The Mare’s House Program & What to Expect

Like life, everything at Mare’s House is progressive, with challenges, expectations, and responsibilities increasing as members make healthy choices for themselves.

The Mare’s House program is goal-oriented. Designed to move members toward increasing independence, personal responsibility, financial freedom, and self-discovery. Each challenge allows members to experience and integrate into their decision-making the daily living skills necessary for independence. Staff guide and challenge members to predict and consider consequences (positive and negative), identify resources, ask for help, improve interpersonal skills, practice problem-solving, effectively communicate, demonstrate time management, and engage in healthy decision-making.

A Typical Weekly Schedule

Each week, members post their weekly schedules in order to gain support and acknowledgment from staff. Schedules include work shifts, therapy appointments, sponsor meetings, family calls, and other activities or responsibilities unique to that member. The weekly schedule helps teach time management, accountability, prioritization of responsibilities, organization, and the discipline that comes from structure, planning, and consistency. Weekly schedules allow staff to guide and support members as they begin to increase responsibilities and develop their transition plans, as well as hold them accountable.

Clinical Support at Mare’s House

Mare’s House clinical support is collaborative and designed to build whole-person wellness. Registered dieticians provide individualized care, goal setting, and nutrition support. Licensed marriage and family therapists and social workers address family dynamics and the psychological, social and emotional issues that can impede recovery. We focus extensively on the development of healthy boundaries and self-advocacy in order to build esteem and personal empowerment. 

Integration Assistance for Program Graduates

Upon successful graduation from the Mare’s House program, we offer our clients transitional one-on-one mentoring and coaching services. After leaving the structured environment that we provide and moving into new recovery housing or an independent living situation, clients sometimes struggle with the challenges and new freedoms that come with the change. This integration phase provides our graduates with support and gives their families a boots-on-the-ground connection to their loved one as they move toward independence.

The goal of our integration phase services is to foster our clients’ continued growth and accountability. In this capacity, we support them through weekly check-ins, goal setting, random drug and alcohol testing, and collaboration with their treatment team.

Woman smiling sitting on couch looking at notebook

Husband and wife smiling, looking at papers

Family Support Groups

Mare’s House offers a Zoom Family Support Group for the families of alumni and current clients. Zoom groups are offered twice a month, and all family members are welcome. Groups are facilitated by Alana Hecker who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and EMDR therapist with more than thirty years of experience in specialized training treating addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, and codependent relationships. As a safe space for families to share their personal experiences, feelings and firsthand experience with a loved one’s addiction, these groups focus on providing support and developing useful coping strategies. Within the groups, families can come together and learn ways to set healthy, supportive boundaries with their loved ones.