About Northwest Counseling – Journey Program
In downtown Wausau, Wisconsin, just east of the Wisconsin River, is Northwest Counseling. Their Journeys program is for troubled youths and their families struggling with negative behaviors, including substance use disorder and co-occurring disorders. It’s designed for those who aren’t achieving success in other treatment programs, have been discharged from a treatment program, or are at-risk of placement outside the home.
This day program works by identifying and drawing on the strengths of clients to develop healthy coping skills. During treatment, clients work with local schools to continue their academic process, too. Journeys can last 3-9 months on average.
Reach out to this facility to learn more about their accepted insurance plans. As a perk, they do offer transportation for all and snacks and breakfasts for eligible clients.
Coordinated Care
Something I admire about this program is that it recognizes the need for a multipronged approach. They’ve done a lot to cultivate an inclusive, judgement free environment for SUD recovery, but that alone brings only limited success. That’s why they participate in extensive care coordination with other providers.
With addiction impacting all areas of your health, it only makes sense that other medical providers, such as your primary care physician, are kept updated on your treatment. That way, all of your relevant medical care can be informed by your progress and adjusted accordingly. It’s supportive, whole-person care in its simplest form.
Expansive Transitional Care Services
When we discuss transitional care in the context of addiction treatment, we often mean transitioning out of treatment back to our home and community lives. Here, that same support is extended to school and family support. When a client feels supported in all these areas, they’re more likely to succeed in sobriety.
A Helping Hand from the Community
Another great thing about this facility is its downtown location. It’s central to everything the Wausau community has to offer, including recovery support groups and events. If you’re looking for a way to become part of the community, it can be a good place to start!
Rehab Score
Other Forms of Payment
Medicaid is a state based program that helps lower-income individuals and families pay for healthcare. Medicaid covers addiction treatment so those enrolled can use their coverage to pay for rehab. When a program accepts Medicaid the client often pays very little or nothing out of their own pocket.
Private insurance refers to any kind of healthcare coverage that isn't from the state or federal government. This includes individual and family plans offered by an employer or purchased from the Insurance Marketplace. Every plan will have different requirements and out of pocket costs so be sure to get the full details before you start treatment.
Self-pay involves paying for treatment out of your own pocket. You can use savings or credit, get a personal loan, or receive help from family and friends to fund your treatment. If you don't have insurance or your insurance plan doesn't cover a specific program, self-pay can help ensure you still get the care you need.
Sliding scale payments are based on a client's income and family size. The goal is to make treatment affordable to everyone. By taking these factors into account, addiction recovery care providers help ensure that your treatment does not become a financial burden to you or your family, eliminating one barrier to care.
Military members, veterans, and eligible dependents have access to specific insurance programs that help them get the care they need. TRICARE and VA insurance can help you access low cost or no cost addiction and mental health treatment. Programs that accept military insurance often have targeted treatment focused on the unique challenges military members, veterans, and their families face.
Addiction Treatments
Treatments
Many of those suffering from addiction also suffer from mental or emotional illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety disorders. Rehab and other substance abuse facilities treating those with a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder administer psychiatric treatment to address the person's mental health issue in addition to drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Mental health rehabs focus on helping individuals recover from mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and more. Mental health professionals at these facilities are trained to understand and treat mental health issues, both in individual and group settings.
Clinical Services
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.
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.
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.
Experiential therapy is a form of therapy in which clients are encouraged to surface and work through subconscious issues by engaging in real-time experiences. Experiential therapy departs from traditional talk therapy by involving the body, and having clients engage in activities, movements, and physical and emotional expression. This can involve role-play or using props (which can include other people). Experiential therapy can help people process trauma, memories, and emotion quickly, deeply, and in a lasting fashion, leading to substantial and impactful healing.
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 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.
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.
Trauma therapy addresses traumatic incidents from a client's past that are likely affecting their present-day experience. Trauma is often one of the primary triggers and potential causes of addiction, and can stem from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, having a parent with a mental illness, losing one or both parents at a young age, teenage or adult sexual assault, or any number of other factors. The purpose of trauma therapy is to allow a patient to process trauma and move through and past it, with the help of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.
Staff

Amy Elmer
Program Director

Andrea Peltier
Program Director

Jen Steinke
Program Director

Gabrielle Albers
Program Director
Contact Information
5655 N. 28th Ave.
Wausau, WI 54401