About Minnesota Alternative – Spring Lake Park
Minnesota Alternative was an outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They were licensed as a Rule 31 substance abuse outpatient program to specialize in co-occurring disorders and trauma therapy. They worked with private health insurance providers in the local area including Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield. They also accepted private pay and offered a way to make payments online.
The outpatient clinic once offered person centered outpatient substance use disorder care. They understood that treatment should not use a cookie cutter approach because one size does not fit all. They defined a person centered approach as ensuring your engagement and satisfaction as a priority.
The program was scheduled to be flexible in intensity and duration so it could adjust to your current needs while understanding the need for education, accountability and peer support. They specialized in serving people with co-occurring conditions, such as mental health disorders and addiction. Co-occurring conditions are called dual diagnosis and often complicate treatment since both conditions must be treated simultaneously. However, a mental illness diagnosis was not required to be eligible for their services.
Their approach to care began with understanding the motives behind your substance use disorder and developing alternative ways to meet your mental health needs. They treated everyone individually and worked to address clients at different levels of readiness for change.
Abstinence was the goal for the majority of their clients, but they also used a harm reduction approach, with small incremental changes as steps in the right direction. While the 12 Step model was not part of their program, they did encourage you to seek out community support if this was helpful to you.