ABOUT AIM HOUSE
Located in downtown Boulder, AIM House offers gender-separate transitional treatment for young adults who have already completed a primary treatment program for substance abuse or other difficulties making their way in the world.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The average length of stay is six to seven months.
AIM House was founded in part in response to the lack of guidance for young adults making their way in the world, particularly those young adults who are transitioning from addiction treatment; as such, positive peer support is an integral part of the program. The program is split into five phases: Intentions, Actions, Merge, Manifest, Evolve.
The program offerings are traditional: individual, group, and family therapy; life skills coaching; relapse prevention and support; and instruction on health and wellness. In a bid to help clients to achieve their full potential, the program also offers academic mentoring and access to academic institutions; academic resources help clients to complete their GED, attend college classes, and apply for college, depending on their existing level of attainment. In addition, the center offers an in-house internship program, on which participants receive coaching and mentoring on their performance. A 12-week Creative Accelerator program provides intensive training for individuals wishing to pursue a creative career, for instance design, music, video, film, or photography.
According to the facility’s website, AIM House also offers an outdoor adventure program that includes opportunities to ski, snowboard, and go mountain biking, camping, rock climbing, and river rafting.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The treatment team consists largely of master’s level therapists.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Between its various residences, AIM House accommodates up to 50 residents at a time. The houses include a 1920s Tudor-style home and an historic building dating to 1882. According to its website, AIM House arranges recreational activities including yoga, meditation, martial arts, African drumming, and Tai Chi classes.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Of the two reviews submitted to Best-rehabs.com to date, one was very positive and one very negative. “This place saved my life and is a bargain compared to many others,” Trey wrote, giving the center five stars for its treatment effectiveness. However, an anonymous reviewer claimed that the center was overpriced and provided minimal treatment, and that staff did not treat residents with respect. “AIM House is a careless, unorganized, and stress-provoking program… Essentially the only thing it is paying for, at $12,000 a month to start, is therapy and room and board,” the anonymous reviewer wrote.
At the time of this writing, secondary review sites yielded mixed reviews, with average ratings of 3.77 stars based on 22 reviews on Yelp and 4.1 stars based on 20 reviews on Facebook, where the center can manage its own page. Negative reviewers repeatedly described a lack of individual attention, excessive punishments, and an unhappy environment. “Participants are miserable and there is a general theme in the house of lying and pretending in desperation to get out of the house. Any little every day and understandable issue these girls go through is an excuse to keep them there (and charge the sponsors/parents $10,000 monthly),” D.S. wrote in a representative negative review on Yelp.
However, several reviewers noted that treatment had been successful for them. “I’m glad I ended up in Boulder. Most of the staff were genuinely wonderful people who really cared about the well-being of participants,” E.R. wrote in another representative review on Yelp, though she also complained of a lack of individualized treatment and punishments for vulnerable clients. In isolated criticisms, one client wrote that the center did not treat LGBTQ clients well, and another that the program did not handle eating disorders well.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The single loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com to date, H.W., gave mixed feedback, praising the center’s ideas and some of its personnel, and adding that their daughter “learned a lot at Aim House,” adding that she “went through the program and is living well on her own.” However, H.W. echoed an alum by describing the program as overpriced and some staff as disrespectful.
WHAT STAFF SAY
At the time of this writing, four staffers posting on Glassdoor had given AIM House a 2.5-star average rating. Although two staffers painted a picture of an overall effective organization, two reviewers criticized the company’s management, and one echoed an alum posting on Yelp by flagging unsafe conditions for LGBTQ individuals, writing: “Not Safe for LGBTQ Employees or Clients… Staff are allowed to commit micro-aggressions towards LGBTQ clients and staff without consequence. Certain staff stated that they ‘do not believe in [transgender] identities’ and will therefore not acknowledge trans clients or staff; pronouns and names are ignored.”
FINANCING
There is currently no information provided on the facility’s website regarding its costs.
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