ABOUT CATS (COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION TREATMENT SERVICES)
From a Victorian home on a leafy residential street in the center of Ocala, central Florida, Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Services (CATS) is one of the state’s 556 (77.7 percent) centers that offers outpatient care for individuals struggling with problematic substance use. The center was founded in 1989.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The center offers both an intensive outpatient program (IOP) and general outpatient care, with counseling available in the daytime or the evening. Counseling takes place in individual, group, and family settings, and 12-step meetings are held on-site, including Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), AlAnon, and Over Eaters Anonymous.
The program particularly focuses on common addiction-related matters such as codependency and anger management. Education and aftercare planning services form part of the core program.
The center can also provide specialized support for impaired professionals and individuals on probation. Also available at this facility are DUI services (offered at just 22.2 percent of substance abuse facilities in Florida) and evaluations for Department of Transport (DoT) license holders.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The center’s founder is a certified addiction professional who has also served on the board of a domestic violence and sexual assault center. There is currently no further information provided by the facility regarding its treatment staff; however, in the state of Florida, 98.4 percent of all substance abuse treatment facilities have continuing education requirements for staff. In addition, the single alum polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the facility three out of five stars for its staff’s level of training and experience.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The single alum polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave mixed-to-negative feedback. “Time spent well all day,” the anonymous reviewer wrote, but added, “Not enough one on one time,” and cited a lack of alternatives to the 12-step philosophy. This former client awarded only two out of five stars for counseling options, and just one-star ratings for holistic offerings, admissions & discharge procedures, treatment of co-occurring disorders, and whether or not the program was worth the cost.
Though they selected strongly disagree when surveyed on whether or not they would recommend treatment at CATS, this individual gave the facility four stars for its family participation and three stars for its treatment effectiveness.
At the time of this writing, secondary review sites yielded almost exclusively positive feedback: the facility had a 4.4-star average rating based on 20 reviews on Google,[1] and on YellowPages.com, a single five-star rating.[2] The positive reviewers repeatedly praised the staff and noted that they had gained a lot of knowledge at the facility.
“Out of every counseling place I have ever been to this is by far the best wonderful counselors and great atmosphere and the most positive life lessons you can learn,” C.F. wrote in a representative review on Google. In the few negative reviews, more than one alum questioned the center’s intake practices, which they felt left people little choice but to embark on treatment. Isolated reviewers also cited poor privacy policies and a dirty facility, though these negative comments were in the minority.
FINANCING
According to CATS’ website, the facility works with many insurance providers. The single alum polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the facility just one out of five stars for its affordability.
[1] GoogleReviews
[2] https://www.yellowpages.com/ocala-fl/mip/cats-inc-458826456