Ohlhoff Recovery Programs

Highly recommended. Went there for the 30 day program to quit meth. After program, was successful. Now I use cocaine.
Apr 9th, 2021

If your serious about your recovery this is the place to be.
Aug 13th, 2019

Jun 9th, 2019

This organization wouldn’t hire me BECAUSE even though I have a Masters Degree in another field, and over 10+ years of practical experience working in Social Services with an emphasis on LGBTQ Addicted populations and understand CBT, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, and Strengths Based Case Management — and am evidenced based when it comes to my Counseling style, they STILL wouldn’t hire me. I wonder if that’s another reason why: I believe in a LOT more than just 12-step based treatment and therapeutical techniques and modalities. I think another reason they didn’t hire me is SIMPLY because I was in the middle of pursuing my certification. They even dismissed the fact that I had multiple Certifications from CCSF in Drug & Alcohol Studies, Group Facilitation, Working with Youth and Intensive Case Management. In fact the Director of Ohlhoff’s Outpatient Programs told me: “ Dear Mr. Schaeffer, Thank you for showing interest in the Intensive Outpatient Counselor position at Ohlhoff Recovery Programs. Unfortunately, we will not be offering the position to you. While your experience working directly with under-served populations are quite impressive, we are looking for a candidate with more counseling experience and also further along in their counseling education program. After you have gained some experience through an internship or another similar job position, we hope that you will re-apply to Ohlhoff Recovery Programs. On behalf of Ohlhoff Recovery Programs, I thank you for your time, interest and effort and I wish you the best in your future career endeavors.” Blah, blah, blah. 🙄 They WOULD NOT even hire me as an intern (while I completed my certification), which I found kind of incredulous, especially after reading Jeff Erz’s review and what it stated about the Counselors that they do have currently working in the Program’s educational and job qualifications. I probably had more education and experience then Counselors who currently work there. I decided to comment here only after reading Jeff’s well articulated and constructively written review. Even though I am with another organization now that is a MUCH better fit, and am now fully certified by the State of CA as a Residential Addiction Specialist, Level II Counselor, I do find it interesting that most likely the ONLY reason they passed on me is because I was older than the other interns (I’m in my 40’s) and I’m glad they did, because I probably wouldn’t have been fulfilled working at Ohlhoff. I’ve also been offered other positions at Healthright 360’ and at UCSF, so I don’t fully understand what Ohlhoff’s issue was. 🤷‍♂️
Dec 11th, 2017

Mixed bag; not very evidence-based 1) Heavily 12-step based; gives short shrift to more evidence-based therapies (CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, etc.). When I brought this up to the director, he suggested I come back and present overviews during a 1 hour alumni talk. That's called passing the buck. 2) Most of the counselors are interns or "techs"; very few have masters-level training. Rumor was that virtually all counselors were paid $20/hr or less, and there seems to be a good bit of turnover. Individual therapy is weekly (at best) and most likely with an intern. Coordination with outside therapists was poor, even after I did my best to initiate it. 3) Ohlhoff lists itself as handling dual-diagnosis patients, but it is drastically ill-equipped to do so. While I was there, 2 staff members had to call the police on a troubled client with schizophrenia because they feared for their safety. This client remained in the program for another day or two after that,ontinuing to mingle with everyone, which was both unprofessional and unacceptable. Additionally, there is very little in the program that addresses more common, less acute issues that may be contributing to substance use (like a history of trauma or complex PTSD). 3) Psych Ed or Education Workshop classes are often canceled or converted to "art therapy", which is little more than Mandala coloring. 4) There is extremely poor coordination and communication between staff on various shifts; if your request cannot be immediately be fulfilled, more often than not it will fall through the cracks. 5) Once you become the senior client of your gender, you are saddled with extra responsibilities which are not well delineated or documented. I fail to see how herding dysfunctional, feral cats is helpful to one's sobriety. Also, if the rest of the group is slacking on chores (cleaning/restocking the kitchen, taking out trash, fetching food), you will find those responsibilities falling to you. 6) The director is fond of saying things like "Massage, acupuncture and equine therapy will not keep you sober." Well fine. The majority of clients could probably not afford such things on a regular basis anyway. But why not have something like a group massage instruction class? Trading massages would be a useful relaxation skill to have. 7) Indoor facilities are fairly cramped, especially for the men. We struggled to find a quiet place for meditation, for example. 8) The electronics policy (cellphones, tablets, music-only iPods, iPod touches, kindles) needs revision. Given the scant coverage of other treatment modalities, you should be allowed to read recovery ebooks or audiobooks. Positives 1) Most of the staff are quite well intentioned and do try to be helpful. Most of them are in recovery themselves, so they have firsthand experience that is quite valuable; on the flip side, most only found success with 12-step therapies which can bias the approach they apply to a more diverse clientele. 2) There are 12-step meetings on campus and a decent selection of off-campus meetings are attended. The SF Zen Center recovery meeting on Monday night is also a welcome option. 3) Opportunity for learning and significant support from other clients, depending on who is there. 4) Free process group for alumni is available Tuesday nights. Also the staff generally welcome you to drop by the office after you've left if you have a need. 5) Relatively cheap, may well be in-network with your insurance carrier. 6) Does not employ public shaming / punishment as I've heard other programs do (e.g. New Bridge in Berkeley).
Apr 18th, 2018