By: Lakeview Health
Gina Thorne visited with Chris Cohn and David Larimer from Scottsdale Recovery Center during their visit to our campus in Jacksonville, Florida.
Podcast Transcript
Gina Thorne: Hi everyone and welcome to the Lakeview video podcast series. I’m pleased today to be joined with Chris Cohn and David Larimer. It’s nice to have you both here. You’re both from Scottsdale, Arizona, representing Scottsdale Recovery Center. It’s good to have you in Jacksonville! Chris Cohn: Thank you! It is very, very good to be here. Gina: Before we get started, let’s talk for a few minutes about what got you interested in starting the Scottsdale Recovery Center, Chris? Chris: I’d say about 6 or 7 years ago in Scottsdale, there was a high demand for more of an upscale, sober living for people coming out of treatment. So originally, what my partner Alex Salcedo and I did was, we created the first upscale sober living home in Scottsdale. What we found was that our success rate was kind of low for recovery which we didn’t like. So what we decided to do was get the license for treatment and we kind of parlayed that into what we are today. Gina: And you have a men and women, separate program so it’s gender-responsive. Chris: Yes, absolutely. Gina: So David runs the programming side of Scottsdale Recovery. Can you tell us a little bit about how the program runs? David Larimer: Sure. So we do the sober living and then they come into the center and it’s partial hospitalization and intensive outpatients. It’s licensed by the state, joint commission accredited. We have licensed therapists that provide the group, individual, art therapy, and then we supplement that with yoga and meditation, the gym, which is an integral part of what we do. And then they have activities on the weekends. Gina: Oh good, team building exercises. Perfect! So you said that it started out being more high-end. Is it still functioning in that capacity? Chris: Yes. Very high-end and upscale. I guess they call it the Florida Model now. We have a really nice, large treatment facility in Scottsdale and then we have several homes located close to the center and they’re vanned in for treatment, group therapy, individual sessions, trauma therapy, art therapy, as David mentioned, yoga and meditation, experiential therapy, modalities and things of that nature. And then they’re able to go back to these nice homes so it’s very cozy, they feel at home. It’s their home, it’s very nice with pools and Jacuzzi’s, nice bedding, so they feel very comfortable after a hard day’s work in therapy. Gina: Yeah, it doesn’t feel medical or like a hospital. Chris: Absolutely not. And I’m glad you brought that up because that’s kind of our mail feel and focus is that we want them to feel very comfortable because we know how hard it is to be in treatment at times but it’s definitely well worth it. Gina: Good. So since you have this gender-responsive program, how have you seen a difference between men and women responding to treatment in your programs? David: Well, first of all, when we say gender-specific, they live in different houses. We have male house managers in the men’s houses and female house managers in the women’s houses. Specifically, the women and the men are able to talk about issues they wouldn’t comfortably talk about in front of somebody else. In particular, the men have a lot of trouble talking about trauma issues with women in the room and there isn’t a whole “flirting” in group sessions. Women feel safe to talk about their issues. Gina: That’s good. We just moved gender-responsive as well and I think we are starting to see the same thing so it is clearly, definitely an evidence-based modality that we need to move to in the industry so it sounds like you guys are on the right track. Chris: Yeah, I think that what you guys did here is an unbelievable program. I mean, this is state-of-the-art, really beautiful, and we want to thank you guys for having us, and thank Roy [Serpa] and Derek [Gwaltney]. This is just great. Gina: Well we appreciate it and we are glad we can be partners with you all. So for those who are watching today, how can they get in touch with you if they needed help? Chris: Most people find us online if they just go to our website, www.ScottsdaleRecovery.com and then the 800 number is 888-309-3385. And obviously social media; Scottsdale Recovery Center on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Gina: That’s great! Well thank you David and Chris for being here today. We appreciate having you. For those of you that are interested in learning more about Lakeview Health, we invite you to visit us online at lakeviewhealth.multiplica.dev or if you need some help right away, we invite you to call us at 866-887-0142.
