Cincinnati VA Medical Center – Ft. Thomas Division

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a term used to describe a level of drinking that causes harm to a person’s health. Also known as alcohol addiction or alcohol use disorder (AUD), the dependency involves a strong, often uncontrollable urge to drink.This condition is treatable through alcohol rehab in Kentucky. Programs typically involve supervised detox, behavioral treatments, medications, and mutual-support groups.

Drug Addiction

Drug rehab in Kentucky often starts with detox, then includes inpatient or outpatient treatment, and continues with aftercare support. Specific methods used during each of these phases varies, but often include individual and group counseling, medication, and recreational therapies.

Dual Diagnosis

In Kentucky, dual-diagnosis addiction treatment programs prioritize comprehensive care for individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions. Levels of care include residential rehab, detox, and intensive outpatient programs. Interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy, or dialectical behavioral therapy, therapy, education and family counseling treat both mental health conditions at the same time. The benefits of dual-diagnosis treatment are enhanced outcomes, improved health, and they provide you with the skills to maintain your sobriety and manage your mental health.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

In Kentucky, individuals seeking assistance for mental health and substance abuse can access a variety of personalized treatment options, like inpatient or outpatient rehab. These specialist programs usually provide dual-diagnosis treatment, addressing both mental health and substance abuse simultaneously. Addiction and medical experts typically provide individual counseling, group therapy, family counseling, and holistic approaches like mindfulness practices, yoga, and meditation. These holistic approaches can help you to develop the skills to maintain your mental health and recovery.

Opioid Addiction

Opioid rehabs specialize in supporting those recovering from opioid addiction. They treat those suffering from addiction to illegal opioids like heroin, as well as prescription drugs like oxycodone. These centers typically combine both physical as well as mental and emotional support to help stop addiction. Physical support often includes medical detox and subsequent medical support (including medication), and mental support includes in-depth therapy to address the underlying causes of addiction.

• Private insurance
• Self-pay options
• Military insurance
• Per session
• 90 day cost: $1,316
• Financial aid

• Adult program
• Elderly program
• Hearing impaired program
• HIV/AIDS program: The Gay Men's HIV Positive Support Group is designed to offer gay male vets a safe and supportive environment in which to process their HIV positive status and the impact that it has in all facets of their lives. Topics discussed can include health care issues, relationships, trauma, stress management, and substance abuse.
• LGBTQ program: The Cincinnati VAMC is committed to providing top quality care to all Veterans including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Veterans. They recognize that diverse populations have distinctive needs, and are training their staff in culturally and clinically-competent care for LGBT Veterans. They are focused on providing the most respectful health care environment possible.
• Military program
• Program for men
• Program for women
• Total beds: 150
• Young adult program

Outpatient

Outpatient rehabs enable clients to integrate addiction treatment into their daily lives. Clients typically continue to work and reside at home, but may engage in daily therapeutic sessions, depending on need. Outpatient treatment generally involves individual, group, and/or family therapy, recovery-focused life skills training, and a variety of ancillary services, such as career counseling or vocational training. Outpatient rehabs often encompass multiple levels of care, including partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), sober living, and standard outpatient.

Inpatient

The inpatient psychiatric unit consists of 20 beds and is staffed by professionals from a variety of disciplines including psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing, occupational therapy, and recreational therapy. During an inpatient admission, Veterans participate in individual treatment and group therapy. Hospital stays are generally 4 to 7 days.

Medically Assisted Detox

Medical detox is the process of weaning your body off addictive substances in a medically supervised environment. An on-site medical team may include physicians, nurses, therapists, and other clinical staff whose job it is to monitor your vitals and provide medications if necessary to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. Their goal is to keep you as safe and comfortable as possible throughout the process.. Medically assisted detox programs are individualized to meet your specific needs and can vary in length, but they tend to last 5-7 days.

Sober Living Homes

A sober living home in Kentucky offers many benefits to those in recovery. These drug-free environments allow individuals to distance themselves from situations that would prompt triggers and lead to relapse. Men’s and women’s sober living also offers 12-step programs, counseling, job placement services, and long-term residence after treatment. During their stay, residents are required to abstain from alcohol and drug use, pay rent, and contribute to household responsibilities.

Animal Therapy

Animal therapy (aka pet therapy or animal-assisted therapy) can be very healing, as it allows patients to bond with animals, who give unconditional love. This is particularly useful for those who suffered trauma by the hands of people, who may be able to trust and form closer attachments to animals than humans at certain stages of rehabilitation.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapy modality that focuses on the relationship between one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is used to establish and allow for healthy responses to thoughts and feelings (instead of unhealthy responses, like using drugs or alcohol). CBT has been proven effective for recovering addicts of all kinds, and is used to strengthen a patient's own self-awareness and ability to self-regulate. CBT allows individuals to monitor their own emotional state, become more adept at communicating with others, and manage stress without needing to engage in substance abuse.

Couples Therapy

Whether a marriage or other committed relationship, an intimate partnership is one of the most important aspects of a person's life. Drug and alcohol addiction affects both members of a couple in deep and meaningful ways, as does rehab and recovery. Couples therapy and other couples-focused treatment programs are significant parts of exploring triggers of addiction, as well as learning how to build healthy patterns to support ongoing sobriety.

Creative Arts Therapy

Creative Arts Therapy provides activity based resident-centered programming that integrates function, quality, and meaning to one's life to maintain or improve functional independence and enhancement of physical, cognitive, emotional, social and leisure development

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a modified form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a treatment designed to help people understand and ultimately affect the relationship between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. DBT is often used for individuals who struggle with self-harm behaviors, such as self-mutilation (cutting) and suicidal thoughts, urges, or attempts. It has been proven clinically effective for those who struggle with out-of-control emotions and mental health illnesses like Borderline Personality Disorder.

Eating Disorder Treatment

Eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and dysfunctional eating patterns. Many psychologists and other mental health professionals consider eating disorders to be food addictions, meaning food is being used in an addictive way (similar to drug or alcohol addiction). Certain substance abuse treatment programs will have treatment for eating disorders as one of the services offered. An eating disorder may also present as a co-occuring disorder or dual diagnosis alongside drug and alcohol addiction.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

ECT is a form of treatment in which controlled electric currents are passed through the brain, sometimes causing short seizures. Treatments are done under general anesthesia. ECT appears to change brain chemistry for the better, and has been shown to provide fast and sometimes dramatic improvements in severe mental health conditions that can exist alongside addiction, including depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and suicidality. ECT is also often used by those who prefer it to taking medication.

Equine Therapy

Equine therapy, aka equine-assisted therapy (EAT), is a form of experiential therapy that involves interactions and activities with horses. It does not necessarily involve riding horses, but all activities related to horses, such as feeding, grooming, haltering and leading them. A mental health professional frequently oversees the activities (often in conjunction with a horse professional), and helps patients process their thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns during and/or after the interaction.

Experiential Therapy

The Treatment Recovery and Activity Center (TRAC) program focuses on Veterans’ Strengths Needs Abilities and Preferences and is considered the last link between the hospital and the community. The program can help Veterans cope with mental illness, deal with activities of daily living, adjust to life’s challenges, develop the skills to live life to the fullest, and avoid hospitalization.

Family Therapy

Research clearly demonstrates that recovery is far more successful and sustainable when loved ones like family members participate in rehab and substance abuse treatment. Genetic factors may be at play when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health issues. Family dynamics often play a critical role in addiction triggers, and if properly educated, family members can be a strong source of support when it comes to rehabilitation.

Group Therapy

Group therapy is any therapeutic work that happens in a group (not one-on-one). There are a number of different group therapy modalities, including support groups, experiential therapy, psycho-education, and more. Group therapy involves treatment as well as processing interaction between group members.

Individual Therapy

In individual therapy, a patient meets one-on-one with a trained psychologist or counselor. Therapy is a pivotal part of effective substance abuse treatment, as it often covers root causes of addiction, including challenges faced by the patient in their social, family, and work/school life.

Life Skills

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center’s Community Employment Services provides information, pre-employment assessment and workforce re-entry planning services, linkage, and coordination for VA and non-VA services, and community based follow-up services to integrate Veterans into the community through competitive employment. The Compensated Work Therapy program (CWT) provides vocational opportunities for Veterans seeking employment.

Motivational Interviewing

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a clinical approach to helping people with substance abuse issues and other conditions shift behavior in positive ways. It is more goal-oriented than traditional psychotherapy, as MI counselors directly attempt to get clients to consider making behavioral change (rather than wait for them to come to conclusions themselves). Its primary purpose is to resolve ambivalence and help clients become able to make healthy choices freely.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

All Veterans referred to the tobacco treatment center receive a comprehensive individualized assessment, which includes a clinical interview, CO monitoring, and a blood pressure screening. Tobacco treatment intervention options include medications, classes, and individual counseling. Tobacco treatment classes occur at different times during the day and evening at the main hospital and CBOCs.

Nutrition Therapy

Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) provides counseling services for outpatient veterans for the Cincinnati and Fort Thomas Divisions and the Community Based Outpatient Clinics. NFS also provides healthy meals for Veterans admitted to the Medical Center. Nutrition Counseling for all medical conditions: Move weight control programs, Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Disease and etc.

Trauma Therapy

The Residential PTSD programs are comprised of 2 intensive 7-week programs for male and female Veterans and an intensive 8-week program for Veterans with both PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Each program provides assessment and brief treatment of PTSD. The trauma is addressed using Cognitive Processing Therapy in individual and group sessions. Additional therapy groups include Anger Management, Relaxation Skill Training, Assertiveness Training, Distress Tolerance, Communication Training, Sleep Management, and Health Issues.

• Private setting
• Yoga studio
• Music room
• Meditation room
• Massage room
• Art activities