Leah H.

Before I made the decision to call CAST Centers, I was an Addictions Counselor working at a private practice in beautiful Montana. I had 13 years clean from a previous addiction to meth and was at the height of my professional career. I had two beautiful daughters and a wonderful husband who made my life complete. Then it all came crashing down.

The man who answered the phone when I called CAST was named Robert, and he gently talked to me about what was going on, and explained the program they offered. My anxiety was through the roof. Robert checked in with me every day and helped me find the courage to board my plane to California.

When I arrived, Michael was there to pick me up. He immediately made me feel at ease, and took me to the Transitional Living Apartments. The staff at the Apartments were supportive and there for me 24/7.

After taking care of others for the last 20 years of my life, I felt taken care of 100% and it felt good. I was finally able to take my first deep breath. Charles was amazing at keeping all of our schedules straight and getting us to where we needed to go. Mike had the best playlists, insight and jokes. Kaja came with us on weekend outings and dealt with our antics with grace.

I entered in to the Partial Hospitalization Program, which was Monday through Friday.  The clinic was beautiful and we always had Amanda greeting us with a smile. Therapy was intense; a holistic approach that incorporated mind, body and spirit. I had many breakthroughs and insights with the help of the staff and other clients in group.

Every therapist I worked with made us all dig deep, always with loving kindness. Individual therapy was the same. I felt totally safe and supported. It was a struggle, good days and bad days, but knowing I had a team who truly cared about me made moving forward possible.

Jackie was my case manager, who really went the extra mile in helping me with appointments, advice and, as always, encouragement. We had outings on Friday, which were amazing. We fed the homeless in downtown LA, toured beautiful gardens and museums and had it all tied to the process of recovery. During the weekend, we had trips to the beach, went to movies, played games with our new “family” at the house and made dinners together.

When it was my time to leave, I did not want to. Everything CAST had taught me was up to me to continue. Since then, I have changed my entire life at home.

Routine is everything to me and I know that if I am not healthy, I am unable to be a mother, wife and daughter, so I do this for me.

I am so grateful that I made the decision to go to CAST. The hard work was worth every minute, and being wrapped up in the phenomenal care I received since that first phone call made all the difference. I would recommend CAST to anyone who was considering treatment for addiction and mental health.