When they have drug or alcohol addiction problems, only area women who qualify for state aid or can afford $2,000-a-day facilities have gotten treatment. Middle-income women have pretty much had to do without — until now.
After considering it for several years, the volunteer board for the Haven, a residential addiction treatment center primarily for women who are homeless or otherwise qualify for state assistance, decided to launch Casa de Palmas for those left-out women in the middle, according to Karen Smith, director of operations. The facility opened in August in a leased home at 100 S. Avenida de Palmas in a midtown neighborhood that offers a peaceful, plant-filled environment.
While pricier treatment centers are pretty much the norm in Tucson and elsewhere, Casa de Palmas offers a one-month treatment program for about one fourth the cost of the typical facility. One reason is that pricier centers often have a psychiatric hospital for addicted women with other disorders, which adds to their costs.
 Cynthia Potter, Carol Gunderson and Karen Smith in the main room at Casa de Palmas. Ed Egger photo |
Casa de Palmas simply offers residential treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction. If clients need further psychiatric care after detoxification, Casa de Palmas can refer them to Sonoran Behavioral Health Hospital, with whom Casa de Palmas has a relationship.
"Casa de Palmas is the realization of a long-held dream, to provide first-class, affordable treatment for women of this (middle) income group, who need more than outpatient treatment for their substance-use disorders," said Margaret Higgins, executive director.
Not only is Casa de Palmas the first facility of its kind in Southern Arizona; the closest facility that offers affordable treatment for middle income women is in Minnesota, according to Cynthia Potter, the facility’s primary therapist.
Casa de Palmas, which can accommodate seven to nine patients at a time, has several distinguishing features, not the least of which is that several key staff members themselves have been in recovery for a number of years.
"It does make a difference to the clients," said Potter, who has been in recovery for 12 years.
Another unique aspect at Casa de Palmas is the integrative medicine approach taken by the center’s medical director, Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson, who in addition to being in private practice is also an assistant clinical professor with the University of Arizona’s Program in Integrative Medicine, founded by renowned integrative medicine guru Dr. Andrew Weil.
"We don’t want to put them on medications because they already have hyperactive nervous systems," Chiasson said. "It’s the perfect place to use integrative medicine and nutritional supplements."
She said that exercise and breathing can have a big impact on depression and various forms of meditation can replace drugs that patients might take.
"Standard treatments for depression are not very effective," she said. "They only work about half the time."
As part of the therapy, Potter said, clients are taught yoga, tai chi and use accudetox, forms of acupuncture central to the ears, visualization, aromatherapy, energy therapies, psychodrama and art theater. The staff is planning to add chiropractic treatment.
Nutrition also is critical, Chiasson said, noting that people with substance abuse problems are often nutritionally in poor shape and don’t have the right essential fatty acids and often haven’t had health care treatment in a long time.
The goal, Chiasson said, is to give clients drug-free alternatives that can help them face challenges after they leave Casa de Palmas without resorting to self-medication, which becomes an addiction in itself.
Nutrition at Casa de Palma is the specialty of Carol Gunderson, resident manager, who pointed out that people with substance abuse problems tend not to eat very well.
"When they get sober, they tend to gain weight. We have a diet plan for mood stabilization that includes salads and fruits two or three times a day, fresh meats and chicken, cutting out sugar and caffeine and helping the body balance itself out. Everything is made from scratch," Gunderson said.
Each client undergoes individualized evaluation and her program is designed based on her needs, Potter said, including education on relapse prevention, codependency, and therapeutic and psychological tracts, including group therapy.
"We have them try new things so they will have a bag of therapies for coping," she said. "We want to give them a plethora of options."
A program like the one at Casa de Palmas may be an excellent option for employers who have employees with substance abuse problems, Potter said.
"Studies have shown that the return on investment is $7 to $15 for each $1 spent," she said. "Substance abuse is the third worst disease behind heart disease and cancer."
Unfortunately, Potter said, most insurance companies don’t consider substance abuse to be an illness, so most of them don’t cover treatment costs.
Contact reporter Ed Egger at eegger@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4238.
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