Progress House Review
In 1973, Progress House opened as a residential treatment facility for men in California’s Central Valley, and in the intervening years has progressed in size and scope, now with 11 locations in three counties and facilities for both men and women, including women who are pregnant or parenting. Progress House lives by the Recovery Model: the idea of focusing on the potential to recover, that chemical dependency is a disease and a treatable one. It relies on a 12-step foundation and clients are thus exposed to the program throughout treatment.
Accommodations and Food
Progress House is located partially in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and its Coloma men’s house affords beautiful views. Coloma is a low, ranch-style house with 20 beds. The Nevada City men’s house is farther from Sacramento than the other Progress facilities. It’s a restored three-story farmhouse from the Gold Rush era, outside of Nevada City proper, off the highway. There are 16 beds. Treatment occurs within each residence. The Nevada house sees more traffic than the Coloma house because of Nevada’s proximity to Progress aftercare; the alumni community is active and can offer support to residential clients.
There are three women’s facilities: two in El Dorado and one in Yolo Count—all of similar capacity to the men’s facilities. Progress House also has a Counseling Center and five gender-specific transitional care homes, where clients, including women with children, can live for up to a year post-treatment.
All clients are adults, 18 and over, and Progress House expects them to act like it. Yes, the cost includes room and board, so linens, groceries, furnishings and household wares are provided, but clients have the responsibility of doing chores and preparing their own meals. Meals are typically made and enjoyed communally, especially given that there are universally designated meal times.
Treatment and Staff
Clients stay in residential treatment from one to six months. Each client’s recovery track is tailored to his or her individual needs. Men and women alike in Progress House’s residential programs have a mandatory 30 hours a week of therapy and group. All of Progress House’s therapists are licensed counselors. Clients have individual therapy meetings every week, and group therapy every day. Groups range from clinical education about addiction to process group therapy to support groups around specific issues and learning life skills. Pregnant and parenting women in treatment have additional groups teaching proper parenting skills in addition to vocational therapy.
The longer a client stays on, typically, the more small freedoms he or she earns. In the beginning, though, they’re meant to dive into the work of recovery. Everyone is expected to be awake by 7 am for breakfast and an hour long house meeting. After the meeting, chores are taken care of, followed by the first group of the day, from 10 am to 12. Clients have lunch and free time before afternoon group from 2 to 4 pm. Evenings are meant for dinner, relaxation and 12-step meetings, both on and off-site.
Extras
All clients have a “blackout” period of seven days, where they are not exposed to anyone outside of treatment, so they can learn to start focusing on themselves. After several weeks, they’re allowed to take periodic trips into town, under supervision and with their peer groups, to restock on toiletries and the like.
Pregnant clients with MediCal can have their care paid for through their pregnancies and for up to two months postpartum. Progress House is happy to assist in the arrangement of finances for their clients.
In Summary
Progress House has 30-day programs, but where it stands out is in its dedication to creating a home for its clients for the long-term and with in-depth care. Especially with insurance coverage, its resources make Progress an excellent choice for pregnant women. Apart from the space it creates for children, Progress House does not specialize like some treatment facilities do in co-occurring disorders or in experiential therapies and doesn’t advertise a particular spiritual bent; instead they offer overall stability: a straightforward program of recovery in a tranquil environment.
Progress House Location
PO Box 1666
2844 Coloma St
Placerville, CA 95667
Progress House Cost
$5,250 (30 days). Reach Progress House by phone at (560) 626-9240 or by email at co@progresshouseinc.org. Find Progress House at Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+
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Photo courtesy of Jeremyblock (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons (resized and cropped)
Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
