Aventa’s Programs
Phase I offers priority admission for pregnant women, or women who are at risk and require immediate support and stabilization.
Phase II is a six week intensive live-in program that provides therapeutic individual and group counselling. The program focuses on the following four key areas: sexual, spiritual, relationships and self.
Young Adult Treatment (YAT) is a 90 day live-in program for women 18 – 24 years of age. It includes individual and group counselling, a life skills component, and a Family Counsellor for individual and family sessions.
Phase III is a three month live-in program for women who have completed Aventa’s Phase II or Young Adult Treatment Program and require additional treatment to support their recovery. The program offers individual and group counselling with a strong educational and skill building component.
The programs focus on building trauma awareness, increasing understanding of the connection between trauma, mental health and addiction, developing grounding, coping and relapse prevention skills.
Aventa’s Treatment Program Philosophy
Admission Criteria
- Women 18 years of age and over (18 – 24 years of age for YAT)
- Must be a resident of Alberta with an Alberta Health Care card
- Must meet Aventa’s requirement for abstinence. Must have a minimum of 5 days abstinence prior to admission and pass a drug/alcohol screening.
- A desire and willingness to change
- Medically stable and able to make an informed decision about participation
- Ability to participate in group therapy
- Ability to participate in a live-in environment
Nuts and other allergens are used on site and Clients and Staff may bring in personal snacks, therefore cross contamination may occur. Aventa may not be able to accommodate Clients with severe, life-threatening food allergies.
Women on Methadone, Suboxone, or Naltrexone for opioid dependence are eligible to attend all our programs. Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) with slow-release Kadian doses may be considered for Clients who have not benefited from treatment with first- and second-line treatment options (i.e. buprenorphine/naloxone and methadone).
Exclusion Criteria – All Programs
- Individuals who have engaged in substance use within 5 days prior to admission will not be accepted into Aventa’s Programs. Clients will be redirected to an appropriate community support, such as but not limited to, a detox facility and can then be admitted to Aventa once free from substance use within 5 days.
- Individuals who are actively withdrawing from substances and recent substance use (less than 5 days of use)
- Individuals with unstable or untreated mental illness such as psychosis (including drug induced) and who are psychiatrically, psychologically or medically unstable and pose a potential risk to themselves, Aventa’s Program participants or Staff
- Individuals with unstable or untreated physical health conditions and injuries that will impair treatment activities
- Individuals with violent charges and Parole Officer involvement who do not receive a release from the PO to attend this treatment
What to Expect During Treatment
- Group focused counselling
- Individualized treatment planning and recovery goals
- Introduction to Peer Support recovery meetings and reintegration into the community
- Education, support and connection to community resources
- A live-in setting with 24 hr staffing which provides structure, recreation, and development of interpersonal skills
- Shared accommodations for safety and role modelling
- Nutritious meals and snacks prepared daily by our Chef and Food Services Team
- Childcare is not available; Clients are required to make childcare arrangements prior to beginning treatment
For more information about the Phase II Program admission process or for general inquiries, please contact the Intake Administrator at (403) 245-9050 or by email at Intake Administrator.
For more information on the YAT Program and referral process, please contact the YAT Assessments and Admissions Counsellor at (403) 541-4662 or by email at Tanya Brown.
Pregnancy Program
Our Pregnancy Program provides FASD prevention via low barrier access to addiction treatment programming for pregnant women. The program provides five funded priority admission beds to pregnant women seeking addiction treatment at Aventa as well as wrap around services including coordination of prenatal medical care, prenatal psycho-social services, and an integrated Parenting in Recovery Program.
FASD Transitions Program
FASD Transitions Program helps to reduce barriers and improve post-treatment outcomes for women with FASD or suspected of having FASD, who are accessing addiction treatment at Aventa. This program provides two priority access beds.
With the support of our FASD Transition Coordinator, Aventa is able to provide more individualized care to Clients with FASD or are suspected to have FASD. This includes support in pre-treatment, during treatment and for 90 days post-treatment. This additional on-on-one support includes assisting with the coordination of medical, financial, housing or legal appointments, recovery programing and connecting them with other resources for support. This may also include individualizing group content to be more accessible to women with FASD and spending additional time reviewing core concepts.
Clients will gain greater independence and increase their hopefulness by strengthening their relationships with people, communities and/or culture and enhance their well-being and sense of belonging. It can also help to decrease anxiety by providing support in processing information, making decisions, setting up plans and supports, and building on what their interests and needs are, as well as connections to family, community and culture.
Journeys Program
Journeys Program is a joint partnership between Aventa and McMan Youth, Family and Community Services Association. Journeys supports women with complex needs who would benefit from more individualized care. The program will provide pre, current and post-treatment care for participants to support their recovery process and focus on creating a plan that identifies sustainable supports and removes barriers that could impact recovery. The goal is to deliver timely, integrated supports women with addictions to reduce risk factors and facilitate a successful transition through recovery by delivering intentional pre and post treatment supports.
Criteria/Eligibility to Participate in Journeys
- Women must be 18 years of age have submitted an application to Aventa
- Women must complete a Release of Information and be willing to work with McMan and Aventa
Other Aventa Services
Aventa provides on-site medical services to Clients in Aventa programming.
Aventa employs Nursing Staff five days per week whose primary focus is to do a health risk assessment on each Client and provide ongoing monitoring of medications and follow up on any health issues. A family physician who specializes in addiction medicine provides consultation with Aventa’s Clients. Aventa also works closely with a psychiatrist who offers on-site assessments and mental health support.
The Smile Dental Bus provides dental services to Aventa’s Phase II and YAT Clients every two weeks.
Evolutioneyes Mobile Optometry Clinic provides mobile optometry services to Aventa’s Phase II and YAT Clients.
Safeworks provides on-site services which includes: testing for HIV, Hepatitis, STI and STDs, safe sex supplies and information, condoms, overdose prevention and Naloxone kits, vaccinations as well as support and referrals.
Parenting in Recovery allows Clients to share and relate about parenting and addiction. This program is offered to pregnant women or those who are parenting and currently attending Aventa. Topics include Roles, Boundaries, Communication, Anger, Guilt and Forgiveness.
Momentum Financial Literacy Program is a six session program for YAT Clients to help them address their financial situation by looking at their assets, budgets, credit and consumerism.
Aventa’s Smoking Cessation Support is offered concurrently throughout Aventa programs for Clients who are thinking about quitting, in the process of quitting or who have already quit and want to continue staying committed to their plan. Clients who are in the process of making changes with their tobacco use will receive individual support to gain greater awareness about their tobacco use, make a plan for NRT support and learn new and healthier ways of coping.
Aventa’s healthy fitness and recreation alternatives helps to promote positive lifestyle changes in our clients. Our professional fitness centre offers a range of equipment for clients. Yoga classes are offered on-site two times per week.
Continuing Care Program is a closed, weekly counsellor led support group focused on issues affecting the well-being of women and maintenance of their recovery. Aventa Alumnae can attend these meetings once they have registered for the group. For meeting dates/time, please visit Continuing Care Meetings. (Via Zoom)
Alumnae Birthday Celebrations are monthly celebrations open to any clean and sober Aventa Alumnae who want to share their success and celebrate their sobriety birthday. For meeting dates/time, please visit Alumnae. (currently unavailable)
Family and Friends – via Zoom
Family and Friends is a three part information series for all family members, significant others and supportive friends of current and previous Clients. Graduated Clients are also welcome to participate with their support team. Family and friends are welcome to attend even if their loved one did not graduated from Aventa, or is on the waitlist to attend treatment.
Family and friends often bear the heavy emotional burden of resentment, fear, and hopelessness due to the addictions of their loved ones. Aventa Clients learn new skills and tools that support them in the recovery process. Sometimes family members and friends do not always have the opportunity to learn about addiction, the recovery process, boundaries and communication skills, all of which can impact the relationship dynamics.
Aventa’s Family and Friends Workshop is designed to help re-build relationships with loved ones and promote positive relationships. This three part series includes information about addiction and recovery where family and friends learn about boundaries and healthy communication in hopes of building a supportive foundation.
Topics include:
- Session 1: Stigma, Shame, Blame and Empathy
- Session 2: Communication
- Session 3: Boundaries
Registration is required. Please contact Aventa’s Family Counsellor at lbraid@aventa.org for more information.
Supporting your Loved One, Supporting Yourself
Treatment can be a difficult and emotional journey and at some point your loved one may feel like leaving. If your loved one calls you asking to leave, you can be supportive by encouraging her to speak with a counsellor for support, to think about her reasons for going to treatment in the first place, and the goals she wants to accomplish. You can also reach out to community services for your own support.
The Calgary based Adult Addiction Services, via Alberta Health Services, offers free programs that may be of interest to family and friends of a loved one with an addiction. They offer an “Information Series”, which discusses the physical aspects of addiction, psychological aspects of addiction and addiction and the family. They also offer the “New Balance” program an information and support group for family members and friends affected by someone else’s addiction problem. Please call them directly for more information (403) 297-3071.
For information on support services in your community please call the Addiction Helpline at 1-866-332-2322. Addiction Helpline is a toll free confidential service which provides alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and problem gambling support, information and referral to services. The Addiction Helpline operates 24 hour a day, seven days a week and is available to all Albertans.
Al-Anon is self-help recovery program for people who believe their lives may have been affected by someone else’s drinking. Information on Alberta meetings is available here.
Aventa recommends the following educational resources for family and friends
Visitor Guidelines
In order to ensure that Visitors and our Clients have a safe and enjoyable visiting experience, we ask that they follow our Visitor Guidelines.