the walden house

The Walden House serves as a national leader in drug and alcohol addictions to the people of San Francisco and throughout the state of California. The program serves adults, children, people with extensive criminal backgrounds, people with HIV/AIDS and people with multiple diagnoses. Currently there are about 3,400 people taking advantage of the various different services the Walden House has to offer such as:
- Mental Health (Outpatient): Individual treatment plans made for each patient in order to meet their individual needs. These plans can include individual therapy, group therapy, medication services, case management, skills training and crisis services. There is also an intensive outpatient harm reduction day treatment program for patients who may be unsure about giving up heir addiction but would still like to improve their life. Diagnosis day treatment is available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Mental Health (Residential): All the services offered for outpatient patients but for those in need of more attention and serious treatment. Patients may be kept for any period between three days and one year and follow a Wellness Recovery Action Plan to help reach stabilization and better health. There are currently four different residential sites in San Francisco.
- Representative Payee Program: Offered for patients who receive financial benefits such as supplemental security income or social security and need assistance managing their money in order to make sure they have food, clothing, shelter and all the other things necessary for them to go on. There is a monthly fee for this program that is deducted from the patients check each month.
- Crisis Stabilization: Designed to help HIV positive patients through detoxification and getting back into the community. The program can last from one to six weeks. The San Francisco CARE Council funds the program.
- Community Housing: Provides both permanent and transitional living spaces for patients. The sober living environments are safe and secure for patients as they work their way through treatment.
- Homeless Services: Walden House participates in Major Gavin Newsom’s “Homeless Connect” in order to connect those in need with resources, prevention services and treatment.
- Criminal Justice Programs: Serving patients in custody who wish to enroll in treatment while they are serving their time. The Walden House currently operates two in-custody substance abuse treatment programs for women at Valley State Prison for women in Chowchilla, CA. They work with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to meet the needs of inmates.
- Walden Institute of Training: Provides basic and advanced courses in motivational interviewing, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, tobacco cessation education, harm reduction, stages of change, recovery education, alcohol and drug education, sexually transmitted disease education, case management, treatment planning, cultural competence, and gender-response treatment intervention for Walden House staff and members of community-based treatment centers in California. The Walden Institute of Training is approved by the American Psychological Association.