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Litchfield Hills Retreat: More than recovery, it’s the future.
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Litchfield Hills Retreat is an amazing model to be observed
In my time working in the mental health field, I have experienced both the pleasure and the perils of visiting the different types of rehabilitation facilities. However, until yesterday, I had never before found a model quite as encouraging and hopeful as Litchfield Hills Retreat in Connecticut. After an hour’s ride through the thick New England forests and sleepy colonial hamlets, we arrived at a long stretch of drive that twisted, turned and eventually revealed a beautiful modern home atop a hill surrounded by wild ponds and forest.
I had heard stories in the past of posh rehabs and sumptuous recovery retreats, so when I entered I will say that I was somewhat skeptical. What I found by the time I exited, was that this model, is indeed, the direction that mental health and recovery clinics need to head in. It’s almost difficult to call this retreat anything under medical / structural terms due to how comfortable one feels when stepping inside.
The beautiful modern architecture that makes up the façade of Litchfield Hills Retreat is only the beginning. Once stepping through the double glass pane front doors into an expansive and inviting living room with cathedral ceilings and sky-lights in every room, one gets the sense that you no longer need to worry. Able to facilitate 8 guests at a time, the rooms each have a spectacular view of the surrounding 70 acres of tranquility and nature. Complete with an indoor jacuzzi, outdoor hot tub, cedar lined sauna, Reiki therapy, a state of the art gym and a kitchen well stocked with nutritious foods—this is not just luxury for the sake of luxury.
Litchfield Hills Retreat offers these amenities because of its visionary take on what it means to fully engaged in the journey of recovery. It utilizes an effective, holistic approach grounded firmly in the legacy of 12-step programs. What takes place as a result, is a genuine healing of mind, body and spirit; with each guest having their recovery tailored to their own specific needs. The staff was professional, knowledgeable and empathic, and they are available around the clock to all guests.
I realized, as I left, that this could very easily be the state of treatment in this country if insurance and pharmaceutical companies did not pull the strings, and managed care was not dictating treatment and length of stay. Most insurance companies have a maximum length of stay of 11 days at many public mental health and recovery units; however, Litchfield Hills Retreat has a minimum of three-weeks. This is a far more reasonable length of time in which to build a formidable foundation of recovery from addiction.
I suggest to anyone seriously interested in addressing their addiction issues with an intensive and thorough shot at recovery, to look into Litchfield Hills Retreat. Moreover, I would ask anyone involved in the public sector to look at this model, watch how well it works, and take the enormous steps needed to begin to reform the bureaucratic run system that currently dominates the lives and mental health of millions of Americans involved in the system today.
