When you first come into the Opioid Recovery program at ACG Health, you will have an “intake.” We can do walk-in intake or you can call ahead to schedule an intake. The first person you will meet is a certified recovery specialist (CRS), whose own lived experience with addiction can help you build a sense of hope for your future.  The CRS will get to know you, ask you some questions about your life and your struggles, and help keep you motivated to make the changes necessary to achieve your goals.

We will work with you to determine your appropriate level of care. If it is clear that you need to go to inpatient rehab or detox before starting at ACG Health, you will be referred at this time. If you are appropriate for medication assisted therapy for your opiate use disorder, you will next see a medical provider. 

ACG Health can provide your primary care. You will be asked if you would like to switch your primary care provider with your insurance company to us. This is optional, but allows us to work with you as a whole person. We aim not just treat the addiction, but also help get your health back together. We take care of medications, referrals to specialists, treating Hepatitis C (if needed), and all of the other parts of your healthcare. You should be aware that we do not prescribe or tolerate the use of benzodiazepines while you are a patient.

When you see the medical provider, you will get a full primary care visit and an evaluation for the appropriateness of medication assisted therapy (MAT). 

We will get you started on medication as quickly as possible.

You will also begin meeting with a care manager or therapist. Every patient has the opportunity to work with a care manager at least once per month, and most patients find it very helpful to meet with a therapist every week to address their goals in recovery and to work on their mental health struggles. The therapist and others on staff also work as “care managers” to evaluate your needs and make all of the referrals and care coordination that you need to pursue your recovery.

You will be told about the care management process and all ACG Health programs during your program orientation.

Recovery is much more than not using. It is changing your life for the better. It is healing. It is building relationships. It is feeling better about yourself. Becoming a better citizen. ACG Health works with you to help you do all of these things.

We believe the best treatment for opiate use disorder generally involves using a medication to replace the opioids you have been taking. There are a variety of medications that can be used to do this, and the most common is called buprenorphine. These medications generally work in your brain to help you not feel withdraw from and cravings for opiates. While you are taking the medication, you can get into the real work of recovery.

The medication is a tool to help you stay off of opiates. It is not, though, a fix-all in recovery. This is why patients at ACG Health work with a care manager or therapist and a team to do the real work of healing, committing to a new way of life, and building a sense of yourself as a person in recovery.

If you are prescribed a medication to assist your recovery, you will be explained how to use it, and you will be given the doses that are medically appropriate for you. ACG Health will monitor your progress in recovery by taking at least monthly urine drug screens that measure levels of the medication in your body and help you to hold yourself accountable to your recovery. If your urine drug screens show that you are struggling, we will help you to step up your approach to recovery or to refer you to a higher level of care if that is needed.

Centers of Excellence are programs for opioid use disorder that view each patient as a whole person. We strive to address all of the needs of each person with opiate use disorder as they work toward recovery. We integrate medical and mental health care and actively work to coordinate your care so that each of your needs are taken care of.

Information about the Centers of Excellence program can be found here.

ACG Health serves as a training site for future professionals. ACG Health is part of the American Psychological Association doctoral psychology internship consortia at both Widener University and Chestnut Hill College. ACG Health has also worked with students studying clinical psychology at Immaculata University and art therapy at Drexel University.

ACG Health hosts a clinical psychology postdoctoral residency program that recruits trainees from all over the country and that is pursuing accreditation by the American Psychological Association.

ACG Health also commits to ongoing training of its staff. Every week, ACG Health hosts a “didactic” training with programming offered by staff and by outside experts on topics ranging from addiction, healthcare, specific mental health disorders, trauma, art therapy, and many others. We are committed to ensuring that the staff you work with at ACG Health are as highly trained as possible, because you deserve to be treated with expertise and dignity.

For clinical psychology trainees, information about our postdoctoral residency program can be found here.