A Collaborative, Effective Approach

Our clinical team at Balance House believes in viewing clinical issues through the lens of attachment theory. Attachment refers to a quality of our interpersonal relationships. Securely attached individuals are typically able to develop trusting relationships, set appropriate boundaries, rely on others to share their emotions and feel comfortable with their own self-worth. Insecure attachment includes negative perceptions of self and others, that prevent people from developing intimate relationships. Helping those struggling with addiction develop a capacity for healthy attachments is the core of addiction treatment. Relationships not only help the recovering person learn new coping skills and find support from others, but to provide an alternative way to regulate affect and deal with emotions. At Balance House, we believe that people in recovery must first detach from addictive substances and behaviors in order to develop the capacity to build and sustain healthy relationships.

Along with attachment theory, we believe in using humanistic approaches, such as Emotion-Focused Therapy and Inner child concepts to get the root of the causes of addiction. Through evidenced-based practices like Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, patients are able to separate themselves from their problems, negative thoughts and uncomfortable emotions. These interventions help people rely on their own skills to minimize problems they are facing. Throughout life, personal experiences become personal stories. Helping individuals start to realize they are not as broken as they think they are and finding confidence, self-worth and self-determination is our vision and hope for all of our patients.

By the time a person has reached this level of care, there are usually other underlying issues. Our doctor and clinical staff will assess and recommend patients for psychological testing when necessary. We believe in waiting to do any testing for at least 30 days, just because we believe the testing is more accurate. Testing someone right out of detox is not the best time; however, we do believe they will be crucial as a person moves forward in their recovery. We are open to testing right away if there is an Advanced Directive or if you, as the referring professional, thinks it would be helpful. Again, we want to work with you every step of the way.

A medication evaluation will be completed upon admission by our medical director. If the patient is prescribed medication, our staff will manage the meds for the duration of stay, even during aftercare. We believe teaching patients medication management as they go through our phases of treatment is vital for success. It is not uncommon, as I am sure you know, for patients to stop taking their medication because they “feel better.”

We believe in the family being highly engaged in the treatment process. That includes one family therapy session per week, family intensives every 4-6 weeks depending on length of stay and weekly updates from a therapist and program director. We will ask the parents to come to our facility, if feasible, for the family intensives. We will keep these small and intimate, so their will only be three to four families at a time. They will engage in family therapy, have meals together, learn about how to reconnect with each other and have some fun. If this is not possible, we can do the intensives via skype or zoom. We also understand that some family dynamics can be detrimental and/or unsafe for our patients. We will adjust as needed and again, ask for your support in managing complex cases.