Important Information For Victims Of Sexual Abuse At Acadia Healthcare Facilities

According to the American Medical Association (AMA), “behavioral health” is an umbrella term referring to both mental health and substance use disorders. It also encompasses “life stressors and crises, and stress-related physical symptoms.”

When it comes to even the most rudimentary assessment of behavioral health in the United States, it is easy to see that Americans are in trouble. Data provided on theglobalstatistics.com shows that approximately 57.8 million adults in the U.S. are affected by some sort of mental illness, and approximately 14.1 million adults suffer from debilitating mental illness that affects their life, work and relationships. Anxiety and depression – which often go hand-in-hand – are the most prevalent complaints.

Furthermore, as reported on the same website, more than 19 million American adults experience some sort of mental illness and substance use disorder. Although the number of Americans who succumbed to drug overdoses fell to roughly 80,000 in 2024, experts maintain that the link between poor mental health and substance use disorder remains. This is because many people experiencing mental health disorders tend to use substances to self-medicate.

As the need for treatment of behavioral health conditions has increased, the number of specialty behavioral hospitals in the United States has also grown, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA). In fact, these facilities –– accounted for 11% of all U.S. hospitals as of 2023.

Although these facilities are supposed to “provide unique treatment programs to meet the health needs of patients with behavioral health conditions,” plaintiffs in recent lawsuits allege that seeking help at facilities operated by Acadia Healthcare Company did more harm than good. Among other things, some of the plaintiffs allege that they were raped or sexually abused while being treated at Acadia facilities.

Keep reading to learn more about these allegations and options for legal recourse if you or a loved one were raped or sexually abused at an Acadia Healthcare facility.

A Brief Introduction To Acadia Healthcare Company

Acadia Healthcare Company bills itself as a “leading provider” of behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico.

As such, it says it operates 262 treatment facilities in 39 states. Acadia also says it offers “multiple levels of care for various behavioral health and substance use disorders” at its facilities. Among other things, the company purportedly provides residential treatment for addiction, residential treatment for dual diagnosis, acute psychiatric inpatient hospitalization, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services, and several treatment options on an outpatient basis. In all, Acadia says it employs more than 25,000 people and its facilities have approximately 11,850 beds to accommodate children, teens, adults, and seniors.

The global market research company Market Research Future also classifies Acadia Healthcare Company as one of the top industry leaders in the U.S. behavioral health market.

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Acadia’s Troubled History Detailed In Recent Lawsuits

While Acadia brags that its network of treatment facilities “… offers those in our communities a safe environment in which to receive the treatment they need,” news reports detailing recent litigation reveal a troubled history.

According to a September 24, 2025 article published on freedommag.org, for example, Options Behavioral Health Hospital, an Acadia Healthcare facility in Lawrence, Indiana, will cease operations on October 9. The facility is closing “under a very dark cloud of at least a dozen” actual and potential lawsuits with allegations ranging from the rape of a patient to involuntary containment, the article states.

Filed in August 2024, one of those lawsuits alleged that a staff member there sexually assaulted and raped a 24-year-old woman more than once while she was a patient.

As the freedommag.org article also states, however, alleged mistreatment of patients is not unique to Options Behavioral Health. It also references another Acadia Healthcare facility subject to litigation called the Riverwoods Behavioral Health System in Riverdale, Georgia. In this case, the lawsuit detailed in the article alleges that a teenager at Riverwoods Behavioral Health System was raped by two other patients due to a lack of supervision by staff.

“Instead of fulfilling their grand responsibility of caring for those children in the most need of help, defendants exposed the children in their care to physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse,” the lawsuit states. “For years, children detained and committed in juvenile facilities run by Acadia like Riverwoods have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of guards, counselors, other residents and other agents of Acadia, all while Acadia has had knowledge of, and turned a blind eye to, this culture of abuse.”

Contact Experienced Acadia Healthcare Company Sexual Abuse Attorneys Today

In addition to the data regarding adults, mental health statistics pertaining to American youth (defined as girls and boys ages 6 to 17) are also telling. The data shared on theglobalstatistics.com indicates that more than 16 percent of American youth (approximately 7.7 million people in that age group) experienced some sort of mental disorder as of 2016. More recent data sourced from the Center for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey also shared on the site shows that: 40% of high school students reported feeling persistently sad/hopeless; 20% of students seriously considered suicide; and 9% of students attempted suicide.

This means that even more young people seeking help may have been or could potentially be exposed to alleged predators at Acadia Healthcare facilities.

If you or a loved one were sexually abused by patients or staff at an Acadia Healthcare facility you may be able to sue the company to get the compensation you deserve. To find out if you have a viable case, start by contacting Van Law Firm for a free initial consultation today.