The First Step to Recovery at THS starts with an assessment, a private consultation with one of our counselors talking about the issues the new patient is facing. Here our staff can figure out exactly what issues someone is coping with. Whether it’s heroin or opioid abuse, mental health issues, or trouble with other substances, our team is standing by to help anyone take their First Step to Recovery. Watch the video above or read below to learn more.

Learning How We Can Help

Recognizing you should seek treatment is hard and our team at Therapeutic Health Services understands that. We want to make it easy to get care and start recovery. For each of our patients, whether they are seeking substance use treatment or mental health care, the first step to recovery starts with an assessment.

Prospective patients have a private conversation with one of our counselors, explaining what troubles they’re facing and what they need help with. If substance use is a concern, the counselor will ask questions about the patient’s history of substance use, how much they use and how often. They will also ask about how substance use is impacting the rest of the patient’s life.

If the patient is seeking mental health services, they may be asked about how they’re feeling, what’s troubling them and if they have concerns about anxiety, anger, depression or other mental health issues. They will be asked other questions about their support system, their life experiences and how their mental health issues are impacting their ability to function. Our goal to make sure we know where they’re coming from so we can address their unique needs

If the patient is entering our Opioid Use Treatment program, they’ll have an appointment with one of our healthcare providers who will determine what kind of medication and dose amount will be right for the patient. These medications may include methadone or Buprenorphine, otherwise known as Suboxone®.

These questions and our intake process are important to helping our team get a good idea of who the patient is and how THS can help. We can then assign the patient to a counselor who will take them through to the next step of recovery.

Our goal at Therapeutic Health Services is to help each of our patients take their first step toward recovery, getting started right for a journey of healing and wellness.

Our First Hill branches, Summit & Seneca, housed at the same location are now accepting new patients for our Opioid Use Treatment program. If anyone is in need of care, in need of support, or in need of medication-assisted treatment, we can help. Call (206) 705-7771 and we can schedule an appointment for an assessment and entrance to recovery. Click here to visit our Get Help form to request an appointment and someone will reach out to help with the first steps to recovery.

New Patients First Step to Recovery

The First Step to Recovery, starts with an assessment. Visit HERE to learn more about what the first steps toward treatment look like for new patients at THS. Our compassionate, caring counselors are standing by ready to support anyone in need of care. We have the most effective, evidence-based treatment for helping people from heroin and opioid abuse; medication-assisted treatment.

Medication Is Just the Beginning

We provide Medication-Assisted Treatment with medications like Methadone or Suboxone®. Patients are assessed by one of our physicians to determine which medication and dosage level are appropriate. Used appropriately with our care, Methadone and Suboxone® eliminate withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings. With this relief, the real work of recovery can begin.

Affordable, Accessible Care

We accept all Medicaid/Apple Health plans, Medicare and most private health insurance plans for our Opioid Treatment Services. We provide self-pay, payment assistance and sliding-fee scale options based on a patient’s income where the cost of care is adjusted to match a patient’s income.

Counseling That Works, Delivered by People Who Care

Evidence-based, proven and effective interventions form the basis of counseling at Therapeutic Health Services. Our experienced team of counselors helps patients explore recovery tools and develop the skills they need to meet their goals. We recognize that treatment is not a linear process, sometimes our patients stumble. We’re here with a helping hand (and no judgement) to get them back on their feet and on the pathway to recovery. Click the button below to connect to care now.

Call (206) 705-7771 to Start Recovery

Due to the Independence Day Holiday, all THS Branches will be closed on July 3^rd and 4^th 2020.

If you are a patient and need to speak with our staff, please call your branch. The phone numbers are found on our locations page here.

If you are not a patient and would like to request service, please complete our Get Help form located here: www.ths-wa.org/get-help.

For Patients Receiving Methadone

All Methadone Dispensing Clinics will be open for dispensing medication on Friday, July 3^rd.

• Two (2) take home carries will be given on Friday, July 3 for those eligible.
• Please bring you lockbox.
• Patients will return on Monday, July 6 for regular dosing.

Friday, July 3^rd Dosing Hours by Branch are below

Eastside Branch: 6:00AM – 12:00PM

Shoreline Branch: 6:00AM – 12:15PM

Snohomish/Everett Branch: 5:30AM – 12:30PM

Summit & Seneca Branch: 6:00AM – 11:30AM

If you have any questions, please speak with a dispensary nurse or your primary counselor.

In Case of Emergency

If you are experiencing a medical or other emergency, call 911 immediately.

If you are in crisis and wish to reach the King County Crisis Line, please call 206-461-3222 or 1-866-4CRISIS (1-866-427-4747).

In Snohomish County, please call 2-1-1 or the Care Crisis Line at 1-800-584-3578.

Due to the Memorial Day Holiday, all THS Branches will be closed on May 25^th, 2020.

If you are a patient and need to speak with our staff, please call your branch. The phone numbers are found on our locations page here.

If you are not a patient and would like to request service, please complete our Get Help form located here: www.ths-wa.org/get-help.

For Patients Receiving Methadone

Memorial Day – May 25^th

• Two (2) take home carries will be given on Saturday, May 23^rd for those eligible.
• Patients will return on Tuesday, May 26^th for regular dosing.

If you normally receive carries, you will be accommodated. If you have any questions, please speak with a dispensary nurse or your primary counselor.

In Case of Emergency

If you are experiencing a medical or other emergency, call 911 immediately.

If you are in crisis and wish to reach the King County Crisis Line, please call 206-461-3222 or 1-866-4CRISIS (1-866-427-4747).

In Snohomish County, please call 2-1-1 or the Care Crisis Line at 1-800-584-3578.

Looking Back Update

It’s been one year since we first shared Brenda’s story. We caught up with her to see how things were going. She’s still receiving treatment with THS and still enjoying working with Paula. As Brenda says; “Paula is still my favorite person…I love her dearly, we get along like real family members, we get along great.” Brenda is healthy and well, still loving all the good things life has blessed her with since she stopping using. Read on or click the video above to hear Brenda’s story and how she knew it was time to stop, to seek help, and start her recovery.

It Starts Small

One of the scariest aspects of opioid use is how easily it can slip into your life and change it forever. What’s worse, you can become addicted after taking just a few pills. Sometimes you’re hooked after being on pain medication for a small injury. Something sends you to the doctor: a broken toe, a sprained wrist, wisdom teeth removal. You’re sent home with a prescription: oxycodone, hydrocodone or codeine. You take your medication and before you know it the bottle’s empty and your body is craving more.

That’s how it was for Brenda, a patient of Therapeutic Health Services’ Shoreline Branch. Brenda was prescribed pain-killers because of a toothache. She would never guess she’d become dependent on them so quickly. As Brenda puts it, she never took the drugs to get high, she took them because her body needed it.

Brenda described most of her days when she was using as staying at home and popping pills, hardly doing anything for most the day. Brenda wasn’t trapped alone, her husband also developed an addiction. Together they wasted day after day taking pills at home. It wasn’t long before they found themselves buying pills off a drug dealer. It’s difficult to imagine: a grandmother, a servant of her faith, a kind woman, buying drugs on the street at prices that broke her life.

Time to Stop

Eventually Brenda reached a point when she disconnected from the person looking back at her in the mirror. Brenda describes herself as a fashionable, attractive person, but reflection showed she was losing that spark. That’s when she and her husband decided they were done. They were done with the constant cycle of buying and taking drugs and wasting days doing little else. Brenda and her husband connected to a methadone provider and started their recovery. Brenda says it saved their lives.

Recovery isn’t instantaneous, for many it’s a long and difficult process. Brenda and her husband are still in recovery. Brenda came to Therapeutic Health Services’ Shoreline Branch six years ago, and her quality of life as seen a huge boost since entering treatment. Brenda is proud of herself again, she gets out of the house and spends time doing what she loves, like spending time shopping and engaging with her church community No longer trapped by her addiction Brenda is free again something she says, you can’t put a price on.

What Tomorrow Brings

Brenda is deeply grateful for the care she has received and for the peace her treatment has provided her. Brenda thanks “Jesus for her recovery, for Therapeutic Health Services, her counselor Paula Wolfe, and for the creator of methadone therapy and medication assisted treatment.” Brenda feels that these forces saved her life and she is grateful for them.

Support Those in Need

Brenda’s story is unique, but it echoes the stories of so many in our community who struggle with opioid addiction. With our region and nation in the throes of an opioid epidemic, your support is needed now more than ever. Your contribution to THS gives us the power to provide quality, effective treatment to more people like Brenda. This is what counts: saving lives and creating new futures. Join us and donate today.

One-Year Check-Up

We had a chance to check-in with Betty, a patient of Summit/Seneca Branch whose story we told a year ago in a patient story video. Betty is doing well and staying healthy in this time of uncertainty. Betty is in the high-risk group for Covid-19, but her local neighbor community has really rallied around the challenge and she and her neighbors are getting help picking up groceries and such. As Betty puts it, she’s really thriving right now. She hasn’t seen too much difference from her regular routine and luckily both she and her family are well. Betty wanted to share about her new volunteer job she’ll be starting soon where she’ll be visiting patients at Swedish Hospital and providing communion for those who request it. Her faith and her volunteerism are a big part of who she is and Betty is grateful to have the opportunity to serve others where and when she can. If you haven’t heard her story or if you’d like to catch-up, you can click the video above or read below to hear about how Betty has spent years with the support and care she’s needed at THS.

The First Thing You Need to Know About Addiction Recovery

Is that it doesn’t happen overnight. Recovery can take many years and even after a long period of sobriety, relapse is always a possibility. Betty is a patient at Therapeutic Health Service’s Summit Branch. Her story of recovery highlights the time it can take to reach recovery and what it takes to get there.

Betty Became a Patient of THS in 1981

She was 30 and pregnant with her daughter. Betty had been addicted to heroin for several years. She was in need of real help. At that time methadone was just starting to be used in the long-term treatment of opiate addiction. Previously Betty had tried a 21-day detox program that used methadone, a new treatment at the time. “It was a three-week program, so there was no time for counseling and other issues in your life. It was very hard to get the benefit of methadone in such a short time” Betty recalled. “A lot of treatment goes along with methadone. It’s your mind, body, and soul, all those have to be addressed and that takes time.”

Betty’s Addiction Was a Traumatic Experience

When asked what she remembers of that time, Betty said “Before I got on methadone I was totally lost. I had a habit and I didn’t know what to do about it, I just know I didn’t want it. Every moment is spent trying to figure out what you’re going to do for your next fix.” For Betty, methadone provided the stabilization she needed to move past her addiction.

The relief was just…Even the first day the relief was just…amazing. Just knowing I didn’t have to do things I didn’t want to do. I probably would not go to prison for the rest of my life. I could start rebuilding a life. Methadone was a real miracle for me.

– Betty Hopper, THS Patient

Now 68 and Retired

Betty is living the kind of life she always wanted to. She exercises regularly, lives in a beautiful, no-fuss apartment and is heavily involved with her church. Betty helps her church community in a number of different ways, including helping at their regular homeless feed. Knowing she can help others, provide treats, and study her faith means the world to Betty. Her recovery through time has made these things possible.

Betty Wants Others to Know That Methadone Isn’t a Way to Get High, It’s a Way to Get Well

I’d love for methadone treatment to be destigmatized. It’s really important to me because it’s affected my life so much. The perception is so opposite what’s really happening at these clinics. If people realized what we really do here, they would have a whole different view of methadone clinics. We have real treatment. We have groups, we have counselling, we have doctors, we have all kinds of outreach programs available through the clinic that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.

– Betty Hopper, THS Patient

Betty Receives Daily Methadone Treatment

Through a low-level maintenance dose. This helps her have peace of mind as she goes about her day. She’s seen the benefits of treatment through time. Having been sober for 20 years, Betty looks forward to growing old with grace knowing she has the support she needs.

Thanks to Methadone and Regular Counseling

Therapeutic Health Services has been helping people like Betty recover from addiction to opiates for nearly 50 years. Recovery through time has improved and through their efforts, thousands of people have recovered from addiction. Each day the care staff at Therapeutic Health Services is helping people to create the lives they want to live.

We Hope That You Will Join Us

In supporting the recovery of hundreds of people like Betty. With your support, people in need can take their next step in moving past addiction and into a brand new life. Please show your support and donate, you’ll be part of creating a new tomorrow, today.

The story below was originally posted in April of 2019. We want everyone to know about Debra and her story of overcoming a lifetime of addiction and health struggles, to create the life she always wanted.

A Hard Start

Debra had a hard start in life. She was born addicted to heroin, her parents were both users before she was born. At the age of 13, Debra decided she was going to try heroin. Debra asked her father to shoot her up. He begged her not to. Debra told him, that if he didn’t give it to her, she’d go find someone who would. So he shot his 13-year-old daughter up with heroin. Debra had been addicted for decades until she began treatment at Therapeutic Health Services.

Treatment and Recovery

Debra has been a patient receiving Medication Assisted Treatment (methadone) at Therapeutic Health Services’ Shoreline branch for two years. For the last year, Debra has been completely clean from heroin for the last year. Her cravings being managed by her medication-assisted treatment and she is exploring the underlying cause of her addiction through regular meetings with her counselor.

Recovery has opened a new door for Debra. She was recently cured of Hepatitis C. Debra had been trying to get the cure for quite some-time after the treatment was released. The problem was she was frequently relapsing into heroin use and would have to continually restart the treatment process. She remembers feeling frustrated with herself and her condition. Debra had a path to being free from the disease, but her addiction was a barrier. Finally, with the help of Medication Assisted Treatment and her counselor, Paula Wolf, Debra was able to complete the process and is now 100% Hepatitis free. Debra fought hard to overcome this horrid disease, which claimed the lives of both her parents.

Loss of her Husband

The last year has been incredibly challenging for Debra. She lost her husband in April of 2018. He died from complications from methamphetamine use. As she puts it “he was putting it in his morning coffee each day.” Debra was devastated and it was this pain that helped her commit to becoming clean

Having sold her and her husband’s home, she found herself without a place to live. Living with addiction for most her life had a negative impact on Debra’s relationship with her family. With no other place to go, she showed up at her son’s house and said, “I know I haven’t always been good a mother to you. I know I wasn’t there for you when you needed me,” He welcomed her into his home without hesitation and she’s been there since.

Today and Tomorrow

Debra is now living each day as best she can. She’s involved in her church and has been trying to find ways of being helpful within her faith community. Her hope now is to find a way of using up her time. “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop” she said. Debra knows the key to preventing her relapse in the future will be working hard on her treatment plan goals, staying involved, and finding pro-social activities that support her recovery.

Recovery can be a long and challenging road. There is no cure for addiction and like most chronic illnesses, it needs to be managed for life. Care at Therapeutic Health Services recognizes this. Our team understands that patients need time to heal and move past their addictions at the pace that’s right for them. Now that Debra is clean, she can start working on finding herself, discovering who she is when she’s not using heroin. Our team is there with her, every step of the way.

Support Those in Need

To support patients in recovery, like Debra, please consider donating today. Help give people struggling with addiction, the support they need to restore their lives and rebuild their futures.

Kelly’s story, sadly, is one we’ve heard too often before. She grew up in a home where her parents often did drugs, started using meth as a teenager and ran into trouble with the law at a young age. As an alternative to jail time, she entered into the King County Drug Court program, where eligible defendants (generally low-level and non-violent offenders) can choose to receive substance use treatment instead of going to trial. Upon successful graduation from the two year program, charges may be reduced or dismissed. As the main provider of King County Adult Drug Court Services, Therapeutic Health Services (THS) works directly with the courts providing intensive drug, alcohol and mental health treatment, case management, life skills training, employment and educational services, pro-social activities, and community reintegration for court-involved individuals. Drug Court creates a non-adversarial courtroom atmosphere where the judge and a team of people including prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, case managers and THS treatment staff work together toward the common goal of breaking the cycle of drug abuse and criminal behavior. Kelly graduated the program and spent several years clean and sober.

Old Issues Creep Back In

Recovery is a lifelong process, and sometimes relapses happen. Kelly started using alcohol heavily several years after graduating the Drug Court program. As she puts it, “I was like a half gallon a day alcoholic. I think I spent like two years in a blackout.” Soon, Kelly turned to heroin, “I started just smoking it a little bit at first and started drinking less and less and less and I thought that was a good thing. I thought the alcohol was killing me and it just felt better to be doing heroin…it was just a little bit and then it became more and more and then it got more and more expensive.” Kelly’s habit became so expensive, that she started committing crimes to cover her costs; “We were stealing cars and breaking into houses and [committing] burglaries and all kinds of stuff to get the drugs.” Kelly was arrested and was facing significant jail time, but she remembered the King County Drug Court program. With a young daughter at home, she wanted to re-enter treatment and finally try to put addiction behind her.

Eager to Change

The second time around, Kelly was a King County Drug Court rock star. The program is rigorous. Random drug tests are performed at least twice per week. Participants meet with their counselors for individual or group counseling sessions a minimum of one to two times per week. They attend sober support meetings weekly, complete community service and appear before a judge at least monthly. Kelly spent each day getting up early and participating in groups and individual counseling sessions for most of her day. Kelly remembers this time in her life as being intense, but critical to establishing the sobriety she has now. Kelly feels that “Everything Drug Court does, they do it for a reason. You know, you need to step back away from everything else you’re doing. You’ve got to make your whole world and your whole life about recovery. I think Drug Court drives until you’re able to do it yourself.”

Earning Every Day

Four years on now and happily clean and sober, Kelly is a hard-working restaurant manager and life is going well for her. Kelly really connects with her job and she’s been growing in her role, taking on new responsibilities and being rewarded for her hard work. Kelly values the skills she’s acquired at THS. As she puts it, “I’ve learned about productivity and how to set and meet labor goals. I think I’ve learned a lot from this place about managing, you know, and I think I can take that with me anywhere…I’m grateful for that.” Recently, Kelly and her daughter  took a trip to Disneyland, a trip she has been promising for many years. They both enjoyed the rides, the food, and all the fireworks each night. Kelly had to spend a year saving up for the trip and she knows it was worth it.

Great Things to Come

Kelly has even more great things planned. “Right now, I’m looking forward to the future. I want to buy a house and I do this positive thinking thing. I think in my head what it’s going to look like. It’s exciting, you know, to be able to do that.”

Here at Therapeutic Health Services, our doors are still open and we will continue to serve any and all in need of behavioral health services. However, many of our patients won’t be coming in as often. They will continue to get weekly check-in calls from their counselor, more details on these check-ins are HERE. We recognize people might face some mental health challenges, so here are some great self-care tips for helping each of us manage our own feelings throughout this time of physical distance.

Self-Care Tips

1. Take care of our physical body. Prioritize sleep, plan for healthy meals, stay hydrated, and move your body daily.
2. Seek out safe and responsible ways to maintain a connection with others. Phone calls, Zoom, and FaceTime with family and friends can help sustain social needs when you’re isolating.
3. Be intentional about how much time we spend watching the news. Constant exposure can be overwhelming and increase our stress.
4. Stay informed through reputable sources and avoid sources of misinformation or hyperbole that only increase television or web ratings. Our staff are monitoring resources like the CDC and WHO for updates.
5. Remember to acknowledge our personal feelings about the current situation. Our feelings are valid and deserve our attention. It is important that we find ways to manage these so that we are still able to function well, otherwise, we will not be able to help ourselves or others. This is a time to reach out to our personal and professional supports to process our reactions to what is happening around us.
6. Take breaks. This current situation is more like a marathon than a sprint. We will burn out and be unable to sustain ourselves or our work if we push ourselves too hard early in this pandemic. We need to conserve for the weeks and months ahead.
7. Infuse joy into our daily life. Make time every day for something on the lighter side, reading a good book, binge-watching a tv show, playing with our kids, challenging older relatives to a game via an app, or snuggling our pets. Plan fun or silly activities after work to take relieve pressure and give our minds rest. Allow ourselves to be present during the activity and truly enjoy whatever we choose to do.
8. Focus on what we can control and practice mindfulness. When thoughts spiral about the future or anxieties about the situation, mindfulness can bring us back to the here and now. Sometimes having a plan for how we will deal with potential problems can reduce our anxiety about what might happen.
9. Knowing when to ask for help and having the strength to reach out is important for all of us. Examples might be: seeking mental health support, game planning work issues with our supervisor, or getting assistance caring for kids who are home from school.
10. Shifting our focus to the things in our lives that we are grateful for can turn a day completely around. The more we attend to the positives in our lives the less daunting the difficulties of our work or the fear related to this pandemic will feel.
11. Separate the challenges you feel you’re facing and divide them into the things you can control and those you can’t. Take one of the things you can control and think of one little habit you can do to help you manage this challenge.
12. Keep a journal, just take a few minutes a day to jot down how you’re feeling, how your day went, what challenges you’re facing and what goals you have. Trying noting three things you were most grateful for that day.

Self-Care Resources for the “New Normal”

• Despite the crisis, the doors at THS are still open and we will help anyone we can who needs behavioral health support. Visit our Get Help Page here to be connected with care and support.

• Use free meditation apps. to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and even decrease experiences of physical pain. Popular options include Headspace, Insight Timer, and Calm. Each of these have free versions, and Headspace is offering free access to their full version for all healthcare workers. Just provide some basic information including your NPI number to access the full version for free.
• Exercise for free at home. There are countless apps, websites, and YouTube channels dedicated to exercise from yoga to dance to kickboxing to strength training. Often these can be done without any equipment at all, and even services that typically charge are waiving fees. If we attended a local gym that is closed, they may be posting exercise opportunities online to keep their client base engaged.
• Access cultural resources and events online.
  • Many libraries provide online access through apps such as Overdrive or Libby. You can borrow eBooks, digital comics, audiobooks, and even videos.
  • Here are links to all the local library systems’ online access and eBooks:
    • Seattle Public Library
    • King County Library
    • Sno-Isle Libraries (Snohomish County and Islands)
    • Everett Library
    • Pierce County Library
• If you have a video game system, go get lost in some of the great stories and worlds designers have built, like these especially bundled for staying at home
• Town Hall Seattle plans to live stream some of the previously scheduled programs on it’s website
• Met Opera is offering free nightly streaming
• Many museums across America and around the world are offering virtual tours, including the National Museum of Natural History, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, and this collection of Natural History museums around the world.
• Follow your favorite musical artists to see when they offer free online live shows, NPR has a great list here. Our check out this list from Billboard.com
• 211 remains operational and is getting up to date information about the situation and resources to support individuals and families. This is not just a resource for our clients! You can access this resource by calling 211 or going to their website 211.org.​

Check Out Our Other New Posts

• 
  First Step to Recovery
• 
  Now Accepting New Patients – Summit & Seneca Branches
• Test
• 
  All Branch Closure – Independence Day July 3-4
• 
  Help Us, Help Others, Help Yourself – Wear a Mask

In 2016, THS was able to collaborate with the producers of PBS’ Frontline series on a documentary entitled “Chasing Heroin.” Many of the people featured in the documentary are THS patients. The documentary also outlines how over-prescription of opioids led to the current national epidemic. This vivid and compelling film shows the despair of heroin users and how Seattle-based agencies and community members are working to serve these people in need.

Medication-Assisted Treatment (Methadone, Suboxone®)

As seen in the document, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is a form of treatment used to address opioid use and help an individual to stop using opioids. Patients in the MAT program at THS receive services towards wellness and prevention. These services include assessments, medical evaluations, medication management, case management, and individual and group counseling. THS uses both Methadone and Suboxone® as well as Vivitrol® in medication-assisted treatment. To connect to MAT and opioid use treatment, visit our MAT Get Help form here.

King County Drug Court

Featured prominently in this documentary, King County Drug Court is one of THS’ flagship programs. Operating as a partnership with King County, Drug Court is unique in that it depends upon a non-adversarial courtroom atmosphere. The judge and a team of people including prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, case managers and THS treatment staff work together toward the common goal of breaking the cycle of drug abuse and criminal behavior.