Our History

The KeyStone Center Extended Care Unit was developed in 1994 by Patrick Carnes, PhD, a renowned speaker and author on topics of sex addiction treatment. Since that time, our treatment team has adapted Carnes’ wisdom to address the emotional, intellectual, and relational needs of the people who pass through our doors.

The program its self has evolved and grown in the years since its inception. Originally designed as an “after care” center for patients at sister inpatient facilities, the ECU grew to become a key center in the field of sexual addiction treatment and recovery. A place of stability and 12-step recovery principles, it is the destination for people serious about working the program. It has also become a provider of the highest quality mental health and addictions treatment. The milieu is filled with its own rich history which in turn embraces and honors the history of all who enter the mansion.

The Victorian mansion, which houses our Extended Care Unit, offers a structured and comfortable setting for this intensive work. The mansion is situated across from the main KeyStone Center buildings on the grounds of the industrialist and banker Robert Wetherill’s estate. Our building was once the home of Wetherill’s daughter, Mary Louise Trainer. The Wetherill family traces its roots to the original settlers of New Sweden as well as the original founder of our city, Joran Kyn. Many wonderful and interesting articles of Wetherill family history can be found on the internet about this family’s historical link to our mansion including the Wetherill family’s ties to the Anastasi Indians of the South Western United States.

Clues to the history of the building and the family can be found in various family crests and insignias scattered throughout the mansion. Warm and inviting like the family home it was built to be, clients often find comfort in the aesthetic grace and splendor that our house and grounds offer. Few people recognize the third floor ballroom or basement bomb shelter built during the Cold War but they remain. Together with the exquisite stained glass windows, the mahogany wainscoting, and old growth plantings on the grounds, our mansion is a reminder of the ever present process of change.