Monday, Feb. 1st was the Grand Opening of the Recovery Plus (TM) newest facility. About 150 people were there to share in the ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate the new Mountain View Center in Murray City outside Salt Lake City. Recovery Plus (TM) has been operating out-patient services in Nevada and Murray City Utah for some time and this is their expansion into residential treatment.

The building was dedicated in the morning by a ceremony conducted by Joe Shirley, President of the Navaho Nation. That afternoon was the ribbon cutting ceremony with many community leaders in attendance to provide support for for what many termed a much needed additional resurce for young adults ages 18 + suffering from substance abuse and other mental health disorders. The program is coed.

After the afternoon ribbon cutting ceremony, we were given tours of the 20-bed facility and staff explained the program they have developed. The brand new three story building had been built specifically for Recovery Plus and they had just moved in. The rooms were well lit, and seemed warm and comfortable. Of course, since they had not yet been occupied, they didn't have a lived in feel yet. Since part of the program is based on Positive Peer Culture, the residents will spend a minimum of time in their rooms, instead are strongly encouraged to hang with their peers forcing them to interact instead of hiding out.

The program is for after detox, and designed to help each resident learn the value of staying clean. An extensive assessment will be done with each resident their first day, which will help decide if the resident should be on a 30, 60 or 90 day track. Assessment will be based on specific tests, a physical, and to identify what they call schema modes, in addition to whatever reports and previous assessments that are available. Part of that is to help the new resident understand what their life plan has been to date, and to start working on a new life plan.

They explained the basic theory of the program as cognitive-schema therapy. Schema was explained to me as taking cognitive therapy to a higher level. A schema was described as a kind of lens or pattern through which the resident views life. Understand their schema, and the therapist knows what kind of changes the resident will need to make in developing a more successful life plan. They refer to research that indicates there are 18 identifiable schemas, and identifying which one a resident is using is very helpful in pointing the way to a treatment plan.
Groups are the primary means of processing, supplemented by individual therapy. There are Schema groups, Life Skills groups, along with what you might call regular groups. I was informed that each resident participates in 120+ groups a month. The residents go to the Gym every day, and there are many experiential activites planned by a licensed Recreation Therapist.

Family education is important, with families encouraged to visit and spend time with the resident, along with workshops and training to help them be more supportive of the resident. Aftercare is also a part of the program with the staff helping the resident find proper healthy mentors and using web based conferencing to provide continued support after the resident leaves. Although not a formal Twelve Step program as such, they do use that as part of their program, largely so the resident will be comfortable enough with it they can use the Twelve Step system as a part of their support network after leaving the program.

The launch of this new program has tremendous community support and it was obvious they have considerable resources backing them. They already have two enrollments on the way and all the staff were very excited that at last, the dream that has been in the works for several years is finally launched. We should be hearing a lot more from them in the future.