WestBridge, Manchester, New Hampshire

Merrimack River, in Manchester
660 Chestnut Street
Manchester, NH, 03104

WestBridge Overview

WestBridge is a nonprofit organization that started back in 2001. Al and Loralee West, its founders, envisioned a clinic that would integrate and individualize evidence-based approaches to treat men with mental and substance abuse disorders. WestBridge, both in New Hampshire and Florida, thus, specializes in offering simultaneous treatment to adult men with mental illness and substance use disorders as either inpatient or outpatient.
The simultaneous treatment of mental illness and substance use disorder is a holistic recovery process. With a fully integrated variety of care systems, including community-based, residential, and family level programs, it is a guarantee that the men will integrate well back into the community. What’s more, family involvement in the process plays an essential role in the recovery process.

WestBridge Housing

As always, safety comes first. Through its Residential Treatment program, WestBridge offers patients safe, customized, home-like environments. Its housing includes the Commons in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Coogler Hall in Brooksville, Florida. These residential areas offer a unique healing atmosphere that abets the treatment, evaluation, and recovery processes. The customized home, rather than a hospital-like setting, gives a patient comfort and a sense of belonging, making them comfortable within the community. The environment makes them feel loved and cared for by others.

WestBridge Treatment Options

Before admission, WestBridge ensures that the patient is an adult male with both mental illness and struggling with a drug addiction problem. The institution staff then takes the patient to start the rigorous treatment transition.
WestBridge uses the multidisciplinary team approach, and they call Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). The integrated approach helps in improving participants healthy living life skills, and it incorporates specialists in different fields including finance, stress management, and family. The experts work with individuals their families to facilitate a smooth transition into a regular daily living.

WestBridge Therapies Provided

The primary goal of therapy is to help the men in the program learn how to manage their mental conditions and substance use to become useful people in life. Successful treatment and therapies of mental illness and substance abuse require that the methods complement each other.
The therapies offered to patients at WestBridge center varies, but every patient undergoes the following:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: The psychologist identifies and suggests ways to dysfunctional thoughts to change the negative thought patterns and the resulting behaviors.
  • Medication Management: Systematic medication is an effective method to cure severe mental illness, and WestBridge ensures it positively yields by monitoring and recording a patient’s results and progress. The institution treats every patient independently, as what works for John, may not necessarily work for Harry.
  • Motivation interviews, or counseling to encourage coping skills.

WestBridge Payment Options

Like many health institutions, WestBridge works with a number of insurance companies. However, it is weird that the list does not include Medicare and Medicaid. The insurance in its network include:

  • BlueCross BlueShield
  • Humana
  • Cigna
  • Beacon
  • Magellan
  • Aetna
  • Evolution Health Systems
  • POMCO

WestBridge advises insured clients to talk to its family benefits specialists to find out if the insurance company offers out-of-network benefits. Uninsured patients, however, use the self-pay option. The bottom line is the institution provides financial consultations to the family before admission.

WestBridge Accreditations

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accredited WestBridge as a nonprofit organization providing treatment to persistent mental illness and substance use disorders. Then it only means that its practices and methods are above board and meets the standards set by CARF.

WestBridge Amenities

Men undergoing treatment need constant observation and side-by-side support, that’s why WestBridge has the residential treatment option, which includes housing them. The facilities at both branches impressively support networking, stress management, fitness, and self-care. Unlike many facilities, the patients at WestBridge are actively involved in the running of the facility. From deciding the meals to suggesting improvements, they hold each other accountable. The institution operates successfully by cultivating the culture of respect, accountability and maintaining healthy boundaries.

WestBridge Staff

Rehabilitation facilities provide specialized services; thus, they all need to have the best of the best, from therapists to support staff members. Perhaps, this explains why WestBridge has qualified and friendly specialists in virtually every department.
Once admitted in the facility, the patient is introduced to the staff members they will interact within the residential treatment program. The organization’s website lists the names of all the important staff members in the program. However, the details of their professional details are a bit hidden. Hopefully, they can give out more information on inquiry.
Staff in the residential treatment program include:

Dr. Robert Drake, M.D, Ph.D.,
Chief Psychiatrist

Robert Drake’s career in psychiatric rehabilitation spans nearly four decades. With 15 books and over 400 academic papers, he is a renowned scholar internationally, particularly on his work on rehabilitation and the recovery process in mental health. Currently doubles as Andrew Thomson Professor of Psychiatry, Community and Family Medicine, and Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Judith Magnon, RN-BC, BS, CAC
Quality Assurance Specialist / Nurse

Judy has a Bachelor’s from New England College and became a licensed addictions counselor in New Hampshire way back in 1993. She is extremely experienced in this field of mental health, with at least 20 years in the addictions field. She doubles as a quality assurance specialist and nurse at WestBridge’s Brooksville, Florida facility.

Melissa Sarasin, MSM
Wellness and Nutrition Coordinator

Melissa is the overall head of Wellness and Nutrition and coordinates all the programs. She joined WestBridge as a fulltime chef in the residential program, before her promotion. She holds a BA in Culinary Nutrition and pursuing MSM in Healthcare Administration. Melissa has previously worked at Head Start as the Nutrition Coordinator, and at the Sheraton, Wakefield, as the Sous Chef.

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