Lawsuit #8 - Rhonda Roe vs. Alsana Castlewood, Austin DeJaynes

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Alsana Castlewood Behavioral Health Technician, Austin Dejaynes, abuses Plaintiff

As a proximate result of the Dejaynes’ foregoing wrongful acts, Plaintiff suffered and will continue to suffer medically significant damages as well as both mental and emotional injuries, including, but not limited to, worsening of her eating disorder, trauma and co-occurring mental health issues, humiliation, and anxiety, as described.

Claims against other Castlewood employees resulted in the discovery of an avalanche of additional issues and reprehensible conduct perpetrated by other Castlewood employees. On January 26, 2022, Gayle Devin, the current CEO of Alsana Castlewood issued a press release admitting that Castlewood “recently learned that … direct care employees might have been involved in inappropriate conduct involving a client receiving outpatient care at our St. Louis program. Based on our initial review, the allegations involve significant violations of company policy, and we have taken immediate action, including terminating employees and removing employees who remain under investigation from any client setting.”

Indeed, Dejaynes is simply one of the latest chapters in what has been the sordid and harm-producing history of Castlewood. This history has included but is not limited to:

• A series of lawsuits brought by Lisa Nasseff and others against Castlewood and its founder, Schwartz accusing Schwartz of implanting false memories of sexual abuse, satanic cult activity, brainwashing and hypnosis ultimately led to the resignations of Schwartz and Galperin.

• Accusations of Castlewood having violated the Americans with Disabilities Act brought by a woman who had a serious eating disorder, who allegedly was promised, but ultimately denied admission because she was HIV+ - claims that were successfully prosecuted by the United States Justice Department.

• The Missouri Committee of Psychologists 2017 censure of Schwartz after a patient complained in 2013 about a lack of supervision at Castlewood, the investigation into which revealed that while Schwartz and Galperin were directors at the Masters and Johnson Trauma units at Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital in Kansas City and also at River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans, lawsuits were filed against these hospitals for implanting memories of multiple personality and satanic ritual abuse.

• Castlewood’s hiring in April 2013 of Nicole Siegfried, who, for at least the nine (9) months prior to her being hired, had been investigated by the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology and placed on probation and practice supervision for one year for ... "failure to document professional work and maintain records and engaging in a multiple relationship, patient harm and exploitive relationship;”

• Accusations by a current Castlewood employee in July 2021, that: “Leadership is very inexperienced. Due to high turnover [sic.] and difficulty [sic.] with finding qualified applicants in the surrounding area, there have been quite a few internal transitions that are not effective. Newly licensed individuals can/have become part of leadership or promoted within leadership without leadership experience! Those with lesser experience do not feel confident in receiving feedback from those who, frankly. barely know what they are doing themselves. There is a push toward only one or two modalities of treatment (IFS and attachment theory), with little insight or training to other effective modalities. There is also very little understanding of the impact of comorbid or co-occurring diagnosis on eating disorders, thereby lessening [sic.] the effectiveness of the treatment;

• Blatant misrepresentations regarding its treatment protocol and the efficacy of the treatment afforded, specifically that its treatment regimens are “evidenced-based”, when, in truth, they are anything but;

• In January 2021, being sued for violating HIPAA laws; Creating and fostering a racially hostile environment in which African American patients are denigrated;

• A therapist, a defendant in another lawsuit mentally and emotionally abusing former patients;

• Allegations of illegal drug use, alcohol use, sexual interaction and other unethical fraternization with patients.