Dr. Michael Young
Medical Director, The Retreat
leadership
Towson,
The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt
Twenty-two private suites in a purpose-built wing of a licensed psychiatric hospital, self-pay only, priced to the dollar at USD 3,500 a day.
AssessedThe clinic has a full assessment in this edition: all ten criteria scored, each with its reasoning, its sources with capture dates, and the gaps we could not close.
Rank #6The clinic's position by public score in this edition.Public score 51The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements.TiedAnother clinic has the same public score and shares this rank.
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score. · 51
About The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt
The Retreat is a 22-suite, self-pay residential psychiatric programme occupying a purpose-designed wing of Sheppard Pratt's hospital on an 87-acre campus north of Baltimore. It treats adults aged 18 and over in an unlocked, communal setting, and it publishes its price to the dollar: USD 3,500 per day, held flat for the whole stay, USD 70,000 for the 20-day minimum.
What distinguishes it is institutional rather than boutique. Clients are treated inside a licensed psychiatric hospital, with electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation on site rather than by referral, and in-house subspecialty consultation for eating disorders, cognitive disorders, personality disorders and autism spectrum disorder. The model is physician-heavy: individual psychotherapy three times a week with a doctor who leads the treatment team, alongside at least 35 hours a week of group work.
The design is communal by intention. Clients eat together, take part in groups, and go on a weekly therapeutic outing, and the treatment team observes those interactions as part of a two-week comprehensive diagnostic assessment that ends in a day-14 diagnostic conference. Every suite is private with its own bathroom, but the suite sits inside one shared wing on a campus shared with a large acute hospital, so this is a single-occupancy-per-room programme with continuous client contact, not a one-client model.
The programme bills no insurer at all. That is a real structural privacy benefit, because a stay generates no claim, no diagnosis code and no admission record inside a payer's systems. It also means the client carries the whole fee, and the first 20 days are due on arrival.
Clinic overview
- Founded
- 2002. The Retreat opened in June 2002 as a self-pay 16-bed residential programme, on the operator's own history page. The parent hospital's 1853 charter and 1891 opening belong to the hospital, not to this programme.
- Capacity
- Not resolved. The programme, OCD, bipolar and winter pages state 22 private suites. The referrer landing page and the downloadable brochure state 16. Both are the clinic's own pages, and the hospital licence at the address records 322 beds with no unit breakdown.
- Staff per client
- Not restated for the current suite count. The brochure gives 4:1 with eight doctors and 60 staff, but that document describes the 16-suite era. Current pages give about 60 behavioral health professionals against 22 clients. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Languages
- English. No interpreter or multilingual service statement was located for the programme or the operator. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Licence
- Hospital. The programme is not separately licensed. The Maryland Office of Health Care Quality hospital licensee directory records Sheppard And Enoch Pratt Hospital at 6501 North Charles Street, licence 03039, capacity 322. The register lists no units, so whether the 22 suites sit inside that licence is not stated.
- Accreditations
- Joint Commission accreditation for hospital-based and behavioral health programmes, and a CARF three-year accreditation, both stated on the operator's own page. Neither could be confirmed against the accrediting body's register: one returned HTTP 403 and the other returned a record for a different operator programme. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Payment and insurance
- Private pay only. The programme states that it does not participate with any health insurance. Superbills are provided so clients can pursue out-of-network reimbursement themselves, but no insurer is billed.
- Length of stay
- Minimum 20 days, average 35 days. Current pages phrase it as an average stay of between three weeks and several months. Continued stay is set on the treatment team's recommendation.
- Address
- 6501 N. Charles Street, Towson, United States
Leadership
The clinic's expertise page names 20 people: six doctors, two in programme management, nine clinicians and therapists and three administrative assistants. Seventeen hold a clinical or programme role at The Retreat or its step-down houses. Registration numbers are not published on the clinic's own pages for any of them.
Jon Hershfield
Director of the OCD Program at The Retreat, and Director of the operator's Center for OCD and Anxiety
clinical
Dr. Daniel Kakuska
Psychiatrist
clinical
Dr. Ilana Cohen
Psychiatrist
clinical
Dr. Benjamin Ehrenreich
Psychiatrist
clinical
Dr. Emily Sargent
Psychologist
clinical
Dr. Daniel Summers
Psychologist
clinical
Lane Hicks
Program Manager, Ruxton House and Magnolia House
leadership
No practitioner registration number is published on the clinic's own material. State licences and board certifications were confirmed on the Maryland professional registers and on the psychiatry board's certification service on 15 September 2026.
Videos
Treatments
The Retreat residential programme
20-day minimum, 35-day average, extending to several months
All-inclusive residential stay, 20-day minimum: USD 70,000 per stay (includes An updated comprehensive diagnosis, doctors fees, consultations, medications, 24/7 nursing care, about 35 hours a week of therapeutic programming, a private suite with bathroom, meals, on-site laundry and therapeutic off-site outings.) · Daily rate: USD 3,500 per day
The core offering. A comprehensive diagnostic assessment runs across the first two weeks alongside immediate intensive treatment, culminating in a day-14 diagnostic conference where the multidisciplinary team, the client and, if wanted, the family agree a diagnosis and a plan for the rest of the stay. Physician-led throughout, with individual psychotherapy three times a week and at least 35 hours a week of group programming.
Co-occurring disorders track
Integrated into the residential stay
Included in the residential rate
Treatment co-led by a master addictions counsellor and a psychiatrist board certified in addiction medicine, adding individual and group addiction work, medical evaluation, addiction pharmacotherapy including buprenorphine and naltrexone, and twelve-step engagement. The operator describes a continuum from detoxification to long-term recovery maintenance.
OCD and anxiety track
Within the 20-day residential programme
Included in the residential rate
Daily dedicated exposure and response prevention sessions combining habituation with an inhibitory learning model, plus weekly sessions with the programme's OCD lead. This is the most credentialled subspecialty at the programme and the one most consistently praised in independent reviews.
Personality disorders track
Integrated into the residential stay
Included in the residential rate
Psychodynamic psychotherapy and dialectical behaviour therapy with multiple weekly DBT groups, 24/7 in-the-moment DBT skills coaching, transference-focused psychotherapy, mentalization-based therapy and Good Psychiatric Management. Borderline and narcissistic personality disorder are named.
Ruxton House and Magnolia House extended treatment
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Home-like transitional residences near the Towson campus, staffed 24 hours, where clients continue treatment on an outpatient basis with the same primary treating clinician. A chef prepares meals daily and clients may use the kitchen. The focus is occupational therapy, self-care, meal planning, financial management, job applications and community reintegration. Available only immediately after a stay at The Retreat.
Continuing outpatient care
-
-
Individual and group outpatient therapy inside the operator, with continuity to the same therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists who delivered the residential treatment, and medication consultation with follow-up treatment available. A discharge coordinator works on this from early in the stay. No duration, minimum or price is published.
Our assessment
This section separates the programme from its parent hospital, because the two figures diverge sharply and are routinely conflated. The Retreat reads 3.6 out of 5 from 40 reviews through a syndicator republishing its Google business listing, checked on 8 September 2026. That listing returned HTTP 404 when it was re-checked on 15 September 2026, so the figure could not be confirmed at source. The parent campus reads 2.10 out of 5 from 305 reviews. Those are two different figures measuring two different things and they must not be merged: the campus figure aggregates a large acute psychiatric hospital whose crisis, involuntary and adolescent units draw the negative volume. The gap of roughly 1.5 stars between the unit and the hospital it sits inside is itself the finding. A listing titled with the programme's name on one review platform is at a different operator campus entirely and is not attributed here. Remaining review figures sit on commercial directories and are not used. No Trustpilot listing was located, which is an absence rather than a low score. Three first-name testimonials are published by the clinic itself, curated and not independently verifiable. On authenticity: the base is small but consistent across platforms in the 3.4 to 3.7 band, with no sign of manipulation and no suspicious volume spike. Recurring criticism concentrates on value for the price paid and on discharge communication. Recurring praise concentrates on the OCD team. No statutory inspection record for the site was retrieved, and no final adverse regulator, court or tribunal outcome against the operating entity was found within ten years. Pending matters at the level of the parent organisation are recorded in the assessment and are not scored.
This section separates the programme from its parent hospital, because the two figures diverge sharply and are routinely conflated. The Retreat reads 3.6 out of 5 from 40 reviews through a syndicator republishing its Google business listing, checked on 8 September 2026. That listing returned HTTP 404 when it was re-checked on 15 September 2026, so the figure could not be confirmed at source. The parent campus reads 2.10 out of 5 from 305 reviews. Those are two different figures measuring two different things and they must not be merged: the campus figure aggregates a large acute psychiatric hospital whose crisis, involuntary and adolescent units draw the negative volume. The gap of roughly 1.5 stars between the unit and the hospital it sits inside is itself the finding. A listing titled with the programme's name on one review platform is at a different operator campus entirely and is not attributed here. Remaining review figures sit on commercial directories and are not used. No Trustpilot listing was located, which is an absence rather than a low score. Three first-name testimonials are published by the clinic itself, curated and not independently verifiable. On authenticity: the base is small but consistent across platforms in the 3.4 to 3.7 band, with no sign of manipulation and no suspicious volume spike. Recurring criticism concentrates on value for the price paid and on discharge communication. Recurring praise concentrates on the OCD team. No statutory inspection record for the site was retrieved, and no final adverse regulator, court or tribunal outcome against the operating entity was found within ten years. Pending matters at the level of the parent organisation are recorded in the assessment and are not scored.
Retreat-specific consumer press is thin. A 2002 launch piece in a local business paper returned HTTP 403 to capture and is outside any current window, and a 2012 report on neighbourhood opposition to the step-down residence is the only other item located. No first-hand bylined reporting from inside the programme was found within five years. The operator's own news archive covers the wider system rather than this programme.
The operator publishes a national editorial hospital ranking badge for psychiatry. That is an editorial ranking, not an accreditation, and it is recorded as such. No award specific to The Retreat was found.
Facility
The Retreat occupies a purpose-designed, secure area inside Sheppard Pratt's hospital building on the 87-acre Towson campus at 6501 N. Charles Street. Acreage figures differ by what is being measured: 87 acres for the present campus, 340 at the 1891 opening, and 20.9 for the historic landmark district. Eighty-seven is the operative figure for a client. Twenty-two private suites, each with a full private bathroom, cable television, WiFi and a bedside phone. Every client has a private suite and there are no shared rooms. Personal phones, tablets and laptops are permitted, as is use of a personal vehicle. The programme is open and unlocked: clients must be well enough not to require a locked unit, seclusion or restraint, and after an initial observation period they may leave the grounds during unscheduled time. On the campus: common areas, outdoor courtyards, walking trails and the original hospital buildings, laid out on the Kirkbride plan and designated a national historic landmark in 1971. A fitness room with personal trainer access is included. Two amenities frequently associated with the programme are off site. The swimming pool sits at a nearby health club to which clients are given access, and the climbing gym is a commercial facility in Timonium. There is no on-site spa, and whether pool and health club access is inside the daily rate is not published. This is a high-quality clinical wing on a historic campus, not a standalone residence with private grounds. The campus is shared with a large psychiatric hospital treating children, adolescents, adults and older adults, plus day programmes and a psychiatric urgent care. No photograph of a Retreat suite or of the wing interior was found on the operator's site; the tour galleries show the step-down residences instead.
Food
Meals are included in the daily fee and described in the clinic's own brochure only as well-balanced meals. Clients dine communally, and the diagnostic process page records that the team's observations during meals feed the diagnostic picture, which makes dining a shared and supervised part of the milieu rather than a private hospitality service. A chef prepares meals daily at Ruxton House, the step-down residence, where clients also have a gourmet kitchen and a shared dining room. That is the only chef reference located, and it attaches to the step-down house rather than to The Retreat. No executive chef, dietitian or nutritionist appears on The Retreat's published roster. Nutrition-adjacent work is handled by occupational therapists through meal-planning skills training and by a coordinator of health and wellness. There is no published personalised nutrition programme, no dietary or metabolic testing and no nutrition assessment on admission. Hygiene is governed by hospital licensure and accreditation, which is a floor rather than a differentiator.
Privacy
one to one therapy
Of the three separation models this publication recognises, the programme meets the first and neither of the other two. Individual psychotherapy runs three times a week with a doctor, so one-to-one therapy is established. Single occupancy per residence is only partly met: each client has a private suite with a private bathroom and there are no shared rooms, but the suite is one of 22 inside a shared wing rather than a separate residence. No client contact does not apply at all: client A meets client B constantly and by design. Group programming runs to at least 35 hours a week. Meals are communal and staff-observed, and the observations feed the diagnostic assessment. Therapeutic outings are group outings off site. The campus is unlocked, with clients free to leave the grounds unescorted after an initial observation period, driving their own vehicles and carrying their own phones. The suites sit inside a large psychiatric hospital on a campus shared with child, adolescent, adult, geriatric, autism and crisis units, day programmes and a psychiatric urgent care, with the attendant traffic of staff, families and trainees. No confidentiality agreement policy, no no-contact protocol, no alias procedure and no arrival-discretion procedure is published. The self-pay model is the real and underrated privacy feature. Because the programme bills no insurer at all, a stay generates no insurance claim, no diagnosis code and no admission record inside a payer's systems or a claims clearinghouse. In ordinary United States behavioural health, a residential admission produces a chain of durable third-party records: a pre-authorisation naming the diagnosis, a diagnosis and facility code on the claim, an explanation of benefits posted to the policyholder, clearinghouse routing data and utilisation-review notes held by the payer. Each is a copy of the clinical fact sitting outside the treating institution. Paying cash removes that chain, and the record stays inside the operator. For a client whose exposure risk runs through an employer plan or a family policy, this is the strongest privacy feature the programme has. It also means the client carries the whole fee.
Assessed 2026-10-01
Rank #6The clinic's position by public score in this edition.Public score 51The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements.TiedAnother clinic has the same public score and shares this rank.
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score. · 51
Headline basis: Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public-evidence total: 51
The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements. For the licence element of C2 only, it can also use an authority ruling held in our sealed evidence room. It is the only number used for the rank.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium. ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: C10.
- C1 Client separation and occupancy · 4
Each client has a private suite with a private bathroom in one shared residential wing, but clients meet daily through up to 35 hours a week of groups, communal meals observed by staff and group outings, so the model is individual therapy inside a group setting. The one published measure beyond statute is self-pay with no insurance participation, so a stay creates no payer claims trail, which meets band 4. Band 5 needs 10 or fewer clients on site, which is not met. Programme pages give 22 suites and the brochure and referrer page give 16; this is a room-count difference, not a contradiction about the occupancy model, so no capacity deduction applies, and band 4 holds on either figure.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The programme pages (22 suites) and brochure (16 suites) disagree on capacity; a clinic correction would settle the figure.
Sources (4 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The programme page describes private residential suites designed to feel like home, up to 35 hours of group programming each week, and 60 behavioral health professionals.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The downloadable brochure describes a private suite with a full private bathroom for each client, in one shared residential wing.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Clients eat meals with their peers and the diagnostic team observes how residents interact with each other in group meals and activities.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The Retreat does not participate with any health insurance, so a stay generates no payer claims trail. Payment for the first 20 days is taken on arrival.
- C2 Clinical governance and medical cover · 7
The Retreat holds its own Maryland OHCQ limited private inpatient facility licence 03080 at 6501 North Charles Street, and a physician Medical Director is named. The brochure ticks safe drug detoxification for The Retreat and the co-occurring page describes care from detox onwards, and a defined personality disorders track is published. The Joint Commission lists the operator as accredited for hospital and behavioral health services at the same address. That is both core elements plus three further elements, which gives band 7. Band 8 would need published overnight physician cover or hospital licensing of The Retreat itself; only 24/7 nursing is stated, and the limited inpatient licence is separate from the hospital licence at the same address.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- No linked evidence item holds the Joint Commission listing; accreditation scope for The Retreat rests on the site address and the operator's statement.
- The unit where withdrawal is managed is not stated.
Sources (5 cited items):- health.maryland.gov: OHCQ limited private inpatient facilities directory: Retreat at Sheppard Pratt, The, 6501 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21204, licence 03080. Licence 03039 at the same address is the parent hospital's (Sheppard And Enoch Pratt Hospital) and does not cover The Retreat.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The team page names a Medical Director of The Retreat, an MD, and the brochure states that experienced psychiatrists lead each resident's treatment team and that admissions are assessed in consultation with the medical director.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Brochure comparison ticks for The Retreat: on-site medical services, 24-hour supportive nursing care, safe drug detoxification, neurostimulation therapy (ECT and TMS) and pain management.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: A personality disorders track built on psychodynamic psychotherapy and DBT, with transference-focused psychotherapy, mentalization-based therapy and 24/7 in-the-moment DBT skills coaching.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Pricing page inclusions name doctors' fees, medications and 24/7 nursing care. A physician's assistant, not a physician, takes the medical history and performs the physical examination.
- C3 Diagnostic depth on admission · 7
Admission is assessed by the admissions coordinator with the medical director, the psychiatrist meets the client on day one, lab work is completed on day two, genetic and neuropsychological testing are available, and a day-14 diagnostic conference delivers a diagnosis and treatment recommendations. The physical examination is carried out by a physician's assistant rather than a physician, which keeps the criterion from the band above. The band is 7.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (4 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The admissions coordinator, in consultation with the medical director and programme directors, assesses the presenting issues of each resident to determine clinical appropriateness for the milieu; the brochure ticks genetic testing, neuropsychological testing and a diagnostic team meeting with resident involvement.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: On day one the client and their psychiatrist discuss history and review medications; on the morning of the second day lab work is completed; a physician's assistant takes the medical history and performs the physical examination.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Days 2 to 13 are observation, day 14 is a diagnostic conference on goals, progress, a diagnosis and treatment recommendations, shared at a day-15 diagnostic and family meeting. In-house specialty consultations cover eating disorders, cognitive disorders, personality disorders and autism spectrum disorder.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Fee inclusions name an updated, comprehensive diagnosis and consultations with additional mental health experts.
- C4 Clinical intensity · 4
The brochure states three individual psychotherapy sessions a week with the treating doctor, set against about 35 hours a week of group programming, so group sessions make up well over three quarters of scheduled clinical hours and the group-share cap of band 4 applies. The team is pooled across all residents rather than dedicated to one client. The cap binds regardless of the individual session count.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (4 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The brochure states intensive psychotherapy three times a week, that the resident meets for individual psychotherapy three times per week with his or her doctor, and group therapy of at least 35 hours per week; average length of stay 35 days with a 20-day minimum.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Individual psychotherapy sessions are usually scheduled several times a week and may be with the attending psychiatrist, psychologist or individual therapist.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: A large team of behavioral health professionals is available to treat 22 residents.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: 24/7 nursing care and approximately 35 hours a week of interdisciplinary therapeutic programming are listed among the fee inclusions.
- C5 Continuity and aftercare · 6
A written discharge plan with a discharge coordinator, step-down residences within the operator (Magnolia House and Ruxton House), continuity with the same primary treating clinician and doctor-led continuing care with medication consultation are published. No aftercare duration, minimum, price, family aftercare or structured six-month contact is published, so the criterion stays at band 6.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (4 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Magnolia House and Ruxton House are step-down residences for gradual reintegration; the client maintains the therapeutic relationship with the primary treating clinician throughout the stay, and may only stay there immediately after completing a stay at The Retreat.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Brochure continuum ticks for The Retreat: personalised aftercare and discharge planning, extended treatment care opportunities, individual and group outpatient therapy, and medication consultation with follow-up treatment available.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Continuing care runs through doctor-led treatment teams for clients moving to Ruxton House or Magnolia House or remaining in the Baltimore area.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: A discharge coordinator works to ensure the client has the supports and care providers needed to return home.
- C6 Admission integrity and commercial conduct · 5
A sweep of sheppardpratt.org and its subdomains found no ranking page, no paid recognition presented as independent and no text addressed to AI systems; llms.txt returns HTTP 404. One positive signal is met: a fixed published price of USD 3,500 a day and USD 70,000 for the 20-day minimum, not described as negotiable. The requirement that clients do not need a locked unit, seclusion or restraint is an eligibility condition with no statement of referral elsewhere, so it is not counted, and no referral-fee position or policy on third-party-arranged admissions is published. A clean sweep with one signal gives band 5.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (7 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The pricing page publishes USD 3,500 per day throughout treatment and USD 70,000 for an all-inclusive 20-day minimum stay, with no statement that the fee is negotiable.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Those admitted must function at a level where they do not need a locked unit, seclusion or restraint. This is an eligibility condition; no statement on where unsuitable enquiries are referred is published, so it is not counted as a published exclusion policy.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The brochure describes conditions that can be treated safely and effectively in a voluntary, unlocked environment, with clinical appropriateness assessed in consultation with the medical director.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: No llms.txt exists on the operator domain, which returns HTTP 404, and no hidden or AI-directed text was found on the pages swept.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Price published by the clinic: All-inclusive residential stay, 20-day minimum
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Price published by the clinic: Daily rate
- clinic and group domains, web search: Search of clinic and group domains, web search. Scope: domains checked sheppardpratt.org (home page, The Retreat programme, pricing, what to expect, expertise, diagnostic, individual therapy, philosophy, after the retreat, co-occurring, personality disorders pages; landing pages /retreat-lp/, /retreat-referrers/, /winter/.... Result: sweep recorded; outcome per the C6 V elements.
- C7 Transparency toward the client · 4
Four elements are met: itemised fee inclusions, ownership consistent with the IRS Form 990 record for Sheppard Pratt Health System (EIN 52-0591684), a complaints route naming six external bodies, and a clear statement of limits. No deposit, refund, cancellation or early-departure term is published, no clinic page names a licence class or number, and the terms of use give no legal entity name. Four elements give band 5, and one point is deducted because the winter landing page says the 20-day programme starts at USD 66,000 while the pricing and programme pages say USD 70,000, giving band 4.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Sources (5 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Fee inclusions are itemised: an updated comprehensive diagnosis, doctors' fees, consultations, medications, 24/7 nursing, about 35 hours a week of programming, a private suite with bathroom, meals, laundry and therapeutic outings. Payment for the first 20 days is taken on arrival.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The winter landing page states that the self-pay 20-day residential programme starts at USD 66,000, while the pricing and programme pages state USD 70,000.
- projects.propublica.org: IRS Form 990 filer record: Sheppard Pratt Health System Inc, EIN 52-0591684, Baltimore MD, most recent return for the fiscal year ending June 2025.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The rights and responsibilities page names the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality, Disability Rights Maryland, The Joint Commission, CARF, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the HHS Office for Civil Rights, with contacts.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The programme is stated to be self-pay for individuals 18 and older who do not need a locked unit, seclusion or restraint.
- C8 Track record and regulator standing · 5
A court and regulator search found no final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System within 10 years and no OHCQ sanction; a 2022 employment case ended in judgment for the operator, affirmed by the Fourth Circuit on 21 October 2025. Two further employment actions filed in 2024 and 2026 have no final outcome and are recorded but not scored. No statutory inspection of the site within 5 years, no bylined first-hand reporting and no verifiable independent client testimony were found (the review listing returned HTTP 404), so the criterion sits at band 5.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- OHCQ publishes no facility-level survey reports, so the absence of an inspection record may reflect publication practice.
Sources (14 cited items):- law.justia.com: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 24-2048, 21 October 2025: judgment for the operator affirmed in a 2022 employment case. Not an adverse finding.
- law.justia.com: United States District Court for the District of Maryland, 1:24-cv-02316: a memorandum of 29 April 2025 narrowed claims in an employment case filed on 9 August 2024. No final outcome found. Recorded, not scored.
- reviews.birdeye.com: The review-platform listing for The Retreat returned HTTP 404 on 15 September 2026, so no independent client testimony could be verified at source.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The operator's history page records that The Retreat, a self-pay residential programme, opened in June 2002.
- CourtListener RECAP: Search of CourtListener RECAP. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt Health System" OR "Sheppard and Enoch Pratt". Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- CourtListener opinions: Search of CourtListener opinions. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt Health System". Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- CourtListener RECAP: Search of CourtListener RECAP. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt" AND (negligence OR malpractice OR "wrongful death"). Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- CourtListener RECAP docket entries: Search of CourtListener RECAP docket entries. Scope: docket_id 48369580. Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt" lawsuit settlement OR verdict OR fine. Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt" Maryland Office of Health Care Quality deficiency OR sanction OR fine. Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt" jury verdict OR "agreed to pay" OR "settled" hospital Towson. Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Sheppard Pratt" (EEOC OR "Attorney General" OR "HIPAA" OR "Office for Civil Rights") settlement. Result: record found: No final adverse court or regulator outcome against Sheppard Pratt Health System found within 10 years. Open civil actions against the operator: an employment civil-rights action in the US....
- press and news search: Search of press and news search. Scope: first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility, last 5 years. Result: no record found.
- statutory regulator records: Search of statutory regulator records. Scope: inspection history and grades of this site. Result: no record found.
- C9 Environment, safety and nutrition · 4
Environment and safety reaches band 5: clinical sessions, lab work and neurostimulation on site, campus courtyards and trails, a fitness room, monthly family days and a licensed address. A 24-hour emergency department at Greater Baltimore Medical Center is 5 minutes (3.4 km) by road from the Towson site, but the step-down residences Magnolia House and Ruxton House are also places of care with no published address, so the emergency access element is not met at every place of care. Nutrition reaches band 2: meals are stated as included with no further detail and no dietitian appears on the roster. The mean of 5 and 2 rounds half up to 4; if the step-down houses were treated as outside the programme, the result would still be 4.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- Step-down residence addresses are not published; the emergency access element cannot be assessed there.
Sources (8 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Individual appointments, groups and meals run in the programme; lab work is completed on the morning of the second day and the physical examination takes place on site.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Courtyards and trails on the campus grounds, morning walks and hiking near campus; the climbing gym and swimming pool are off site.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Brochure ticks for The Retreat: fitness room and personal trainer, monthly family day, neurostimulation therapy, smoking permitted in designated areas only, and well-balanced meals.
- health.maryland.gov: The OHCQ licensee record places a licensed hospital at 6501 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21204, the address The Retreat gives for itself.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The published roster lists occupational therapists and a coordinator of health and wellness. No dietitian or nutritionist appears.
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Place of care named as: Magnolia House, step-down residence after The Retreat (address not published)
- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: Place of care named as: Ruxton House, step-down residence after The Retreat (address not published)
- health.maryland.gov: Place of care named as: The Retreat, Sheppard Pratt Towson campus, 6501 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21204
- C10 Clinical seniority and academic standing · 5
Seventeen named people hold a clinical or programme role. Two psychiatrists are confirmed as adjunct assistant professors of psychiatry on the University of Maryland School of Medicine register, board certification and active licences were confirmed for psychiatrists on the Maryland Board of Physicians and ABPN, and the facility licence is proven on the OHCQ register. Three gates are met and the clinical seniority index falls in the band 5 range.
ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: Clinician register lookups for this criterion were still open at the edition cut-off (see known_gaps). The points count as assessed on the evidence available; the band may change when the lookups are completed, which is resolved in a later edition.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- Several individual register lookups were not complete at publication; the C10 band may change when they are completed.
Sources (5 cited items):- The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt: The staff directory names a medical director, three psychiatrists, two psychologists, nine clinicians and therapists, a programme manager for the step-down houses and three administrative assistants.
- medschool.umaryland.edu: University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty profile confirms an Adjunct Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in Psychiatry for the medical director of The Retreat.
- medschool.umaryland.edu: University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty profile confirms an Adjunct Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in Psychiatry for a second Retreat psychiatrist.
- verifycert.abpn.org: Maryland Board of Physicians and ABPN verifyCERT lookups on 15 September 2026 confirmed active physician licences and current certification in Psychiatry for two Retreat psychiatrists, one of them also in Addiction Psychiatry.
- health.maryland.gov: Facility licence proof: OHCQ limited private inpatient facilities directory, licence 03080 at 6501 North Charles Street, accessed 28 September 2026. Hospital licence 03039 at the same address belongs to the parent hospital.
Frequently asked questions
What does treatment at The Retreat cost?
USD 3,500 per day, held flat for the entire stay, and USD 70,000 all-inclusive for the 20-day minimum. The fee covers doctors' fees and consultations, all medications, 24/7 nursing, roughly 35 hours of weekly programming, a private suite with private bathroom, meals, laundry and therapeutic outings, with no separate assessment fee. The programme participates with no health insurance at all, and payment for the first 20 days is due on arrival. Superbills are provided so clients can pursue out-of-network reimbursement themselves. One of the clinic's own landing pages states USD 66,000 rather than USD 70,000, and that contradiction is recorded rather than resolved.
Where is it?
6501 N. Charles Street in Towson, a suburb immediately north of Baltimore, on the operator's 87-acre campus. The programme occupies a purpose-designed wing inside the hospital building. The original buildings were designated a national historic landmark in 1971. The setting is a wooded suburban campus with walking trails and courtyards; the swimming pool and climbing gym used by the programme are both off site.
Who is it designed for?
Adults aged 18 and over who need more than outpatient care but are well enough for an unlocked, open-door setting, meaning no locked unit, seclusion or restraint. The programme names four groups: emerging adults struggling with the transition to independence, executives and professionals at a career or relationship crossroads, adults in major life transitions such as bereavement, divorce or retirement, and people with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. It is a communal group programme, not a discretion-first single-client clinic.
How does admission work?
The admissions team runs a phone or video screening, reviews records and consults the existing outpatient provider, with virtual or in-person tours available, and clinical appropriateness is assessed in consultation with the medical director. Because there is no insurance authorisation step, admission is not gated by a payer. On arrival there is a campus tour, settling into a private suite, a medication review with a psychiatrist and the start of the treatment plan, with lab work on day two. A comprehensive diagnostic assessment runs across the first two weeks and concludes in a day-14 diagnostic conference with the full team, the client and, if wanted, the family.
What happens after discharge?
A discharge coordinator works on the plan throughout the stay. Clients who need longer support move to Ruxton House or Magnolia House, home-like transitional residences near the campus staffed 24 hours, where treatment continues on an outpatient basis with the same primary clinician while occupational therapy focuses on practical independence. From there, continuing outpatient care inside the operator keeps the same therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Rates, minimum durations and typical lengths of stay for the step-down houses are not published, and no structured aftercare contact of six months or more is described.