Wedgwood Christian Services, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Wedgwood Christian Services Overview

Wedgwood Christian Services is an organization or a treatment center whose primary mission is to help children, youth, and families cope and overcome various problems ranging from substance abuse to developmental delays, emotional trauma caused by abuse and neglect. History of Wedgwood started in 1960, but it began as two separate organizations: Wedgwood Acres Christian Home for Boys and Christian Youth Homes for Girls.
Ten years later two organizations merged and in 2002 it was renamed to Wedgwood Christian Services, the name it carries today. It’s important to mention that Wedgwood is a private, nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive treatment programs (see below). While most patients are children and teens ages 12 to 17, the organization helps adults as well.

Wedgwood Christian Services Housing

Not much is revealed about Wedgewood housing options. What we do know based on the official website is that Wedgwood Health Services treatment center is located at different locations, but the main campus is in 36th Street. The campus includes Huizinga Administration Building, wellness center, employment training facility, ten residential homes, conference center, and a chapel. The substance abuse program is located in the two-story building. Patients are assigned to individual rooms with twin beds. Each floor has a bathroom which all patients share. Patients or clients stay for a few weeks in individual rooms, but later they are allowed to move to shared rooms and have a roommate.

Wedgwood Christian Services Treatment Options

Wedgwood organization cares for patients who are dealing with different kinds of problems including sexual abuse, sex trafficking, traumas, just to name a few. Of course, they also deal with substance abuse. Their substance abuse treatment provides a supportive atmosphere where patients can take the next step in their recovery process.
Treatment services involving substance abuse are as follows:

• Adolescent substance abuse counseling – services are provided in an office setting or in-home, depending on the qualification.
• Adolescent intensive outpatient program (IOP) – suitable for youth with moderate to significant substance abuse problem. In other words, it’s suitable for youth who have used substances frequently.
• Residential substance abuse services – available for adolescents who are experiencing severe symptoms caused by substance abuse and need the stability that only residential facilities can offer.
• Adult substance abuse counseling – suitable for adults who are addicted to drugs or alcohol and have a long history of substance abuse as well as a pattern of coping with difficult experiences through substance use.
• Women-specific programming – parenting and pregnant women are a priority.

The substance abuse residential treatment uses 12-step facilitation, solution-focused, and a motivational skill-building model of addiction treatment. The program usually lasts 30 to 45 days. Dual diagnosis is provided, but new medications aren’t prescribed.

Wedgwood Christian Services Therapies Provided

Although Wedgwood is a Christian organization its practices are evidence-based, they aren’t necessarily established in a faith-based approach. That’s an advantage because the organization offers a combination of scientifically proven treatment programs along with a spiritual approach.
Therapies that are available to patients with substance abuse problems are:

• Family engagement therapy
• Intensive group therapy
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT)

Wedgwood Christian Services Payment Options

According to the official website of Wedgwood Christian Services the organization accepts payments from different sources including Community Mental Health, Department of Human Services, Juvenile Courts, Michigan Adoption Subsidy and some insurance companies. To learn more about payment options, feel free to contact Wedgwood Christian Services.

Wedgwood Christian Services Licenses

Wedgwood Christian Services treatment center is accredited by the Council on Accreditation, an international, independent, nonprofit health care accrediting organization founded in 1977. In addition to this important certificate, Wedgewood has the following licenses:

• Michigan Bureau of Child and Adult Licensing – residential foster care
• Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs – outpatient and prevention, substance abuse

The organization is also a member of Kent County Children’s Coordinating Council, North American Association of Christians in Social Work, and Michigan Federation for Children and Families.

Wedgwood Christian Services Amenities

Wedgwood has a Christian continuum of care which consists of Core Services that are funded by public sources and Transforming Services that are funded by donor contributions. The organization goes beyond helping patients overcome substance abuse or some other problem, and it also aims to improve their quality of life. Wedgwood Christian Services works to help patients function better and have a healthier life. In order to make that happen, the organization offers various amenities that are included in therapies and programs you’re following. Some amenities include:

• Psychoeducational testing
• Motivational interviewing
• Creating a new lifestyle
• Coping with triggers and urges
• Specialty pregnancy assistance (SPA)
• Wellness services
• Prevention services
• Life skills development
• Leisure skill development
• Voluntary spiritual development
• Employment training
• Random drug screens

Basically, the amenities mentioned above go hand in hand with therapies and programs that patients undergo during their treatment at Wedgwood Christian Services. They often depend on the type of program, the severity of addiction, and other parameters.

Wedgwood Christian Services Staff

While Wedgwood Christian Services treatment center focuses on quality of care and they gathered a team of professionals to oversee treatments, their names and bios aren’t revealed on the official website. Instead, they revealed names of people in leadership roles such as:

• Randy Zylstra – president/CEO
• Sandy Boyer – chief human resources officer
• Dawn Harvey – director of residential and community services
• LeRae Kuperus – director of spiritual formation
• Vivian TerMaat – chief advancement officer