Arsenal of treatment options helping fight Greater Cincinnati's opioid crisis
From in-patient to out-patient treatments, West Chester facility offers help, hope
From in-patient to out-patient treatments, West Chester facility offers help, hope
As a music therapist, Amy Donnenwerth can hear the power of healing in ancient tones.
"We are a very rhythmic people," Donnenwerth said. "Music is a beautiful, powerful way to reconnect with our creative selves."
Donnenwerth believes music can help treat addiction. By drumming a simple rhythmic pattern and reciting a mantra, she said people in recovery can remind themselves to avoid bad habits.
"Let go of cravings," Donnenwerth said in a meditative voice. "Let go of cravings. Let go of cravings."
While Donnenwerth relies on music, her colleagues at Beckett Springs, a treatment facility in West Chester, use other tools to help people who want to get clean.
"For my clients, I see a lot of them come in struggling with guilt and shame," outpatient therapist James Lattimore said. "The goal is to come into a place where you can feel safe about talking about your addiction and the recovery process."
Clinical services director Neicole Knott said Beckett Springs places a premium on quickly connecting people who need care with experts.
"One in five people are affected by mental health or addiction, and it's a big deal in our community," Knott said. "People need to be able to come in and ask for help when they need it. ... The great thing about coming though the front doors is that we usually can help you."
Knott knows taking the first step toward sobriety is not easy. But considering the alternative - broken relationships, prison, even death - it's a step in a much better direction.
"You're journey isn't over," Knott said. "You can come in and ask for help. We will give you that help and we'll do it in a way that has outcomes to show that it works."
In addition to the location in West Chester, Beckett Springs also has a facility in Centerville, Ohio.
Programming options keep expanding along with the opioid crisis.
Clinicians are working to help children whose parents have been caught in the grip of substance abuse. There's also an alumni group for people in recovery.