Person-Centered Care at Heartland House

How it Starts Working at Heartland House: Assessing Our Clients’ Needs

To achieve the best results possible for our clients, Heartland House relies on person-centered care, meaning that we develop an individualized program of treatment to meet the unique physical, mental and social needs of each man who comes to recover with us.

The first step on our part is to determine those unique needs. We do so using six criteria or dimensions that were developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Specifically, we explore the person’s past and current experience of substance abuse and withdrawal (Dimension 1); health history and current physical condition (Dimension 2); thoughts, emotions and mental health including readiness and interest in changing their behavior (Dimensions 3 and 4); and relationships with relapse and continued substance use and their associated problems (Dimensions 5 and 6).

Armed with this key information, we tailor a program of care for the client. An important element of this person-centered care is that it is non-timebound, meaning that the client receives treatment for the amount of time needed to meet their recovery goals, as opposed to having a standard time limit (such as 90 or 120 days) in which to complete their program. In short, Heartland House strives to be person-supportive versus program-supportive.

Heartland House implemented the ASAM criteria in 2016. Multiple studies as well as our experience indicate that use of and treatment based on these criteria is significantly more effective than generic, non-person-centered treatment.

For in-depth information on the ASAM Criteria, please see: https://www.asam.org/asam-criteria/aboutPerson-Centered Care.