ABOUT STEP ONE
Child & Family Guidance Center Addiction Services, Inc., also known as Step One, offers outpatient treatment for individuals struggling with problematic substance use at three facilities in the mid-Hudson region of New York State: this facility in a Victorian home in Ellenville, the original facility in Highland, and another in Lake Katrine.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Step One provides abstinence-based treatment and subscribes to the disease model of addiction. The center also pledges to work closely with any other treatment professionals with whom clients are working. The team aims to “meet clients where they are,” and put together individualized programs to reflect their needs and strengths. The length of treatment varies according to the client’s needs.
Treatment is offered up to six days a week, in the daytime and the evening. The program is offered in three phases: in Phase One, clients meet two to six times per week; in Phase Two, two to four times per week; and in Phase Three, once or twice a week — an open-ended phase that also serves as aftercare.
Treatment consists, primarily, of individual, group, and family counseling as well as case management services. Staff are trained to provide evidence-based treatments including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), and to treat co-occurring disorders such as trauma and PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Groups cover topics such as relapse prevention, psychoeducation, parenting, anger management, mental wellness, and nutritional assessment and planning.
There are dedicated, gender-separate tracks for men and women, as well as specialized treatment for adolescents aged 15 to 18. In addition, medication management and medication-assisted therapy services are available for those also enrolled in other forms of therapy.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Staff includes psychiatrists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed masters social workers, licensed mental health counselors, and addiction counselors. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date, themselves a staff member, gave the facility three out of five stars for its staff’s level of training and experience.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Best-rehabs.com has not yet received any reviews directly from alumni of Step One Ellenville, and secondary sites yielded mixed feedback at the time of this writing, with two one-star ratings, a two-star rating, a four-star rating, and two five-star ratings spread between Facebook (where the center can manage its own page) and CiteHealth. All three of the negative reviewers cited disrespectful or uncaring treatment. “First, you are treated with disrespect… You are also going to be judged unfairly, so beware. All they care about is their money, not you or your treatment,” one anonymous reviewer wrote in a representative review on CiteHealth. Conversely, the positive reviewers praised the staff. “Staff is friendly, and professional,” one anonymous reviewer wrote on CiteHealth, and on Facebook, C.L. wrote that the staff “will forever be in my heart.”
WHAT STAFF SAY
The single staff member polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave mixed feedback. “Most staff caring helpful,” they wrote, and gave the center five stars for its family participation and three stars for its treatment effectiveness. However, they added: “Only 12 step no other options,” and gave the facility just one star for its holistic offerings, counseling options, and ability to treat co-occurring disorders.
FINANCING
Step One accepts Medicaid and most private insurances as well as cash payments. A sliding fee scale is available. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the facility four out of five stars for its affordability.