VA Saint Louis Health Care System – Washington Avenue Annex

Mental Health

Inpatient treatment provides mental health services with residency in the rehab facility for the duration of treatment. During treatment, you’ll likely participate in evidence-based therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), medication management, and skill development – all under the guidance of an expert mental health therapist. By focusing on both aspects of your mental health and treating your addiction, you’ll gain vital skills to cope with cravings, manage stress, and prevent relapse. Family therapy or mindfulness training may also be available, which helps to improve mental health.

• Self-pay options
• Financial aid
• Military insurance
• Private insurance
• Per session

• Adult program
• Elderly program
• LGBTQ program
• Military program
• Program for men
• Program for women
• Young adult program

Outpatient

Outpatient rehab enables clients to continue to work, attend school, or reside at home while undergoing treatment, including addiction counseling and recovery-focused life skills training. Evening, night, and weekend sessions are available at many facilities to ensure continuous access to care on the client’s schedule. Many centers also offer ancillary services, such as career coaching and peer mentoring, to promote clients’ sustained recovery and community integration. Higher-level outpatient treatment, including intensive outpatient (IOP) care, is also widely available.

Intensive Outpatient

Intensive outpatient programs provide an intermediate level of care, often supporting clients’ transition from inpatient rehab to outpatient treatment. Most IOP programs require a minimum of nine therapeutic hours weekly, but clients may receive up to 20 hours of care, with the intensity and frequency of care declining as clients grow stronger in their sobriety. Intensive outpatient treatment generally combines addiction counseling, recovery education, holistic therapies, and, for some, medication assisted treatment (MAT).

Aftercare Support

Completing a drug or alcohol rehab program shouldn't spell the end of substance abuse treatment. Aftercare involves making a sustainable plan for recovery, including ongoing support. This can include sober living arrangements like halfway houses, career counseling, and setting a patient up with community programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

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.

Experiential Therapy

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.

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

Life skills trainings involve all the skills a person must have in order to function successfully in the world. These include time management, career guidance, money management, and effective communication. Truly successful addiction recovery is based on the ability to not only live substance-free, but to thrive. Life skills teaches the practical necessities of functioning in society, which sets clients up for success in life, and therefore sobriety.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a way of getting nicotine into the bloodstream without smoking. It uses products that supply low doses of nicotine to help people stop smoking. The goal of therapy is to cut down on cravings for nicotine and ease the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

Nutrition Therapy

Nutrition therapy, aka medical nutrition therapy (MNT), is a way of treating physical, emotional, and medical conditions through diet. Specific dietary plans are designed by professional nutritionists or registered dietitians, and patients follow them in order to positively affect their physical and mental health.

Trauma Therapy

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.

• Private setting
• Metropolitan area