SCF Benteh Nuutah Four Directions offers drop-in groups for both individuals in recovery and for friends and family who desire to support their loved ones.
A Different Path to Recovery, Benteh Nuutah Four Directions
Contributed by Southcentral Foundation
Every community in Alaska is impacted by substance use. All Alaskans in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough now have access to addiction treatment and recovery services that have a history of changing lives and communities for the better. At the Benteh Nuutah Four Directions Outpatient Treatment Center in Wasilla, as a result of a collaboration between Southcentral Foundation and local Tribes, the doors are open to anyone who may benefit from substance use services.
Partnering with Alaska Native families for two decades of substance use services, SCF has developed an approach that differs from standard treatment. While many treatment programs require participants to stop numbing, distracting, or escaping from their lives through abstinence (and simultaneously hope they will create lives they no longer want to escape), Four Directions equips individuals with the tools and resources to improve their lives on their own terms.
Four Directions’ treatment approach is strengths-based and personalized to each individual. It respects and responds to the whole person in the context of their health needs, values, cultural preferences, family, and community. Thus, it is designed to enhance not only the lives of participating individuals, but also their families and communities.
Four Directions focuses on creating a life where the individual wants to remain present, sober, and engaged, and no longer feels the need to escape or use detrimental coping behaviors. The central philosophy is that substance use is a symptom of an underlying problem; anyone struggling with addiction is using substances as a coping strategy to deal with or avoid something in life. Understanding that substance use is serving a purpose in the context of a person’s life circumstances, the focus is to first address the underlying need, rather than asking the person to give up their coping strategy. Behaviors for maintaining sobriety are learned, but the core principle is to move forward toward life goals.
“Wellness is rooted in personal values and motivations,” said SCF Executive Vice President of Behavioral Services Division Michelle Baker. “Our programs highlight what individuals can work toward and create in their life through relationship and partnering with on their journey toward wellness.”
This Wasilla-based outpatient treatment program supports participants in becoming more aware of themselves and what they are experiencing, so they can progress toward value-based goals. The Four Directions approach has enabled program providers to build strong relationships with those impacted by substance use and reduce barriers to engagement. These supports are invaluable for creating a vision for wellness and a roadmap for reclaiming health and well-being.
If you or a friend or family member are experiencing substance use and want support in making a change, please contact Benteh Nuutah Four Directions Outpatient Treatment Center in Wasilla at (907) 631-6300. This program is open to all adults in the community, accepts all insurances, and offers a sliding fee scale for uninsured participants. To reach Four Directions Outpatient Treatment Center in Anchorage, call (907) 729-6300.