ABOUT THRESHOLDS
Established in 1959 and headquartered in Chicago, Ill., Thresholds is a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare, housing, case management, substance abuse treatment, and other assistive services to adult men and women struggling with behavioral health problems. According to the facility’s website, most of the clients they serve have been diagnosed with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
The organization offers 30 different programs in 100 locations throughout Chicago, its suburbs, and nine surrounding counties. Treatment specific to substance abuse is offered on an outpatient basis.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Thresholds offers outpatient and intensive outpatient (IOP) substance abuse programs, and it is one of 488 facilities in Illinois to do so. All clients are assessed upon admission to determine the proper level of care and develop a personalized treatment plan. If Thresholds cannot meet the level of care needed, staff will refer clients to other services.
Thresholds’ philosophy centers around treating substance use problems through three approaches: the biological, psychological and social. The biological approach emphasizes correcting behaviors such as sleep, diet, and exercise and utilizes medications to lessen cravings and address co-occurring mental disorders.
The psychological approach treats clients employing evidence-based treatment modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy, harm reduction, relapse prevention therapy, and medication-assisted treatment.
The social approach engages friends, family, and other loved ones of the client’s through family counseling and education. This model also employs group work through either the SMART model of recovery or a 12-step program. Thresholds also educates clients on how to manage social media and other online activity to positively impact their recovery, even offering an app to promote recovery in the online environment.
The IOP meets for at least nine hours per week and typically lasts between two to eights weeks. The standard outpatient program, which is often used as a step-down from the IOP, is highly individualized and offers services that meet from 30 minutes to 8.5 hours per week, depending upon the client’s personalized treatment schedule.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Thresholds’ treatment team includes a medical director and licensed clinical social workers. Three reviewers polled by Best-rehabs.com rated staff’s level of experience and training a perfect five stars.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The two alumni who submitted reviews to Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave Thresholds positive reviews. Both highly recommended the facility and awarded it ratings of four or five out of five stars for treatment effectiveness, cleanliness, counseling options, and the staff’s level of training and experience.
Third-party reviews to date have been largely positive. On Thresholds’ Facebook page, which the facility can curate, the facility boasts an average rating of 4.6 out of five stars based on 48 reviews. On Google, the facility received an average rating of 3.8 out of five stars based on 12 reviews. Clients praised the staff as dedicated and described the housing as sufficient. Alum Leeland wrote: “This group home helped me alot. Can’t find better service! I love this place, the staff and all the friends and memories I made while I was here!!!”
Some of the clients who left negative reviews suggested the that staff were inexperienced and unprofessional, and one even claimed they falsified narratives about clients. Note that the third-party reviews were primarily focused on Thresholds’ mental health services rather than on substance abuse treatment.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The sole loved one to submit a review to Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave the facility a positive review, awarding five out of five stars to the facility for its counseling options, treatment of co-occurring disorders, and the staff’s level of training and experience.
On a more negative note, the loved one noted a lack of activities, giving Thresholds two stars for its holistic offerings and its exercise and leisure activities. The reviewer also wished that the program had had more of a religious focus.
FINANCING
According to the facility’s website, most of Thresholds’ programs are covered by Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance. Sliding scale fees are available to client who qualify, and the organization states: “We accept all members regardless of ability to pay.” All three clients polled by Best-rehabs.com rated the affordability of the program four out of five stars.