Responsibility House Review
Mike Martyn, an addict in recovery, founded Responsibility House more than 20 years ago to provide cost-effective treatment to other addicts in recovery. Responsibility House offers male-only residential treatment in the New Orleans area that prioritizes what its name suggests—responsibility. Martyn chose the name by accident. When a state official told him all of the names he wanted were taken, he said, “Okay, I’ll take responsibility.” He meant, “I’ll take responsibility for finding a new name,” but ended up taking the name Responsibility House instead, which aptly fit his idea for treatment anyway.
Accommodations and Food
Responsibility House, which does in fact look more like a house than a medical facility, can hold up to 12 residents who share modest-sized bedrooms with one or two other men. Rooms come equipped with twin beds, dressers and limited storage space. The house also has a common area with a television and is located near parks.
Residents prepare all meals for themselves. While treatment occurs in a different place, they return to the facility throughout the day to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Treatment and Staff
Treatment is CBT-based, holistic, goal-oriented and 12-step oriented. They also offer treatment for co-occurring disorders.
The program is divided into two phases. During the first, clients attend intensive clinical treatment seven days a week for up to six weeks. Treatment includes relapse prevention, family therapy, addiction education, group therapy and 12-step meetings. During the second phase, which lasts a maximum of four weeks, residents spend their mornings looking for employment and only attend clinical treatment in the afternoon. They leave the program (or move into the halfway house) when they find employment or if the four-week period is over—whichever comes first.
A typical day in the first phase begins with a 6 am wake-up and breakfast. Residents then head over to the treatment office, where they spend about eight hours a day in group therapy and education with breaks for lunch and dinner. They also attend 12-step meetings in the evenings and participate in recreation, which might be playing football or volleyball in the park. Lights out is at 9 pm.
Staff includes two LPCs as well as several licensed professional counseling interns, a licensed addiction counselor, administrative staff and a registered dietician. There is almost always at least one staff member at the house at all times. The staff-to-resident ratio at the house is therefore about one-to-six or more, and much lower during the treatment portion of the day—probably about one-to-four.
Extras
Those who complete the residential program can move into the 12-bed halfway house, which is also a resource for the homeless in the community. Residents must be employed or looking for work. Once they begin working, staff members teach them how to budget, and they are expected to pay for rent, utilities and food. This program lasts anywhere from five to 10 months.
Responsibility House also offers an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and standard outpatient treatment for both men and women. The intensive outpatient takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, while the outpatient treatment is on Tuesdays from 6 to 8 pm and on Thursdays from 6 to 7 pm.
In Summary
Responsibility House may be on the bare-bones side, but the treatment seems thorough and the environment supportive. This program is also ideal because of the gender-specific treatment and continued care options, which help with a successful long-term recovery.
Responsibility House Location
1799 Stumpf Blvd, Bldg 7, Ste 4
Terrytown, LA 70056
Responsibility House Cost
$3,300 (30 days) but other funding is available for those in need. Reach Responsibility House by phone at (504) 367-4426 or (504) 324-6265 or by email at info@rhousela.org. Find Responsibility House on Facebook
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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.
