ABOUT US

Scott Gilbert

After spending almost half my life battling addiction, I was given the gift of sobriety 6 years ago. After attending several treatment centers, two very special places, Michaels House and the Bishop Gooden Home, helped me begin my journey of recovery. I realize a huge part of getting clean was hitting my own bottom, but these particular centers played a vital role in the process. Why did these centers succeed when others had failed? I believe it was because of the small intense groups that forced me to look at my real issues; I was not able to hide in a crowd and not to mention the staff was some of the best therapists I had ever worked with. My personal experience and that of my friends from treatment almost always say the same thing, “the intensive outpatient program do not have the same intensity as that found in the groups in the residential setting. Unfortunately, we have all experienced the “TV counselor”, which is watching videos rather than working on our issues. After celebrating two years of sobriety, I took a job working in an Intensive Outpatient Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My experiences there were amazing! The intensive outpatient program allowed people in an outpatient setting to do some really good work on their recovery. I began to realize the tremendous potential of IOP. I wanted people in that setting to have the level of intensity that would make a real difference in their recovery…something like I received in my inpatient treatment. This is when my journey began in developing Outpatient treatment centers. With a business background and having worked with a number of startup ventures, I jumped into this role. I became a partner with the owner and I took the lead and hired staff from across the country. I chose people who have worked at the centers known for their great work. We assembled a team that many clinically oriented people believe is one of the best Intensive Outpatient programs in the country. In July of this year, we sold the program to a treatment network that offered residential treatment options, which is desperately needed in that area. The sale was perfect timing for me, since my wife who was one of the people who helped develop the clinical program at Focused Recovery wanted to move home to Mississippi. We both love what we helped create in New Mexico and want to bring that same quality of care to Mississippi, so we have opened A Bridge to Recovery. My wife promised this Minnesota boy will fall in love with a state that does not have any type of professional hockey team! I have only been here for a short while and I am finding that she is right.