The Women's Recovery Center at Hazelden in Minnesota

The Women’s Recovery Center at Hazelden in Minnesota

Hazelden’s commitment to women-specific addiction treatment is unparalleled. Thanks to Hazelden’s new Women’s Recovery Center in Center City, Minnesota, the opportunity for lifelong recovery from addiction and co-occurring disorders has never been better for women. With its sun-drenched spaces and inviting gathering rooms, Hazelden’s state-of-the-art Women’s Recovery Center provides the ideal setting for today’s most innovative clinical care and treatment programming tailored to women.

“With a new center, program The new center features include decks or patios facing the lake enhancements, and our new Hazelden’s 41,000 square-foot center was for nearly all the units, and exterior courtyards for continuing care initiative, designed to provide comfortable spaces for all units. opportunities for lifelong group therapy meetings as well as enhanced recovery for women have private space for each woman. The dayroom A commitment to women never been better provides ideal space for large-group meetings Sheila Hermes, a clinical supervisor for women with its circular design and clerestory windows at Hazelden.” at Hazelden, says the center helps fight stigma. to ensure privacy. The Serenity Room, with large “When people see and hear about this wonderful —Brenda Iliff, clinical director of Hazelden’s windows overlooking South Center Lake, offers facility, it demonstrates to the public that treatment Women’s Recovery Center a perfect setting for reading and reflection. Most is acceptable and that it doesn’t occur in a rigid, bedrooms are configured into 3-bed clusters that intimidating atmosphere,” she explains. “It shows include half walls separating the sleeping areas that treatment is delivered in a community of and a vanity for each woman. Each unit features respect and dignity, with a focus on the strength a spacious living room and small kitchen area, as and resiliency of women. It also continues well as rooms for creative expression and one-on- Hazelden’s long-standing belief that this is a bad one meetings. Warm earth tones and curved lines disease that affects good people.” are featured throughout the interior design. Exterior

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Brenda Iliff, clinical director of the center, says ▀▀ revamped trauma and disordered eating groups to accessing addiction treatment has always been include empirically supported interventions an issue for women. “We hear the same shaming ▀▀ a weekly health clinic led by the medical services statements we heard 50 years ago: ‘Women who are staff to address women’s health issues drunks are the lowest of the low.’ Add socioeconomic factors like a lack of financial resources or health ▀▀ women-only afternoon lectures with gender-specific insurance to pay for treatment and child care, and topics highlighted

it’s easy to see why women hide their addiction ▀▀ wellness services specific to women longer.” The creation of a center specifically for ▀▀ enhanced assessments to address women-specific women—a safe, healing, respectful, comfortable, issues (e.g., trauma, eating disorders, chronic pain, etc.) and inviting venue of care—helps remove some of those barriers to care, Iliff adds. Improved integration of treatment team One of the major enhancements is the effort at More than a building improved integration of the interdisciplinary team. “We Iliff is quick to point out that the Women’s Recovery have strong collaboration between the addiction unit Center at Hazelden “is more than a building. We’ve staff and mental health staff,” says Sue Hoisington, redesigned our clinical services to provide women executive director of clinical services. “For instance, the most effective care possible.” To complement we have groups being co-facilitated by clinicians from the new environment of care, Hazelden staff and the addiction and mental health teams.” consultants conducted an 18-month inventory of the women’s program. As a result, many “This is clearly an exciting time,” says Iliff. “We program enhancements and additions have been are thrilled to make far-reaching advances in our implemented, and more are under consideration. continuum of care, taking women’s care to the next level. Enhancements to women-specific care include:

▀▀ a counselor/patient resource guide (co-produced by Hazelden’s treatment and publishing divisions) to provide education on wide-ranging topics related to women’s recovery (PMS, parenting, codependency, co-occurring disorders, and more)

hazelden.org 800-257-7800 We invite you to call us with questions. We are available 24 hours a day.

Hazelden, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1949, helps people reclaim Hazelden locations their lives from the disease of addiction. Built on decades of knowledge and experience, Center City, MiNNEsota Chicago, Illinois Hazelden’s comprehensive approach to addiction addresses the full range of patient, New York, New York family, and professional needs, including treatment and continuing care for youth Newberg, Oregon and adults, research, higher learning, public education and advocacy, and publishing. Plymouth, MiNNEsota St. Paul, MiNNEsota

889201 (07/08)