What We Offer
Tested & Proven Evidence Based Therapies
Hope Valley uses only the most effective treatments for those struggling with addiction and other mental health issues. Each of the therapies we utilize have been tested and proven effective specifically for Veterans and active-duty military service members who suffer from these conditions. Some of the main treatments we incorporate into our program include Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Seeking Safety, Helping Men Recover, Helping Women Recover, Contingency Management, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Relapse Prevention & Coping Skills
Relapse rates following the completion of a standard 30-day residential treatment program are close to 60%. These statistics say more about the treatment programs themselves than the individuals seeking treatment from these programs. At Hope Valley, relapse prevention is not just a module included near the end of the treatment program. Relapse prevention is found in every stage of the program.
Our residents are taught that a relapse from their treatment program does not equate to a failure of their efforts to overcome their addictions. The feelings of shame and guilt towards their addictions are among some of the strongest drivers of their continued use of those substances. As such, they are replaced with feelings of self-awareness, coping strategies, and a sense of accountability for their actions, created and maintained within the community of their peers, who share the same struggle.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most researched methods of treating addiction. At its core, it teaches individuals about the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to their substance use and introduces new methods of thinking and acting to replace those damaging patterns. It is a practical and structured form of therapy that teaches skills that individuals can use in the real world.
CBT teaches individuals how to use the skills that they learn before their cravings become a problem. This includes recognizing early warning signs of addiction, their triggers, and how to avoid those triggers. It teaches individuals how to live their lives with more awareness and choice in their actions.
One of the main reasons that CBT is such a valuable treatment option for addiction is that the skills that individuals learn last long after their formal treatment has ended. This longevity of the skills makes CBT one of the best investments that individuals can make in their recovery from addiction. For Veterans and service members accustomed to rigid thinking in their stressful military environments, CBT offers a valuable alternative in civilian life.
Family Therapy -
Individual & Group
Addiction affects more than the individual with the addiction. It also affects the individuals within the family of that person. Family therapy can help those individuals overcome the impact of addiction and help those in treatment feel more supported and connected to their family.
Family therapy is a treatment that allows individuals with addiction and their families to discuss the addiction, its impact on the family, and how to move forward from the addiction as a family. It does not place blame on any party within the family with the addiction but rather provides tools for all individuals within the family to move forward.
Our therapists utilize various concepts such as codependency and enabling to help family members understand their role within the addiction of their loved one. After leaving family therapy, the family will have a better understanding of how to support their loved one in recovery without feeling responsible for their addiction or recovery from it.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based therapy originally developed to treat individuals struggling with intense emotional experiences. Since its development, DBT has proven to be highly effective in the treatment of addiction, particularly in people experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. DBT works on the premise that change in an individual and acceptance of that individual are not opposites of each other.
DBT helps individuals understand the situations, thoughts, and emotions that lead to destructive behaviors. Furthermore, it teaches those individuals skills that allow them to avoid engaging in those destructive behaviors again.
DBT is built around four core skill areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. It is particularly well-suited for individuals with dual or multiple diagnoses - a clinical profile that is common among Veterans and service members entering treatment. If you have struggled with intense emotions, impulsivity, or relationships that have been repeatedly damaged by your behavior during active addiction, DBT has a strong track record of producing real change.
Individuals struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction to meth, marijuana, nicotine, cocaine, and other drugs have had better outcomes with their long term sobriety after learning how to change their behaviors and cope with cravings. Research has shown that CBT skills stay with an individual long after they have graduated from an addiction treatment program, and it is perhaps the most effective treatment approach that can be applied to help individuals stay sober and free from addiction. Hope Valley has licensed therapists who are trained in the CBT approach.
The only way to know is to work with a clinician trained to assess for it. Hope Valley's master's level therapists are experienced in identifying who is most likely to benefit from DBT and integrating it into a broader individualized treatment plan where appropriate.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based therapy that takes a different angle on emotional pain than many traditional therapies. Rather than attempting to eliminate the difficult feelings and thoughts that plague patients, ACT teaches them how to relate to those feelings differently and channel their energies towards living according to the values that matter most to them.
Through the use of mindfulness, metaphor, and various other types of exercises, ACT aims to teach individuals how to open themselves to difficult experiences without being overwhelmed by them. Furthermore, by teaching patients how to relate to their lives according to their core values rather than their current emotional state, ACT can be particularly meaningful to veterans who suffer from moral injury, survivor's guilt, or the numerous challenges of life after their service to their country.
12 Step Introduction
The 12-step program emphasizes the importance of individuals holding themselves accountable for their actions, recognizes that individuals are powerless over their addictions, and highlights the significance of the community in the recovery process. These principles were utilized in the creation of organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), as well as the formation of thousands of other support groups around the world. For many individuals, these groups have played a vital role in helping them maintain their sobriety long after their treatment programs ended.
Hope Valley is not a 12-step program. Instead, our programs utilize therapies that have been proven through research to be effective. These include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ART), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Seeking Safety, and others. While these types of treatments are rooted in evidence and research, we also recognize the significance of the 12-step program and its ability to aid millions of individuals in maintaining their sobriety. Therefore, there is a component of the treatment program that introduces clients to the philosophy of the 12 steps so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not to incorporate it into their recovery program moving forward.
The introduction to the 12-step program that we provide is an overview of the philosophy itself: what it requires of those who wish to be a part of it, what it offers to those individuals, and how it can work alongside the treatments that are provided within our facility. Our goal is not to convert any individuals to the 12-step program. Instead, we hope that by providing them with this information, they will be able to understand the program well enough to become involved in it if they so choose, and to understand the importance of being involved in any type of peer community.
During their time at Hope Valley, clients are given the opportunity to attend meetings for both AA and NA. While these meetings are not required of them, and alternative forms of peer support exist within our treatment program, the goal is for each client to leave treatment feeling connected to something outside of the facility itself.
Neurobiology of Addiction
One of the most important things a person early in recovery can understand is why stopping was so hard. The neurobiology of addiction education group answers that question - not to provide excuses, but to replace shame with accurate information. Addiction is a brain condition. Understanding how it works makes it significantly easier to address.
This group covers the fundamentals of how substances alter brain chemistry - how repeated use changes reward pathways, why cravings feel urgent and compelling rather than optional, and how those neurological changes translate into the behaviors and consequences that brought clients to treatment. For many people, this context is genuinely revelatory.
With a working understanding of brain chemistry, clients learn to anticipate and navigate the specific challenges of early recovery - including Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS), which can produce mood instability and cognitive fog weeks or months after last use. Understanding what is happening physiologically makes those experiences less destabilizing and easier to manage.
The series concludes with a focus on mindfulness - not as a relaxation technique but as a daily practice of self-awareness that supports every other aspect of recovery. Acceptance, patience, and consistent action are not passive virtues. They are skills that require practice, and they form the foundation of a sustainable life in sobriety.
Electromagnetic Brain Pulsing Treatment (EMBP)
EMBP stands for Electro-Magnetic Brain Pulse. A healthy brain experiences a stable and coherent neural state. Many forms of trauma, whether physical or psychological, can disrupt that neural state. The disruption of the neural state leads to conditions like sleep disorders, PTSD, anxiety, depression, among many others. These are some of the conditions that affect Veterans and active service members in disproportionate rates. EMBP is a treatment designed to alleviate these neurological disruptions in a non-invasive manner.
Brain imaging technology, such as PET scans, MRI, and EEG, have demonstrated that the brain's metabolic function is related to the coherence of the brain's electrical activity. EMBP utilizes this knowledge to measure the brain's electrical activity quantitatively and deliver an electromagnetic stimulus that will restore the balance of the brain's activity.
The first step in utilizing EMBP is an EEG assessment of the individual to determine their neurological state. That information is analyzed to create a protocol for the delivery of the electromagnetic pulses tailored to the individual. The treatment is then delivered non-invasively to the individual. Veterans suffering from conditions like TBI, treatment-resistant PTSD, or other conditions that have not responded to the conventional treatments may find benefit from EMBP.
SMART Recovery
SMART Recovery, which stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training, is a science-based, secular alternative to 12-step programs. While 12-step programs focus on the idea of powerlessness over one’s addiction, SMART Recovery focuses on the idea of self-determination and the ability of the individual to change themselves and their circumstances. For those who do not resonate with the 12-step programs, SMART Recovery provides a genuinely different alternative.
SMART Recovery is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and acceptance-based approaches. These approaches allow individuals to overcome addiction by changing the thoughts and behaviors that drive addiction. Additionally, SMART Recovery focuses on creating a life that is meaningful and does not require the use of addictive substances. For Veterans who are used to being in control and capable of their lives, SMART Recovery resonates in ways that other programs do not.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a form of psychotherapy that helps individuals rapidly overcome the impact of traumatic experiences. Unlike many other forms of psychotherapy that require the individual to recount their traumatic experiences, ART primarily utilizes guided eye movements and a technique known as Voluntary Image Replacement to help the individual overcome their trauma. This therapy is brief and can provide relief to individuals in a small number of sessions.
ART recognizes that the impact of trauma is stored within individuals as sensory memories. During the therapy, the therapist guides the individual through a series of eye movements to help their brain reprocess the traumatic memories. Additionally, Voluntary Image Replacement allows the individual to replace the traumatic memories with images of their choosing, reducing the impact of those memories on the individual’s mind and body.
ART is used at Hope Valley to treat a variety of conditions, including but not limited to trauma related to combat, moral injury, military sexual trauma, depression, anxiety, and grief related to the loss of fellow service members. Additionally, ART is used to treat trauma that is often present within individuals with substance use disorders, providing relief from the root cause of those conditions.
Gender Specific
Many of the reasons that people develop addiction, as well as the issues that present within those individuals, are different between men and women. Gender specific housing and programming allows for those differences to be explored without the dynamics that a mixed gender setting would create, as well as with a focus on the issues that are most relevant to each gender to be addressed and treated properly.
Men and women come into treatment with different histories of trauma and shame. Women are more likely to have trauma related to sexual or relationship trauma, as well as the pressures of addiction as a mother or partner. Men are more likely to present with issues related to emotional expression, anger, and the challenges of expressing these emotions to others in the hopes of finding relief. Gender specific treatment groups allow for these issues to be addressed in a safe and understanding environment.
Some of the issues that are typically addressed in female gender specific groups include PTSD, military sexual trauma, body image issues, and relational issues in recovery. Male groups will focus on issues like emotional intimacy, anger management, and the challenge of asking for help in a culture that views need as weakness. Hope Valley’s gender-specific homes and programs provide the privacy and safety that these issues require for proper treatment.
We Are Here For You
Comprehensive Behavioral Health in Alaska
Our mission is to provide Veterans and active-duty service members with the tools for positive, lasting change in a safe and compassionate setting in Wasilla, Alaska where they can heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Learn more about our residential addiction treatment for Veterans and active duty in Alaska.
We Are Here to Help
Jumpstart Your Recovery Today
Hope Valley’s addiction recovery programs have helped thousands of individuals recover from substance abuse for almost 40 years. Start your recovery process with us.
