After years of failed treatments, this psych program finally worked. Now her family owes $1 million.

A specialized psychiatric treatment program helped this 24-year-old with her complex OCD. Now, her family owes the facility more than $1 million.

It took seven years for Rachel Levasseur to find a treatment that worked for a complex form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which creates the persistent belief that she’s a harm to others. In the interim, she attempted suicide numerous times.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Things changed last year when Levasseur’s parents reached out to a therapist at Sheppard Pratt, a psychiatric hospital in Maryland. The hospital’s self-pay, residential treatment program — called The Retreat — connects patients to a personalized care team of psychiatrists and therapists, among other providers.

After a year in the program, Levasseur, 24, noticed she was improving. She had not attempted suicide while being there. Her parents said she went from quiet and closed off to increasingly social. She was finally willing to go out to dinner or to a concert with a friend.