help me. I was not offered individual counseling for my trauma. I had to seek it for myself. I witnessed crazy people coming off the streets staying for three days and then being sent out because they didn’t have the right insurance. These people needed the help. The psychiatrists and staff knew that they couldn’t help me but they just kept me there for reasons that I do not understand. The bill was $ 300,000 and I had to pay $ 2,000 for my Kaiser co-​pay. If you have a family member suffering from postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis please send them to a facility that is well equipped to handle new moms. It is critical that we have our babies and spouse/​partner with us and that we are allowed to seek natural or homeopathic therapy before intense drugs. We should be allowed to breastfeed our newborns and practice our religion. Psychiatrists, social workers and staff need to work with the family to help the patient and their family and not hurt them. I feel sorry for anyone that is caught in this system but for anyone who was admitted to this hospital and didn’t get the help that they needed and deserved.

This is a state of the art facility with all the modern amenities healthcare has to offer. The center houses a 24-​bed inpatient psych unit as well as a 6-​chair crisis stabilization unit. Also available to patients are a calming garden, public café, a number of interview and group rooms, a gym, art room and other amenities I am forgetting at the moment.
I don’t necessarily think that I’m going to need their services personally any time in the near future but I commend Kaiser for stepping up to the plate and taking care of the needs of the surrounding communities.