A Profile of the Nation’s Leader in Dual Diagnosis Treatment
“My brother has been through 32 rehabs. This is the first one that worked.”
– Alexander, Review on American Addiction Center’s National Rehabs Directory
Until as recently as the 1990s, it was the belief of the professional mental health and addiction recovery communities that a person suffering from both an addiction (to drugs and/or alcohol) and a mental health disorder simultaneously should have each issue contained and treated individually. Most often, a patient given this dual diagnosis was not allowed to treat their mental health disorder until they had achieved a certain level of sobriety. Today, however, dual diagnosis treatment is an integrated, coordinated approach to substance abuse and mental health interventions for individuals with co-occurring disorders. These treatments are prevalent in many addiction treatment facilities across the US. Still, none of them serve up a more compassionate, collaborative, and individually cohesive treatment method than New Method Wellness (NMW).
The Founders and Leaders of New Method Wellness
Ed and Susie Hopson-Blum opened New Method Wellness addiction treatment facility in 2006 in San Juan Capistrano, California. New Method Wellness is a substance abuse and mental health treatment center that provides residential and outpatient care to individuals suffering from substance abuse and chemical dependency issues.
Since December 2, 1988, when she entered the Betty Ford Clinic and started her recovery, Susie Hopson-Blum began paving the road that would lead her to New Method Wellness. Hopson-Blum, alongside her husband and entrepreneurial sidekick, Ed, left a two-decade-long real estate sales career compelled to give back to the addiction community that helped heal her. They began two sober living communities before opening New Method Wellness in 2006 and eventually partnering with Bing and Deanna Crosby. Bing and Deanna joined the NMW board of directors in 2011 to grow the addiction treatment center into the haven it has become today.
“Each of our founders has a special relationship with substance abuse, whether it’s from personal experience or observance of a loved one suffering from addiction.”
Today, owner and founder Susie Hopson-Blum leads the team at New Method Wellness. Her husband, Ed Blum, serves as CEO. Deanna Crosby, a fellow recovering addict, shapes a team of clinicians as Clinical Director. Bing Crosby (the grandson of THAT other Bing Crosby) serves the community as Chief Financial Officer.
The leaders of New Method Wellness take pride in the holistic approach to treatment taken in their facility and the individual compassion shown to each patient that enters their doors. When dealing with dual diagnosis, individual treatment plans are a given. So, what is it about New Method Wellness and its treatment that makes it the leader in dual diagnosis treatment? Also, how is that different from most addiction facilities that seek to help their patients to live sober lives?
Dual Diagnosis: A Community Collaboration to Meet the Individual’s Needs
“According to a study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), about 23 million Americans suffer from some form of a co-occurring disorder associated with a substance use disorder (National Institutes of Health, 2015). These comorbid disorders are considered dual diagnosis disorders, and the survey also reveals that the majority of these disorders are left untreated.”
Dual diagnosis treatment is a relatively new healing method for both the mental health and addiction treatment professions. Yet, New Method Wellness has quickly discovered an equation that has granted success and sobriety for over 1,000 individuals who have taken on the treatments.
The math goes something like this.
New Method Wellness addiction treatment center offers 18 beds to patients, detox and residential, between three separate living facilities. The leaders pair every client with a private team consisting of:
- Two Licensed Clinicians
- One Addiction Psychiatrist
- One Dietician
- One Case Manager
- One Acupuncturist
- One Massage Therapist
- One Medical Doctor
- Two Physician Assistants (medical and psychiatric)
- One Registered Nurse
- One Licensed Vocational Nurse
With approximately 75 full-time licensed medical professionals to the 24 (on average) patients that seek treatment at the facility at one time, the staff to patient ratio usually evens out to a cool 3:1. At New Method Wellness, the math is that there is no math. The leadership provides the professionals needed to give their patients the best possible scenario to adopt the treatment given and succeed. They settle for nothing less. This mindset is uniform for New Method Wellness leaders in pretty much all endeavors they decide to take on.
New Method Wellness: Licensed and Accredited
The 18 Detox and Residential beds at New Method Wellness hold the highest possible credentialing in California. The beds are State Licensed, Joint Commission (JCAHO), and Commission Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accredited, as well as IMS licensed (Incidental Medical Services). The Outpatient program (which includes PHP, IOP, OP) is CARF and JCAHO accredited and State Licensed. New Method Wellness is a Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) provider as well.
The New Method Wellness treatment facility and its team of professionals are the most decorated of their kind in the state of California, perhaps across all 50 states, for that matter. So, with credentials in hand, how does New Method Wellness use these coveted and distinguished tools to heal each patient that comes to their facility in San Juan Capistrano?
A New Method to Wellness
New Method Wellness’ chief focus as a clinical provider revolves around Evidence-Based Practices (EBT’s) such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). While that list sounds quite clinical and mundane, how NMW allows these practices to take shape for each individual in recovery is almost magical in scope.
New Method Wellness can confidently stand behind the name it chose when you dive in and take a look at the range of treatment methods proposed to patients. The possibilities range from the most conservatively classic yet individualized therapy sessions to the most out-of-the-box and exciting pathways to wellness. These new methods to wellness include:
- Individualized Treatment
- Addiction Psychiatry
- Psychoneuroplasticity (PNP)
- Evidence-based Therapy
- Family Group
- Holistic Approach
- YogaTtherapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Process Groups
- Sand tray Therapy
- Equine Therapy
- Art Therapy
- Guided Imagery
- Nutritional Counseling
- Massage Therapy
- Acupuncture Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Meditation Therapy
- Wilderness Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Surf Therapy
- Wolf-assisted Therapy
- Paddleboard Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
The sheer amount of therapeutic pathways to walk down at New Method Wellness is exciting and shows the level of thought the NMW leadership has put into creating this holistic environment that can serve all who need it in a very individualized and focused way. And inclusivity does not stop at the forms of therapy that NMW provides its patients but extends its open arms to the type of patient that can seek treatment here.
New Method Wellness + LGBTQ
New Method Wellness expands its wings far beyond the limits of social boundaries. New Method wellness offers dual diagnosis treatments specific to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community members. NMW works with physical and health issues unique to the LGBTQ+ population, including compulsive sexual behavior, HIV-related stress, sexual abuse, and sexual dysfunction. In addition, culturally competent addiction psychologists assist clients in dealing with the influences of societal marginalization, which pose further obstacles for clients seeking treatment, such as the following:
- Anxiety over shame and discrimination regarding personal sexual identity
- Fear of cultural and social isolation
- Lower self-worth due to sweeping cultural bias owing to sexual orientation
At New Method Wellness, shame is a haunting memory of the past, and inclusive healing is the only focus for these professionals.
What Happens After New Method Wellness
Personalization of the therapeutic pathway is the most critical offering a patient can accept at NMW. Individualization of therapy is an essential part of the process if you want any dual diagnosis treatment taking root and having lasting effects on a patient. That goes the same for an individual’s length of stay at New Method Wellness. Treatments programs can range from 7 days to 6 months based on the complexity and needs of the individual.
No matter how long the stay, rest assured, New Method wellness does not release their patients back into the wild without offering thorough follow-up services to keep everyone involved and hooked into their time at the treatment center. In addition, New Method Wellness has a robust alumni program that offers two free weekly ZOOM meetings that former clients can attend for life following their discharge. New Method Wellness also features an annual on-site alumni banquet for graduates and their families.
Dual diagnosis treatment methods are what the leaders tangibly offer every individual during their time at New Method Wellness, but what is dually offered is an empathetic and compassionate partner that will guide you through your intricate and hard-fought recovery process and then will be there, beside you, to hold you up, keep you strong and moving forward for the rest of your life.
