Alta Loma in Georgetown, Texas, is a transformational services facility designed to help men recover from mental health issues and co-occurring disorders like addiction. By focusing on coordinating care that meets both mental health and substance use needs, we are able to help residents who might not have been successful in other treatment settings. At Alta Loma, our residents won’t receive conflicting messages or therapies that contradict each other and impede the recovery process.

Our dedicated team of clinicians and specialists collaborate to ensure coherent treatment plans that provide cohesiveness for residents during their stay with us. We implement a long-term continuum of care so residents can better understand how their mental health and co-occurring disorders relate and learn the necessary life skills, healthy habits and coping mechanisms they need to respond to their triggers and symptoms appropriately. Our goal is to help our residents achieve emotional and psychological stability, empowering them to find hope as they progress towards recovery.

Get Healing on Your Terms

If you or someone you care about is struggling to address your need for mental health, Alta Loma could mean the difference between relapse and long-term recovery

Depressed adult man with hands on chin in need of mental health and substance abuse treatment

Integrated Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment

Mental health treatment can be approached in a variety of ways, but at Alta Loma, we specialize in integrating the most effective evidence-based methods available to provide residents with comprehensive care that addresses both their mental health and addiction needs. It’s essential for dual-diagnosis residents to receive this level of coordinated care to ensure that they are treated as a whole rather than a collection of symptoms.

Other treatment centers might treat one disorder or the other or have trouble reconciling different modalities. This can result in a conflicting set of messages that complicate the recovery process and limit its effectiveness. At Alta Loma, each individual’s treatment plan is created by a group of collaborative clinicians who work together to provide greater consistency for improved treatment outcomes

CONTINUUM OF CARE

We offer a continuum of care and utilize long-term treatment plans to maintain a cohesive experience as our residents’ progress toward a more independent lifestyle. While in our program, residents will live in supportive housing at The Ranch, The Villa or The Cottage and engage in partial hospitalization programming (PHP), intensive outpatient programming (IOP) or outpatient programming (OP) at our clinical office. Some of the proven mental health problem therapies we apply throughout the recovery process include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), as well as mindfulness, meditation and recreational therapies.

INITIAL STABILIZATION

Upon arrival, our top priority is to stabilize residents and alleviate any acute mental health disorder symptoms to prevent a psychiatric crisis. Sudden or severe symptoms can be highly disruptive and even life-threatening, so we provide medical and psychiatric interventions that are adjusted to the needs of each individual. All residents will also receive an initial psychiatric evaluation and substance abuse assessment to determine their treatment needs.

WITHDRAWAL AND DETOX

Alta Loma will work with individuals with substance abuse problems to coordinate any needed detoxification services they may need before becoming a resident of Alta Loma. Many drugs produce uncomfortable or dangerous withdrawal effects that make this a necessary step before treatment at Alta Loma can begin. A medically-supervised detox allows residents to begin treatment on the right foot, with a steady resolve and a clear mind.

PRIMARY CARE

THE RANCH BY ALTA LOMA


The Ranch in Georgetown, Texas, admits a limited number of individuals, ensuring that each resident receives the undivided attention and care that they deserve. Residents live on-site in supportive housing and partake in PHP programming at our nearby clinical facility.

This level of care is the most intensive, with a 24-hour wake staff and weekly appointments with psychiatrists and therapists. Treatment plans are customized for each resident and length-of-stay is flexible. During their time at The Ranch, residents will learn strategies for healthy living, necessary life skills, medication management and more. Family treatment is also available to support and guide close relatives as their loved ones progress through recovery. The goal of The Ranch is to move residents toward a less structured environment and eventually back to sustainable, independent living.

TRANSITIONAL LIVING

THE VILLA BY ALTA LOMA

This is the next step along the Alta Loma continuum of care, in which residents enter a less restrictive living environment at The Villa and participate in IOP programming at our clinical office. As an extended care option, residents are given the opportunity to practice the skills they learned during primary treatment in a safe, supportive setting. Individuals can stay at this facility for up to two years. At this stage, we encourage our residents to explore employment or educational opportunities and develop healthy relationships within the community. Psychiatric and therapy services are still conducted weekly as indicated and medication management by staff continues for the entire stay.

Young man happy and eating veggies after being sober from substance use and free from a mental disorder
Young adults suffering from substance use disorder and mental health crisis during a group counseling session

Coordinated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders

Mental health and substance use disorders are closely linked. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), it is prevalent for individuals in treatment to experience a co-occurring disorder, which refers to the simultaneous presence of a mental illness and a substance use disorder. Research shows that almost half of all residents seeking treatment for substance use also have a diagnosable co-occurring psychiatric disorder.

When these residents enter treatment for addiction, however, their mental health problems aren’t always addressed. This significantly lowers their chances of success. Without proper treatment, bipolar disorder, depression and other psychiatric concerns can spiral and lead to situations that may be life-threatening. This is especially true in the case of dual-diagnosis residents, who often use drugs or alcohol as a form of self-medication.

When individuals use illicit substances to ease the distress caused by mental disorders, it creates a dangerous cycle that leads to increased drug or alcohol use and worsening symptoms. If dual-diagnosis residents begin recovery at a facility that ignores mental health, sobriety is difficult to sustain because psychiatric symptoms will still persist once discharged.

How Alta Loma is Different…

At Alta Loma, we recognize that to give our residents a better outcome, substance use and mental health disorders must be treated concurrently. Only 18 percent of treatment programs for addiction are equipped to handle mental illness, and even fewer psychiatric facilities treat addiction. Our goal is to change this and bridge the gap that has formed between mental health and substance abuse treatment.

We offer integrative treatment from a collaborative group of healthcare providers that addresses two or more interwoven, connected disorders in a structured environment to help our residents discover a sense of balance and cohesiveness. Our continuum of care supports and guides residents as they move toward stability and integrate back into society. The levels of care we offer include:

At Alta Loma, we help residents dig deep into their mental health and substance use disorders and develop coping techniques for symptoms and triggers. Residents also learn life skills, medication management and healthy habits to prepare for continued success after treatment. Our goal is to help our residents manage their mental health and empower them to achieve the balanced, healthy life they deserve.