If I could give 4 1/2 stars I would. I was a patient at the Utah State Hospital, and I was there for 1 year. I have been out for almost 6 months, and have took time to reflect before writing my review to really soak in my experience and this is what I think. While there are many negative thinks I could say about this place, this hospital truly made my life worth living. The Utah State Hospital isn’t meant to be an easy experience, you are meant to be put in a place to challenge yourself, which will cause outbursts, setbacks, relapses, drama, and more, and sadly this is all apart of recovery. But I am lucky to have had all of these setbacks in a safe, secure environment such as the Utah State Hospital, surrounded by staff who at the end of the day care about you and have one ultimate goal, to keep YOU safe. Even if that means resorting to restraints or time to refocus that may cause distress in the moment because top priority is safety, and while that can feel neglecting and like the world is ending, it isn’t. It is actually the best interest for everyone. Because while staff have to focus on safety of the patients they also have to think of safety for themselves. We often think we know what’s best for ourselves but when we are in a state where we can’t make stable decisions we don’t always know what’s best for us. So the hospital has a carefully curated team of staff to manage meds, treatment , food, etc so you can succeed. The Utah State Hospital can be a helpful, therapeutic treatment if you use it to your full potential and keep going when things get hard. There will be times you wish you never went here, and times you hate the staff, but it will all be worth it at the end. The relief and self control you can gain. You can have fun at the Utah State Hospital but within the rules, and breaking the rules comes with consequences so privileges can be taken away, and that is not to punish but to help you learn for the future. Don’t expect fantastic food here, but it is still good and nutritious. I strongly suggest if you are going here to let your experience be yours and don’t let others opinions influence your stay, because you can let your stay be worth while if you choose too. To sum things up, Go into the Utah State Hospital with a fresh mindset, be open to change and growth. Be prepared for challenges and embrace them. Don’t expect perfection. And if my therapist, or treatment team is reading this thank you for helping me be the person I am today.

Update 12-4-2024: Yeah, I'm still pissed off that I had been a patient in Utah State Hospital because forced confinement is not good for my self-esteem at the time of September 2014-October 2015 because I felt like I was unworthy to society & people hate me & discriminate against me or something. If someone has never been a patient to Utah State Hospital before & they were forced to be confined there they will probably think that is unfair & also there is a stigma against people who are in mental hospitals & they get made fun of if anybody finds out, some people won't make fun of you for being a former mental patient though because they are nice enough to understand Utah has a bad mental health crisis, but my life is ruined by Utah State Hospital because of my PTSD from getting bullied in there. Also, about the rules of Utah State Hospital being too harsh to follow I think it's too harsh to take someone's freedom & certain rights for breaking a certain rule or rules in Utah State Hospital. I also, believe the security guards in Utah State Hospital are harsh too because one of them was being stupid & almost broke my shoulder in one of my anger outbursts on April 2015. I don't think the punishments & restraints against me taught me a lesson to never be angry again it just taught fear & intimidation to obey. There was no clear plan to fix my anger problem in Utah State Hospital besides putting me in unsafe restraints & yelling at me if I was angry. All I wanted that would've made my stay at Utah State Hospital more positive was if I have a better say in my treatment plan & the staff don't kick my butt in a restraint as a first option in my frequent anger outbursts because I just wanted to be respected & treated like a human being in there. Look from my experience yes there were days in Utah State Hospital that were chill & cool to go through, but from my experience since I had a bad anger problem as a teenager I whenever I got bullied a lot by patients and/or staff I got angry and got my level down to red and my privileges got taken away because I went too far to stand up to my bullies by swearing at them and I didn't know how to stand up to them without being too angry and swearing. I also think it's stupid & shameful that the staff bullied me too because they got nothing better to do in their life because they are a low-life loser for bullying mental patients because they think we are easy targets to pick on and that was irresponsible & stupid of them & they should apologize for being bullies because they supposed to be responsible for patient safety. I tried my hardest to follow these rules, but I think it's traumatizing to go through extreme control. Update 11-18-25: Hey, If anybody has a problem with me giving a one star review to Utah State Hospital then that's judgmental. Edit & Clarifications: Alright, I recognized I've told you about all of the bad things about Utah State Hospital too much. I'll tell you what might be good about it & then again if your doctor, judge, & treatment team have sent me or you to Utah State Hospital that whole decision was not made lightly & if it was done without careful consideration then screw them. Utah State Hospital is pretty good for me when I was there as far as the friends I've made in my stay in this place from 2014-2015. I had an awesome time with my therapist Doug Stone & I'm not sure if he is still there as a therapist for boy's youth. There are jobs in Utah State Hospital you can take as a patient & save money for your life after you get discharged from here. Utah State Hospital will pay for your family member's gas & travel expense to go visit you because most of the time Utah State Hospital is too far from home. Overall, you may not get freedom & certain major rights, but if you like getting free stuff & room & board covered for you by taxpayers then you would like Utah State Hospital better than I would. I am still giving Utah State Hospital a one star because I have been bullied in there & I got PTSD from a lot of the bad incidents in there.

This is hands down the best mental hospital in Utah. I was rarely ever bored, they have a TV with a Netflix and Disney Plus, and library for anyone, even those stuck on unit level. (And yes, they do have quite the manga selection, and movies you can rent, and podcasts/audio things you can put into your headphones. You can even learn Spanish in your headphones! Trust me: if you're bored, it's often your own fault.) They have so many activities, and as you level up, you can attend more activities. Dr. Roundy was the best doctor I've ever had. He got me on a medication that WORKS for the first time in my life, I have a medication that works. All the one star reviews: it could be possible they didn't follow the rules. Follow the unit and campus rules and while I cannot promise a swift discharge, your stay at the hospital will be a lot easier, and maybe even fun. (I had fun.) Although, yes, I have to say that there are days that you just want out... And sometimes patients (and staff) can make your life hard. I shouldn't sugar-coat it.

Spent almost 3 years here, and it was amazing!

When compared to other behavioral health facilities, this place can actually help, rather than simply being expensive cells like the others. The low ratings from others is because they had a bad experience, but I promise that they are exaggerating. If you obey the rules of the unit, you’ll have a far better chance of experiencing some healing. Edit: I will repeat if you follow the rules of the unit (and they are strict and do take away some freedoms, but are fair, and are for the safety of everyone) you’ll have a far better chance of experiencing healing and not being so miserable at USH. You’ll notice that many of the 1 star reviews talk about how they broke rules, and that they were miserable. It’s directly related. Don’t threaten people, don’t be sexually inappropriate, don’t harass others, don’t yell (unless you’re in a room alone), don’t refuse help, and things go better.

My name is Shaydin Nodurft. I was there from july 2021-march 2022. My original review I made is simply not accurate, so i decided to refresh it. During my stay I did learn coping skills. I did learn things don’t get me wrong. But I learned them in fear. My goal wasn’t to get better for myself. My goal was to seem better so I could go back home. I was hard to deal with. I will admit that. But in a place where you’re supposed to change and get help there shouldnt be scare tactics. I’ve been in a handful of institutions. And this place was by far the worst. I saw a comment saying if you just follow the rules you’ll be fine. And everyone is reaching. Which is NOT true. They had this thing called chains. If you got in trouble. You filled it out. Basically stating why and what you did and how you’re gonna do better moving forward. I had gotten one for burping, YES burping. It sounds stupid but these chains included level drops. These level drops took rights away. Like going outside more. If you were a level one. You were only allowed in a small gated area. Like prisoners. If you were level two, you were allowed on campus only. Above two you could go off campus and go home for a weekend visit. But the problem is most of the staff would get you in trouble for the most silly things. I only saw the outside OUTSIDE like 4 times. The gated area like a couple times a week. They keep you in your rooms for a good amount of the day. It’s not healthy. Especially for the kids who didn’t have parents bringing them things to keep occupied. When kids were freaking out and saying they were gonna hit someone the staff would sometimes challenge the kids saying do it. Knowing what was gonna happen. If you freaked out on any level. Even threw something. You’d end up in the restraint chair. Holds every part of your body in place, and that’s where you will sit for two hours while someone writes down your every move. If you move too much the two hours starts over. If you have to use the bathroom, oh well. Then after the two hours your put on AR (area restriction). I’ve seen people on it for months. You sit in a corner doing nothing. Sometimes you get a book to read. Your not allowed to leave. You can only talk to staff once an hour. And you can’t talk to any fellow patients. If you do, you both get a level drop. Ar is an instant level drop so only really punishing the other person. Your forced be watched while you use the bathroom, shower, eat, sleep. Same goes for when you first get there. It’s called a one on one. Anyone who is on this can’t talk to people who are also on one on ones. Again your being watched doing everything. I couldn’t even go into Walmart for months after I got released because I was so sheltered. I had panic attacks when I left my house. This place, it will not help your child. It will only make them scared. I have to pay money to go to regular therapy cause my old behaviors have been coming back. The reason people send there kids to Utah to get treatment is because they allow hand on hand. Meaning the staff can pretty much do whatever they want. I mean a patient there was saed for months and no one noticed. (It was on the news look it up) this review is for the girls who were on ar for months. For the girls who didn’t see the sun for months. For the girls who had to sit there while grown women watched them shower. All they believe in is power plays. And this place is like a minimum security prison mixed with max. It’s such a weird middle ground. Send your child to a residential facility. Not this prison that literally relies on tax money for payments. For the therapist I had you were great, to some of the staff you were great. To all the staff that was there most likely playing fantasy patient (like fantasy football) screw you. Last thing if you send your kids here be prepared for them to hate you for life. I’m so serious. I’m almost 20, I was 15 then. That place still scares me.

I was a patient in the adolescent units from November 2022 to January 2024, I left that place with more trauma than when I first went in. I constantly saw people fighting and throwing things. There were times when I saw people having to be rushed to the hospital. There was so much drama and we had to spend 2-4 hours in our rooms by ourselves every day, sometimes even longer. the hole place had bad energy, and I really wish I was sent somewhere else for my treatment. I feel like this place did not help me, which just caused more trauma and anxiety.

My daughter works Provo State hospital. She loves her job and she loves the people that she takes care of and works with. They are important people too. We all have little something wrong with us