Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services facilitates, promotes, and fosters recovery from mental illness and co-occurring problems. We inspire and support individuals to become productive citizens who are fully engaged in their communities by creating opportunities for wellness, independent living, learning, working and social inclusion.
Bridgeway champions the right of every individual toward self-determination, wellness, and recovery. All people at Bridgeway are treated with dignity, respect, understanding and compassion. Every person is supported in his or her recovery journey and in achieving goals in the areas of employment, education, independent housing, health and wellness, relationship and social support building. Bridgeway promotes respect for cultural and ethnic differences, and views these differences as opportunities for shared learning and growth for each person receiving services, family and significant others, employees, and other stakeholders. As a part of Bridgeway's commitment to providing quality innovative services, a strong effort is made in hiring people with psychiatric disabilities in all agency positions.
Persons receiving services at Bridgeway are offered a wide range of vocational, educational, living and social opportunities to assist them to improve their skills, self-esteem, and sense of belonging to the larger community. These services are provided within a framework of operating principles that promote psychiatric rehabilitation, wellness and recovery:
People who have psychiatric disabilities can lead productive, satisfying lives. This belief instills hope and is directly communicated through the words and actions of staff. Services will be offered that incorporate environments that support recovery, person-first language, cultural and spiritual acceptance, and practices that promote recovery.
Each person is unique with his/her own needs, skills, culture, and aspirations. Services are stage-based, incorporate best practice, and focus on relationship building. Each person is encouraged and empowered to establish recovery goals, assess skills and abilities, identify resources and develop and implement plans relevant to his/her desires, needs and preferences.
Each person is empowered to see that they have choices and to take responsibility for directing their own recovery. Staff respects the autonomy of each person and works in a collaborative effort assisting him/her to identify choices and to evaluate all possible outcomes of their decisions. People receiving services are encouraged and expected to move forward and take calculated risks toward their journey of recovery.
The local community comprised of family, friends, businesses and citizens at large, is an important element of support for rehabilitation and recovery. People receiving services are encouraged to become part of the larger community to the fullest extent possible by taking on roles such as worker, friend, neighbor, and student. Strengthening relationships within the person's own family is encouraged to the greatest extent possible.
People receiving services are offered education and skills relevant to meeting their recovery goals. Bridgeway supports people in skill development and provides opportunities for practice, giving feedback and encouragement. As people begin to learn and work in the larger community, reliance on mental health services gradually decreases.
We acknowledge that many people have substance abuse issues. With the acceptance of this fact, a holistic program of recovery is offered to help each person achieve a lifestyle free of drug and alcohol dependence. This approach allows for the individualization of services, since it meets each person at his/her stage of recovery. An assertive engagement approach is used if the person is not yet ready to confront his/her substance abuse issues. People who are in pre-contemplation are assisted to develop healthy living skills, lengthen the time between relapses, and build intrinsic motivation to work on recovery goals.
Recovery is an individual's way of living a satisfying, hopeful, and independent life. Bridgeway staff will model, support and follow each person's recovery journey toward wellness encompassing the emotional, physical and spiritual facets of life.