At Stillwater Behavioral Health, people come first, and they are treated with the full dignity of the complex human beings they are. “The client is the most important person in the room,” Stillwater’s CEO Nicholas Mathews explains.
Stillwater Behavioral Health’s philosophy of compassion
When asked how Stillwater Behavioral Health can help so many clients achieve successful outcomes, Mathews pointed to his team’s topmost priority: compassion. He explains that compassion informs everything the team at Stillwater Behavioral Health does.
“In this line of work, compassion often translates to being free of judgment or bias,” Mathews says. “We view our work as an effort to ease human suffering. Everyone who seeks care from us is suffering, so we avoid ulterior motives and judgment. When you take those things away, the natural result is wanting to help people.”
Mathews has a history of past substance abuse himself, which gives him valuable insight into many of his clients’ experiences. “As a member of the recovery community myself, I remember what addiction was like and can relate to a lot of what our clients are going through,” he says.
Mathews not only provides a living example that recovery is possible but also connects with those who come to Stillwater Behavioral Health on a deep level. “Human beings have a natural intuition when talking to someone — we know if they are being authentic or not, and we know when someone’s trying to sell us something,” he says. “My whole practice is built on vulnerability. Anyone who has struggled with addiction forges parts of their psyche under great duress. People can feel that intuitively, which helps me solidify relationships with clients.”
Mathews initially got the idea for Stillwater Behavioral Health while serving as a consultant for other treatment facilities. “During that period, I was able to see approaches that worked and others that didn’t,” he explains. “Stillwater Behavioral Health was the brainchild of all these different experiences. I wanted to create a treatment community that combines the best parts.”
That’s why Stillwater Behavioral Health offers a complete range of therapeutic approaches that address not only physical problems but also their underlying causes.
Stillwater Behavioral Health pulls out all the stops
Stillwater Behavioral Health has a three-to-one ratio of staff to clients, which means people get the time and attention they deserve from dedicated, highly trained professionals. The team can also expand to include even more specialists if necessary. For instance, Mathews remembers one client who needed more medical support than most.
“One client hyper-focused on her physical symptoms,” Mathews says. “They were distracting her from doing the tough clinical work, so we pulled out all the stops and got 15 different experts to work with her and her family on the physical side of things. Once those issues subsided, she could focus more on the deeper causes.”
As a result, the client is currently getting ready to finish treatment. “She has made enough clinical and physical progress that she can be treated at a lower level of care,” Mathews explains. “She doesn’t need 24/7 around-the-clock care anymore.”
In this way, Stillwater Behavioral Health offers a comprehensive range of therapies to help people heal holistically. Moreover, treatment is personalized from the first encounter with the facility.
How Stillwater Behavioral Health personalizes care
Research has identified personalized care as a key factor for the successful treatment of substance abuse. As a classic paper published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine explains: “Human biosystems, not just the brains, differ from each other at every discernable level. This manifests itself in several developmental trajectories. Consequently, different disease states are the rule, not the exception. This implies that it would be a miracle if standardized treatment strategies would work for everyone at every stage and that patients with the same diagnosis would respond in the same way.”
That’s why Stillwater Behavioral Health’s treatment is personalized in every respect, from the timeline to the methods. Indeed, according to Mathews, individualized care starts even before clients arrive at the facility.
“We recognize no two people are the same, so when you call us on the phone, you’ll talk to someone who knows how to be present and listen,” Mathews says. “Our pre-screening experts are world-class.”
Unlock the door to a better life
If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, then there’s good news. Stillwater Behavioral Health offers compassionate, personalized care that can unlock the door to a better life.
“It’s okay to reach out for help,” Mathews says. “There are people in this world who will never judge you and will always be willing to help. What you are going through right now doesn’t have to define you. Whatever trauma you’ve experienced — it doesn’t have to weigh your future down. There are people who will advocate for you and fight for you, and that’s all we want to do.”
