ASAM 1.5 · Accelerate Stage
Outpatient Rehab in Norwood, NJ
Valley Spring Recovery Center's Outpatient Program is the lowest-intensity level of addiction care the center operates, delivered at ASAM Level 1.5 in Norwood, New Jersey. Sessions run 1–2 nights per week, in person at 830 Broadway or over HIPAA-compliant video, whichever the client prefers. The structured phase runs 8–12 weeks, then ongoing as needed. This is the level where a client stops being carried by a schedule and starts running the recovery themselves, with a licensed clinician checking the work every week.
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Why Choose Valley Spring
Why Choose Valley Spring Recovery's Outpatient Program?
Valley Spring's Outpatient Program is chosen because the therapist, the prescriber and the building stay the same when the intensity drops. A step-down elsewhere means a new referral, a new intake and a new person to tell the story to, and that handover is where episodes of care end. Here the client keeps the clinician who ran their Partial Care or IOP weeks.
- 1–2 nights per week, scheduled in the evening around a full working day
- Weekly individual therapy with the therapist who carried the client at the level above
- Group sessions with peers at the same stage, added when the treatment plan calls for them
- Continued medication management by the psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner
- CBT relapse-prevention work aimed at the specific situation that produced the last use
- Integrated treatment for anxiety, major depressive disorder, PTSD and bipolar disorder alongside the substance use disorder
- In person at Norwood or over HIPAA-compliant video, by client preference rather than by program rule
- Structured phase of 8–12 weeks, then ongoing as needed, reviewed against ASAM criteria
- In-network contracts with 19 payers including AmeriHealth, Oscar, Tricare, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare, with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna and Horizon accepted out-of-network or by single case agreement
- Step-up back to Intensive Outpatient the same week if the clinical picture changes
- Entry into Thrive, the alumni community, with monthly meetings and quarterly outings for life
Licenses & Accreditations
People Who Recovered
What Do Clients Say About Valley Spring's Outpatient Program?
At this level clients write about continuity rather than intensity: the same therapist, the same prescriber, no repeated intake. The reviews below are published Google reviews of the Norwood facility. Valley Spring publishes no completion or abstinence rate for outpatient care, and states that openly rather than printing a figure nobody has measured.
“Everyone treated me like family, I felt like I was born into this family. The welcoming I received was incredible. Valley Spring changed my life in ways I never thought possible.”
Tr3 Weee
“Valley Spring Recovery Center is absolutely exceptional. Brian and Mike have created a truly beautiful establishment, both in appearance and in spirit. The clinical setting is world class, blending professionalism with genuine compassion.”
Christopher Ferry
“Valley Spring Recovery Center truly changed my little brother Jordan's life. From the moment he entered the program, he was treated with respect, care, and real compassion. The staff went above and beyond to support him, not just in his recovery, but in every aspect of his life.”
Deshaya Williams
“It cannot be more clear the profound impact that Sean has made in my recovery journey. Finding someone who can balance the weight of recovery with genuine humor is rare, and he embodies that perfectly.”
Daisy McCloud
“Valley Spring Recovery Center saved my son's life. The staff is amazing. I'm so grateful for the exceptional care he received. The support and encouragement by the staff and the rest of the Valley Spring Community is so meaningful.”
Lana Roeser
Patient testimonial
A Story of Hope
Patient testimonial
Finding Recovery
Family testimonial
A Mother's Story
Alumni testimonial
My Recovery
Alumni testimonial
Regina's Breakthrough
Program Details
What Does Valley Spring's Outpatient Program Include?
Outpatient care includes four components: weekly individual therapy, group sessions where the treatment plan calls for them, continued medication management, and a relapse-prevention plan the client owns and the therapist audits. The sections below set out what each contains and what this level deliberately stops providing.
Who the Outpatient Track Serves
The Outpatient Program serves adults 18 and older who have built a foundation at a higher level of care and can now hold a week together with 1 to 3 hours of clinical contact in it. Clients attend 1 to 2 evening sessions a week and keep the job, the household and the routine that treatment is meant to return them to.
The structured phase runs 8–12 weeks, then ongoing as needed, and the clinical team adjusts that on progress rather than on a calendar. Direct admission at this level is considered case by case, because a client who has never had structure is rarely well served by the level that provides the least of it.
This program is one point on a broader nonresidential continuum. The national guide to outpatient rehab types, fit, cost and duration explains the distinctions among standard outpatient care, intensive outpatient programming and partial care before a provider-specific choice is made.
What an Outpatient Week Contains
The individual hour is the centre of this level. The assigned therapist reviews the week the client had, tests the relapse-prevention plan against it and reworks the part that failed. Where the plan calls for peer contact, clients join a group therapy session with others at the same stage rather than with clients in their first week of abstinence.
Cognitive behavioral therapy carries the clinical work at this level, because the material is now specific: one workplace, one relationship, one hour of the day. Valley Spring's psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner continue medication-assisted treatment without a change of prescriber, so the medication course does not lapse at the point clinical contact is being reduced.
What an Outpatient Session Looks Like
The individual hour
Sixty minutes with the assigned therapist, held in the evening at Norwood or over secure video. The hour covers what happened, what nearly happened, and which part of the written plan did not survive contact with the week. Clients bring the specific situation rather than a general report.
The group session, where the plan includes one
A licensed clinician runs a group of peers at a comparable stage. Topics rotate through cognitive behavioral therapy skills, relapse-prevention rehearsal and the management of stress that no longer ends in use. Group is added by clinical decision, not attached to every week by default.
What This Level Deliberately Stops Providing
Six things Partial Care and Intensive Outpatient supplied are withdrawn here on purpose, and the withdrawal is the treatment:
- Daily contact, replaced by a weekly appointment the client has to keep unprompted
- A group that meets whether or not the client has anything to say
- An imposed structure for the evening, replaced by one the client writes
- Case management as an open file, available now on request instead
- Immediate clinical eyes on a bad day, replaced by the on-call line and a plan
- Peer accountability by attendance, replaced by peer meetings the client chooses
Who Belongs at ASAM Level 1.5
The level number comes from the hours. ASAM 1.5 is Outpatient Therapy in the ASAM Criteria fourth edition, defined as fewer than 9 hours of clinical services a week, and Valley Spring's Outpatient program delivers 1 to 3. Placement letters written before 2023 record this same level as 1.0, because the third edition kept Level 1 as a single undivided band.
Five presentations place an adult at Outpatient rather than a level above it:
- Stepping down from IOP: A client who completed Intensive Outpatient and is using the skills without daily prompting.
- Employment-first recovery: A client whose role cannot absorb five evenings a week and whose clinical picture no longer requires them.
- Maintaining a psychiatric medication: A client stable on an antidepressant, mood stabilizer or MAT prescription who needs continued oversight.
- Relapse prevention after a near miss: A client who came close, told someone, and needs the plan reworked rather than the level raised.
- Long-horizon recovery work: A client past the structured phase who continues at a reviewed interval before moving into Thrive.
What Changes When You Step Down From IOP to Outpatient?
Stepping down from Intensive Outpatient to Outpatient cuts weekly clinical hours from 15 to between 1 and 3, and moves ownership of the relapse-prevention plan from the clinical team to the client. Everything else about the two levels is closer than it looks: the therapist, the prescriber, the building and the plan carry over. The table below sets the two levels against each other on the eight dimensions the clinical team reviews at a step-down meeting, so a client can see precisely what is being withdrawn and what is not.
| What is being compared | Intensive Outpatient (Activate) | Outpatient (Accelerate) |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly clinical hours | 15 hours across 5 evenings | 1 to 3 hours across 1 to 2 evenings |
| ASAM level | ASAM 2.1 | ASAM 1.5 |
| Group therapy | Process group every session, with a caseload capped at eight clients per therapist | Group by treatment plan rather than by default |
| Individual therapy | Weekly, with the assigned therapist | Weekly, with the same assigned therapist |
| Psychiatric review | Evaluation within the first 72 hours, then ongoing management | Continued medication management at a reviewed interval |
| Case management | Active file: leave, insurance, court, transport | On request, for documentation and return-to-work letters |
| Who holds the relapse-prevention plan | The clinical team, reviewed in group each week | The client, reviewed with the therapist each week |
| Typical length | 6–8 weeks | 8–12 weeks, then ongoing as needed |
The national figures show how much treatment sits at this level. SAMHSA reports in Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that 54.2 million people aged 12 or older needed substance use treatment in the past year and that 12.8 million received it. Outpatient care carries its own estimate in that report rather than a share of the 12.8 million: 9.8 million people aged 12 or older, 3.5 percent of that population, received treatment in an outpatient setting, and 8.1 million of them received it in an outpatient setting other than a general medical clinic or doctor's office. The setting categories overlap, because one person can be counted in more than one of them, so they do not add up to a partition of the total. Outpatient is not the remainder of the continuum. It is the setting in which the largest number of Americans who get treated are treated.
Why Valley Spring
What Makes Valley Spring's Outpatient Program Different?
Three features distinguish this level from weekly therapy with a general practitioner of psychotherapy: addiction-specific clinical training, prescribers who continue MAT without a referral, and the same named therapist a client had at the level above. Valley Spring holds CARF accreditation, an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and in-network contracts with 19 payers.
Valley Spring Recovery Center · Norwood, NJ
1-2
Evening Sessions per Week
1
Therapist Kept Across the Step-Down
8-12
Weeks in the Structured Phase
Our Facility
What Does the Norwood Outpatient Setting Look Like?
Outpatient sessions run at 830 Broadway, Norwood, New Jersey 07648, in the same building as Partial Care and Intensive Outpatient, with private parking off Broadway. Clients who attend over video use a HIPAA-compliant platform from home or from an office, and the platform is a delivery choice rather than a different program.
Clinical Process
How Does Valley Spring's Outpatient Program Work?
Outpatient runs in four phases across 8–12 weeks, then ongoing as needed. Baseline review comes first, then the transfer of the relapse-prevention plan to the client, then application at a decreasing frequency of contact, then discharge into the Thrive alumni community. The team reviews placement against ASAM criteria each week and steps a client back up the same week where the clinical picture calls for it.
Baseline Review and Plan Handover
Phase 1
The first sessions establish where recovery stands without daily structure. The therapist reviews the higher level of care the client came from, names the situations that remain unresolved, and hands the written relapse-prevention plan to the client as their document rather than the program's. Medication continues without interruption because the prescriber does not change.
Working the Week the Client Had
Phase 2
Each weekly hour takes the concrete events of the previous seven days: the meeting that ran late, the argument, the invitation to a bar. CBT restructuring is applied to the specific thought that appeared, and the plan is edited on the spot. This is the level at which recovery stops being taught and starts being audited.
Decreasing Contact, Increasing Self-Direction
Phase 3
Session frequency drops from two evenings to one as the client demonstrates that the plan holds without a clinician in the room. The therapist moves from teaching to consulting, and the measure of progress is what the client did on their own between appointments rather than what they can describe in session.
Discharge Into Thrive
Phase 4
Discharge planning names the community prescriber where one is needed, the peer meetings the client already attends, and the date Thrive alumni programming begins with its monthly meetings and quarterly outings. Every client who completes a program leaves with a written aftercare roadmap and keeps access to that alumni community for life.
Getting Started
How Does Admission to Outpatient Care Work?
Admission to Outpatient takes four steps: benefits verification, a biopsychosocial assessment, detox coordination where a client is still physically dependent, and a first session on the day approval lands. Clients transferring from Partial Care or Intensive Outpatient skip the assessment, because the chart, the therapist and the prescriber are already in place. The admissions line at (201) 781-8812 is staffed around the clock.
Call and Verify Coverage
Call (201) 781-8812, staffed 24 hours a day. The admissions team checks the plan against Valley Spring's 19 in-network contracts, states whether it is in-network or out-of-network, and explains what it covers for ASAM Level 1.5 care.
Complete the Clinical Assessment
A licensed clinician completes a biopsychosocial assessment at Norwood or over secure video, and the clinical director confirms that Outpatient is the right level. Clients transferring internally from Partial Care or Intensive Outpatient move on their existing chart instead of repeating the history.
Coordinate Detox Where Dependence Is Still Physical
Valley Spring coordinates the referral and arranges detox placement where an assessment shows physical dependence, then arranges the transfer after the detox provider discharges the client. Outpatient is rarely the correct destination straight from detox, and the assessment says so when a higher level is indicated.
A First Session on the Day Approval Lands
Clinically approved clients start Outpatient on the day approval lands, and medication management continues in the same week rather than after a gap. Clients stepping down from a higher level keep the therapist and the prescriber they already have.
How Do I Start Outpatient Treatment?
Call Valley Spring Recovery Center at (201) 781-8812, 24 hours a day. The call covers coverage, the right level of care and the first available evening session, in person or over video.
HIPAA compliant · Confidential · No obligation
Our Clinical Team
Who Delivers Outpatient Care at Valley Spring?
Outpatient care is delivered by the same licensed clinical social workers, licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselors, psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner who staff the levels above it, plus case managers who stay reachable after the active file closes. Continuity of clinician across the step-down is the design decision this level is built on.
FAQ
What Do People Ask About Outpatient Addiction Treatment?
These nine questions are the ones the admissions line fields about ASAM Level 1.5 care: length of stay, working through it, cost, coverage, virtual attendance, how it differs from private therapy, family involvement, what happens between sessions and what follows discharge.
How long does the Outpatient Program last?+
The structured phase runs 8–12 weeks, then ongoing as needed, at 1 to 2 sessions a week. The clinical team reviews progress weekly and continues care beyond the structured phase where the clinical picture supports it, then moves the client into Thrive.
Can I work while I am in outpatient care?+
Yes. Sessions are scheduled in the evening, 1 to 2 a week, so a full working day is unaffected. Case management produces any documentation an employer or licensing board asks for.
What does outpatient addiction treatment cost?+
Cost depends on the plan's deductible, copay and coinsurance rate. The admissions team verifies benefits before the first session and explains the out-of-pocket figure before treatment begins.
Does insurance cover outpatient treatment?+
Valley Spring holds in-network contracts with 19 payers, among them AmeriHealth, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna and Horizon are accepted out-of-network or by single case agreement, where cost-sharing is higher.
Can outpatient sessions be delivered over video?+
Yes. Every session runs in person at Norwood or over a HIPAA-compliant video platform, and clients switch between the two without changing therapist, prescriber or treatment plan. Delivery mode does not change the ASAM level.
How is this different from seeing a therapist privately?+
Clinicians here are trained in substance use disorder specifically, the prescribers continue MAT in house, and the client can step back up to IOP the same week. A private therapist supplies the hour; this level supplies the hour plus the rest of a continuum.
Can my family take part in outpatient care?+
Yes, once the client gives written consent. Family sessions are scheduled weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and relatives can join the Family Program, the 6-session education workshop that runs across six months, at any point in the episode of care. It admits community members too, so a relative can enroll whether or not the client is still in treatment here.
What do I do between sessions if things get worse?+
Call the on-call clinical line. The team raises session frequency, brings the appointment forward or steps the client back up to Intensive Outpatient, and a return to a higher level is a clinical decision rather than a setback in the record.
What happens after outpatient treatment?+
Clients move into Thrive, the alumni community, with monthly meetings, quarterly outings and peer mentorship for life. Every program completer also leaves with a written aftercare roadmap naming the providers and meetings that carry the next year.
In-Network & Out-of-Network Coverage
Insurance Coverage and Cost of Treatment
Valley Spring Recovery Center accepts in-network insurance from AmeriHealth, Fidelis Care, Northwell Direct, ComPsych, Oscar, VA Community Care, Lower Hudson Valley EAP, JRN Consulting, Tricare, Teamsters, Magellan Healthcare, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare (including its UMR and Oxford plans), the New York City Employees Plan, Workforce Assistance EAP, Iron Workers Members Assistance, and Humana, and also accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Horizon, and Carelon Behavioral Health on an out-of-network or single-case-agreement basis. At Valley Spring Recovery Center, insurance coverage pays for some or all of the cost of treatment; the exact amount depends on the member's benefits and the level of care required. Most plans authorize Partial Care in 7–14 day increments with clinical reauthorization, and IOP per week or per three-day block.
Self-pay pricing is quoted transparently after a brief phone assessment, and the cost is determined by the services required and the appropriate level of care.
Valley Spring Recovery Center verifies insurance benefits 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — call to confirm what your specific plan covers.
HIPAA confidential · Free verification · No obligation
Which Addictions Does the Outpatient Program Treat?
Valley Spring Recovery Center's Outpatient Program treats 7 categories of substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions: alcohol, opioids, cocaine and crack, benzodiazepines, marijuana, stimulants, and co-occurring conditions. Select one for the disorder name, where care begins, the medication position, and the levels of care that treat it.
Alcohol
DSM-5-TR: Alcohol use disorder
- Where care begins
- Medically supervised withdrawal comes first. Valley Spring Recovery Center refers to detox partners, admits directly after detox discharge, and keeps provider-to-provider communication open with the detox facility so care continues without a gap. Valley Spring does not provide detoxification.
- Medication
- Naltrexone, and Vivitrol, the extended-release injectable form of naltrexone, are on Valley Spring's medication list for alcohol use disorder. The FDA has approved three medications for alcohol use disorder overall, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate.
- Levels of care
- Partial Care at ASAM 2.5, Intensive Outpatient at ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient at ASAM 1.5. Partial Care is delivered in person. Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient run in person or virtually by client preference.
The DSM-5-TR diagnoses alcohol use disorder against 11 criteria observed over a 12-month period, and grades severity by criterion count: 2 to 3 criteria is mild, 4 to 5 is moderate, 6 or more is severe. Untreated alcohol withdrawal produces seizures and delirium tremens, which is why physical dependence is stabilized under medical supervision before outpatient treatment begins. Call 911 if a person withdrawing from alcohol has a seizure, becomes confused, or cannot be woken.
There are 5 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Drinking more, or over a longer period, than intended
- Repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut down or stop
- Needing markedly more alcohol to reach the same effect
- Tremor, sweating, nausea or anxiety in the hours after stopping
- Continuing to drink despite a physical or psychological problem alcohol caused or worsened
Alcohol addiction treatment in Norwood, Bergen County, NJ sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Opioids
DSM-5-TR: Opioid use disorder
- Where care begins
- Medically supervised withdrawal comes first. Valley Spring Recovery Center refers to detox partners, admits directly after detox discharge, and keeps provider-to-provider communication open with the detox facility so care continues without a gap. Valley Spring does not provide detoxification.
- Medication
- Buprenorphine, including Suboxone, which combines buprenorphine with naloxone, and Brixadi, the extended-release buprenorphine injection the FDA approved in May 2023 for moderate to severe opioid use disorder, is prescribed by Valley Spring's on-staff psychiatrist. Vivitrol, extended-release injectable naltrexone, is the other option on the roster. Valley Spring does not prescribe methadone.
- Levels of care
- Partial Care at ASAM 2.5, Intensive Outpatient at ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient at ASAM 1.5. Partial Care is delivered in person. Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient run in person or virtually by client preference.
Opioid use disorder is sustained by two forces at once: the reinforcing effect of mu-opioid receptor agonism, and avoidance of a withdrawal syndrome that brings severe pain, diarrhea, sweating and craving. Opioid tolerance falls during any period of abstinence, including a detox stay or a jail term, so a dose that was previously tolerated can cause fatal respiratory depression afterward. Call 911 for a suspected opioid overdose and give naloxone if it is on hand.
There are 5 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Taking opioids to prevent withdrawal rather than for pain or effect
- Running out of a prescription earlier than the schedule allows
- Obtaining opioids from more than one prescriber or from non-medical sources
- Muscle aches, agitation, sweating and diarrhea when a dose is missed
- Continuing opioid use despite a job, legal or relationship consequence it caused
Opioid addiction treatment in Norwood, Bergen County, NJ sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Cocaine and crack
DSM-5-TR: Stimulant use disorder, cocaine type
- Where care begins
- Direct admission after clinical assessment. Cocaine withdrawal does not carry the seizure and delirium risk that alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal carry, so treatment starts at the assessed level of care rather than after a detox stay.
- Medication
- No FDA-approved medication exists for cocaine use disorder. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states there is no FDA-approved medication for methamphetamine use disorder or any other stimulant use disorder. Treatment is behavioral, and contingency management is the best-studied of the approaches, alongside cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing.
- Levels of care
- Partial Care at ASAM 2.5, Intensive Outpatient at ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient at ASAM 1.5. Partial Care is delivered in person. Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient run in person or virtually by client preference.
Cocaine blocks the dopamine transporter, so dopamine accumulates in the synapse instead of being recycled, and the resulting reward signal is what drives repeat dosing within a single session. Crack is the freebase form of the same drug, smoked rather than insufflated, which reaches the brain faster and clears faster. Cocaine constricts coronary arteries and raises the risk of myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and stroke in people with no prior cardiac history. Call 911 for chest pain, seizure or collapse, and call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 for any overdose or ingestion.
There are 5 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Using in binges that continue until the supply is gone
- Crashing into exhaustion, low mood and heavy sleep after a session
- Spending beyond what income supports to keep a supply available
- Nosebleeds, chronic congestion, or burns on the lips and fingers
- Continuing to use despite chest pain, palpitations or a cardiac warning from a clinician
Cocaine addiction treatment in Norwood, Bergen County, NJ sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Benzodiazepines
DSM-5-TR: Sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic use disorder
- Where care begins
- Medically supervised withdrawal comes first. Valley Spring Recovery Center refers to detox partners, admits directly after detox discharge, and keeps provider-to-provider communication open with the detox facility so care continues without a gap. Valley Spring does not provide detoxification.
- Medication
- No FDA-approved medication treats sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic use disorder. The FDA updated the boxed warning on the whole benzodiazepine class in September 2020 to require a gradual taper when a benzodiazepine is reduced or stopped, because abrupt discontinuation causes withdrawal reactions including seizures. A prescriber supervises that taper. Valley Spring's clinical work is behavioral, and Valley Spring does not supervise withdrawal.
- Levels of care
- Partial Care at ASAM 2.5, Intensive Outpatient at ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient at ASAM 1.5. Partial Care is delivered in person. Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient run in person or virtually by client preference.
Benzodiazepines bind an allosteric site on the GABA-A receptor and amplify inhibitory signaling, which is what makes them effective for anxiety, panic disorder and insomnia and also what makes stopping them dangerous. The FDA's 2020 safety communication states that physical dependence develops when benzodiazepines are taken steadily for days to weeks, even exactly as prescribed, so dependence is not evidence that a person misused the prescription. Call 911 if someone reducing or stopping a benzodiazepine has a seizure or becomes confused.
There are 5 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Needing a higher dose than prescribed to get the same relief from anxiety or insomnia
- Rebound anxiety, insomnia or agitation between doses
- Filling a prescription early, or holding prescriptions from more than one clinician
- Combining a benzodiazepine with alcohol or an opioid for a stronger effect
- Avoiding situations where a dose would not be available
Benzodiazepine addiction treatment in Norwood, Bergen County, NJ sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Marijuana
DSM-5-TR: Cannabis use disorder
- Where care begins
- Direct admission after clinical assessment. Cannabis withdrawal is a recognized DSM-5-TR syndrome and it is uncomfortable rather than medically dangerous, so treatment begins at the assessed level of care.
- Medication
- No FDA-approved medication exists for cannabis use disorder. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states there are no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of cannabis use disorder or for medically assisted withdrawal. Treatment is behavioral, and the three approaches with evidence behind them are cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy and contingency management.
- Levels of care
- Partial Care at ASAM 2.5, Intensive Outpatient at ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient at ASAM 1.5. Partial Care is delivered in person. Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient run in person or virtually by client preference.
Cannabis use disorder is diagnosed on the same 11 DSM-5-TR criteria as every other substance use disorder, and the DSM-5-TR also carries cannabis withdrawal as a separate diagnosis: irritability, sleep difficulty, appetite loss, restlessness and depressed mood in the week after stopping heavy regular use. Withdrawal that reliably ends an attempt to quit is the mechanism that keeps daily use in place, which is why cannabis treatment concentrates on the first two weeks.
There are 4 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Using daily, or first thing in the morning, to feel normal
- Irritability, restlessness and disrupted sleep in the days after stopping
- Losing interest in activities that were previously done without cannabis
- Continuing daily use despite a work, academic or relationship cost
Marijuana addiction treatment in Norwood, Bergen County, NJ sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Stimulants
DSM-5-TR: Stimulant use disorder, amphetamine type
- Where care begins
- Direct admission after clinical assessment. Stimulant withdrawal presents as exhaustion, heavy sleep and depressed mood rather than the seizure risk that alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal carry, so treatment starts at the assessed level of care.
- Medication
- No FDA-approved medication exists for methamphetamine or amphetamine use disorder. The National Institute on Drug Abuse names contingency management as the best-studied behavioral treatment for methamphetamine use disorder, delivered alongside cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing and group support.
- Levels of care
- Partial Care at ASAM 2.5, Intensive Outpatient at ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient at ASAM 1.5. Partial Care is delivered in person. Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient run in person or virtually by client preference.
Methamphetamine forces dopamine release and blocks its reuptake, which produces a longer and more intense signal than cocaine does from the same neurotransmitter. Heavy or prolonged use produces psychosis with paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions that persist for months after use stops in some people. Acute stimulant toxicity raises body temperature to a dangerous degree. Call 911 for seizure, chest pain, extreme agitation or a body temperature that keeps climbing, and call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 for an overdose.
There are 5 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Staying awake for a day or more at a time, then sleeping for an extended period
- Marked weight loss, dental damage or skin sores from picking
- Paranoia or the sense of being watched or followed
- Using a prescribed stimulant at higher doses, or by a route other than the prescribed one
- Continuing use despite a cardiac, dental or psychiatric consequence
Methamphetamine addiction treatment in Norwood, Bergen County, NJ sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Co-occurring conditions
DSM-5-TR: Co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders
- Where care begins
- Direct admission after psychiatric evaluation. New Jersey Mental Health Licence #70420104 is standalone, so a substance use diagnosis is not required for admission to mental health care.
- Medication
- Psychiatric medication is prescribed by the Medical Director, an MD, and a psychiatric nurse practitioner credentialed PMHNP-BC, and it treats the mental health condition rather than the substance use disorder. Where a client is already on buprenorphine or naltrexone, that medication continues alongside psychiatric care rather than being stopped at admission.
- Levels of care
- Mental health treatment runs at Intensive Outpatient, ASAM 2.1, and Outpatient, ASAM 1.5. Partial Care at ASAM 2.5 is licensed under New Jersey Substance Use Licence #200887, so a client who also meets criteria for a substance use disorder can start there.
Valley Spring treats anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, PTSD, trauma and complex trauma, bipolar I and II, ADHD, OCD, borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders alongside substance use, and tracks them with the PHQ-9, the GAD-7 and the PCL-5. Both conditions are treated together from admission rather than sequenced, because treating a substance use disorder while an untreated psychiatric condition drives the use leaves the driver in place. Valley Spring treats adults 18 and older.
There are 4 recognition signs families and clinicians look for:
- Psychiatric symptoms that persist through periods of abstinence
- Using a substance to manage panic, intrusive memories, sleep or mood
- A previous course of treatment that addressed one condition and not the other
- Psychiatric medication started and stopped repeatedly around periods of use
Dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring disorders sets out admissions, insurance verification and what the first week looks like.
Service Area
Where Does Valley Spring Deliver Outpatient Care?
Outpatient care runs in person at 830 Broadway in Norwood and over secure video across New Jersey. The Norwood facility sits in Bergen County, 20 minutes from the George Washington Bridge, and clients drive in from Teaneck, Englewood, Fort Lee, Paramus and Hackensack. One or two evenings a week makes the drive practical from further out than a daily program would be, and the video option removes it entirely for anyone who prefers that.
What Other Addiction Treatment Programs Does Valley Spring Recovery Center Offer?
Outpatient is the last clinical level before alumni programming, so the four below are the levels a client came from, the track that runs alongside a psychiatric diagnosis, and the community that follows discharge.