AspenRidge Recovery

I went to the virtual IOP substance abuse classes so I cannot speak to meals and nutrition as asked above. The groups started off great and the community among the group members was extremely supportive and helpful. As we want further into the “curriculum” it was clear there were zero evidence based practices embedded as they state in the description. No DBT, CBT, ACT, or anything. There were constant videos like Ted talks, Buddhist meditation, etc and then random worksheets from smart recovery or other substance abuse websites. It was mentioned that the evidence based practices were worked on in 1:1 sessions but I had an outside therapist I saw so I did not participate in them. It is unacceptable to only look at ted talk videos and random worksheets for almost 9 hours a week and then book a 50 minute session with a therapist per week to look at real skills... absolutely not.

Regardless, that is not at all what an IOP substance program should look like. The curriculum is terrible and leaves participants sitting with their cameras off just hanging out for 20-45 minutes at a time. Also, my original case worker spoke to me the first week I started and said she would follow up after my first full week. I never once heard from her until she emailed me 4 weeks into the program saying she forgot to do a case management needs assessment when I first started. I understand drowning in case management as I am a special educator but it’s best to be transparent rather than say you’ll check in and never do! In addition, when I shared I would be shifting to another program and asked what next steps would be, the conversation was less than five minutes. The counselor was respectful and wished me good luck however treatment centers typically (as it is best practice) will do a discharge meeting and provide 1-2 referrals for alternate programs to support in next steps. I was never once engaged with or spoken to after my phone call saying I would be leaving the program.

ALSO, I almost forgot. They say they are lgbtq friendly and have the cute little image on the end of their website. This is inaccurate. Maybe LGB but in no way trans competent or educated in any way on trans folks. I was misgendered constantly, my files were messed up every single time when referring to my gender vs sex assigned at birth, simply because I was assigned female at birth in my documentation meant I had some feminine silhouette with a pony tail on my online account... Just so many deeply exclusionary practices that it ended up being quite triggering!

I will say that I feel the employees do genuinely care, however this is a wildly corrupt and ineffective program as a whole. I knew it was not good while I was in the IOP program but now that I am actually in one that follows evidence based practices and supports in the way they say they do, it is clear how much Aspen Ridge needs to grow. I feel a lot of empathy for those who are participating in the program and have no idea that this is not what it is supposed to look like. It is a disservice to those who are vulnerably reaching out and asking for help yet being offered hours of ted talks and ZERO concrete applicable skills. For substance abuse support and programming, I HIGHLY recommend seeking a different program.