Gateway Behavioral Health Services

Rehab Reviews

8 years ago

Gateway Behavioral Health Services Review

Gateway Behavioral Health Services is a public state-run non-profit organization providing community services for mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities in Georgia. The facility offers recovery care for eight counties including Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long and McIntosh. While services vary at each of these, their Glynn County location is the flagship facility for substance abuse services, offering residential treatment for women as well as outpatient care for all adults and adolescents.

Accommodations and Food

Gateway’s inpatient facility for women is located in the seaside town of Brunswick and is held in a residential home where women are welcome to stay with their children who are under the age of 12. Clients are permitted to attend with up to three children, and all residents who attend the program with a child get their own room. No more than 24 women attend the program at a time. Clients without children share a double occupancy room with one roommate with two twin beds, an armoire and nightstands. There are communal bathrooms in each hallway, usually shared between two rooms.

There is no cook on staff and residents are in charge of preparing their own meals. There is, however, a program assistant who sets a weekly menu and assists in the cooking. Two clients are assigned to cooking duty each week and are in charge of doing the weekly shopping, funded by the facility. Still, residents have the freedom to select and pay for specific items of their own choosing. All clients are also assisted in applying for food stamps at the start of the program.

Treatment and Staff

When necessary, treatment begins with a medical detox which lasts three to five days in Gateway’s special 20 bed detox facility located minutes from the Glynn County residential facility. Around the clock nursing care is provided and the entire process is supervised by an on-staff psychiatrist. Clients attend group and individual therapy sessions during their time in detox before completing an initial intake evaluation to determine the next steps of treatment.

The women’s residential program at Glynn County is long term—typically lasting six months to a year. Days at the facility are filled with group and individual sessions led by LADCs. Clients typically attend two to three group sessions a day ending at 4 pm at which time they are free to socialize, complete their chores or spend time with their children.

In the evenings, clients are transported to community 12-step meetings. All of Gateway locations have dual diagnosis support available and clients can expect weekly individual sessions with a mental health counselor. Medication management is provided as well. The on-site staff also includes social service technicians who provide support and 24-hour services to residents, as well as transportation to local meetings and day trips. Residents also meet with a medical doctor upon intake.

In addition to residential care, all of Gateway’s locations have Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) with the exception of the Bryan County facility. Substance abuse services vary from location to location—ranging from community based treatment and nursing assessments and care to individual, group and family counseling. Clients can also schedule individual counseling during their time in IOP. As with residential care, those in IOP tend to be a mix of court-appointed and self-referred clients.

Extras

Given that many women participating in Gateway’s Glynn County program arrive homeless, the facility also provides sustained care once clients complete the program. There is a Shelter Plus program which provides temporary free housing and a tenant program at two group homes in Glynn County, in which clients pay rent but no utilities for up to six months while they seek more stable living and work situations. Clients participating in either program must attend at least 10 hours of group therapy each week while receiving these services.

In Summary

With a variety of mental health and substance abuse services in eight separate counties, Gateway Behavioral Health Services is a comprehensive behavioral health institution. The public non-profit has an IOP in seven out of eight facilities in addition to a range of other mental health and recovery programs. Clients who embark on their recovery journey with Gateway Behavioral Health Services can be sure they receive a range of services and a continuum of substance abuse care.