Treatment Philosophy

We recognize that persons with SUDs are also known to often experience comorbid chronic physical health conditions, including chronic pain, cancer, and heart disease.  Therefore, at MWRC we employ the “medical model” to treat our clients.  Our treatment philosophy is based on the following key principles:

  1. We view addiction as a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.
  2. No single treatment is appropriate for everyone. Treatment varies depending on the type of drug and the characteristics of the clients.
  3. Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse. To be effective, treatment must address the individual’s drug abuse and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, housing, childcare, and legal problems. It is also important that treatment be appropriate to the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.
  4. Addiction is a chronic brain disease from which recovery is possible.  Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. Even individuals with severe and chronic SUDs can, with help, overcome their disorder and regain health and social function. This is called remission. When those positive changes and values become part of a voluntarily adopted lifestyle, that is called “being in recovery.”

At MWRC we are committed to a mission of providing quality services to women struggling with substance use and co-occurring mental disorders. We aim to empower each of our clients to achieve recovery and rehabilitation in mind, in body and in spirit. In addition to stopping drug abuse, our ultimate goal in treatment is to return our clients to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community. Our promise is that we will provide to each of our clients skilled and compassionate care that is individualized to their unique needs.

As a healthcare provider, we aim to approach the treatment of SUDs based on medical science, on evidence and on trauma-informed care rather than on popular approaches – often majorly relying on psychotherapy (“talk therapy”) – that more often than not are ultimately not optimally effective in the client’s remission or recovery.