Admissions · Hopkins, Minnesota
Admissions: How to Get Started
Starting outpatient addiction treatment in Minneapolis begins with one phone call, one honest assessment, and a plan that fits your life.
Northwoods Haven Recovery handles addiction treatment admissions for adults across Minneapolis and the Twin Cities from our outpatient center in Hopkins. When you call, a person answers, listens, and tells you what happens next. There is no script and no pressure to decide anything on the spot.
If we are the right fit, we schedule your chemical use assessment and verify your insurance before you commit to anything. If we are not, we find you the people who are. Nobody hangs up without a next step.
First step
A phone call, then a chemical use assessment
Insurance
Verified on the first call, before anything starts
Who can call
You, or a family member calling for you
Level of care
Outpatient only: IOP and the Relapse Prevention Program
What admissions means here
A conversation first, not a sales call
Admissions at Northwoods Haven Recovery is the stretch between the moment you decide to call and the day programming starts. It covers the first conversation, the chemical use assessment, insurance verification, and intake. Most of it happens by phone and in a single appointment. The first call is a conversation: what is going on, what you have tried, what your week looks like, and what you are hoping changes. You do not need to have the right words for it.
About half of the people who call us are calling about someone else, and that is welcome. Whoever is on the line, the rule is the same: when you call, we answer, and if we cannot help, we find you who can. That includes people who need detox or residential care before outpatient treatment makes sense. We do not offer those, and we will say so plainly and help you find them.
Give us a call anytime. We can verify insurance from a name and date of birth, and the assessment gathers the rest.
How it works
Three steps from the first call to your first group
Every person who comes to Northwoods Haven Recovery starts the same way, whether they found us on their own, through a family member, or through a court, hospital, or residential program.
01
You call
A real conversation with someone who knows the program. We ask what is going on, answer your questions, verify your insurance while you are on the line, and schedule your assessment if outpatient treatment sounds like a fit.
02
The chemical use assessment
A comprehensive evaluation with a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, usually in one visit. It establishes your diagnosis, screens for co-occurring mental health conditions, and recommends the level of care that fits, which is not always ours.
03
Referral to the right care, then intake
If the Intensive Outpatient Program or the Relapse Prevention Program is the right level, we complete intake and programming starts right after. If you need a higher level of care first, we help you find it and welcome you back after.
Already have an assessment?
Send it with your treatment plan or discharge summary, and we review it instead of repeating it.
People stepping down from residential treatment or transferring from another outpatient program often have a recent comprehensive assessment. If it is current and complete, it can be the basis for your plan here rather than starting over.
Need the assessment first? How the chemical use assessment works
Why here
It once took eleven days to get someone into treatment. That is why we exist.
Before Northwoods Haven Recovery opened, a person in crisis waited eleven days for a program to take them. The program was built so the answer to “can you help me” comes in one phone call.
Someone answers
When you call, a person who knows the program picks up. You tell your story once, to someone who can act on it.
Honest about fit
If outpatient treatment is not the right level for you right now, we say so and help you find what is. Nobody is admitted to a program that will not serve them.
Family can call
Half of our calls come from a spouse, parent, or sibling. We talk it through with you and explain how to help your person take the next step.
Insurance verified first
We are in-network with Minnesota Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, HealthPartners, UnitedHealthcare, and Medica, and we tell you what you would owe before you commit.
Outpatient treatment programs
Two levels of care, IOP and the Relapse Prevention Program, and you go home after every session. No detox, no inpatient, no residential, and no pretending otherwise.
Every caller leaves with resources
Even when we are not the answer, you hang up knowing where to go next, whether that is a detox unit, a residential program, or a mental health provider.
What to expect
What we will ask you, and what we cannot do
The assessment works best when you tell the truth in it. We will ask for an honest history of your alcohol and drug use, the medications a medical provider prescribes for you, your mental health, and your safety, including whether you have had withdrawal symptoms or thoughts of hurting yourself. None of it is used against you. It is how your counselor builds a plan that actually fits.
There are things we cannot do. Northwoods Haven Recovery does not provide detox, inpatient or residential care, or medical services, and nobody here prescribes medication. If you are taking buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone, or a psychiatric medication from your own provider, you are welcome here; tell us during the assessment so your plan accounts for it. If you need medical detox, we help you find it and welcome you back after.
- Your counselor is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, not a gatekeeper
- Your information is released only where you authorize it in writing
- If we cannot help, you leave the call with a name and a number that can
Where admissions leads
Two levels of outpatient care, both built around your week
Everything at Northwoods Haven Recovery is outpatient. The assessment decides which level you start in, and most people move from the first to the second with the same counselors.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
Three-hour groups most programming days, individual counseling with your own licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and co-occurring mental health care. About two to four months.
Relapse Prevention Program
Ten to twelve weeks of low-intensity outpatient care with the same counselors, ending with a written relapse prevention plan you helped build.
Conditions we treat
Alcohol, opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine, benzodiazepines, marijuana, prescription drugs, and more, always through the same outpatient path.
Co-occurring mental health care
Trauma and PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and ADHD treated alongside substance use in the same program, not referred out.
Assessments and services
Assessments and services that get you into the right care
Everything begins with an assessment. These are the services around our two levels of outpatient care.
The hour that turns a worry into a diagnosis and a level of care. Where everyone starts.
A clinical evaluation for Minnesota DWI court, probation, and licensing requirements, with written documentation.
Individual counseling with your own licensed alcohol and drug counselor, inside every level of care here.
Therapies
Evidence-based therapies we use, taught as options
Seven approaches, one plan built with you. Your counselor teaches you what each one does and you decide what belongs in your recovery lifestyle.
Catch the thought that comes before the drink or the drug, test it, and practice a different move before Friday.
Skills for intense emotion, urges, and relationships: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness.
Make room for the craving or the feeling without acting on it, and build a life around what you value.
Find your own reasons to change, at your own pace. Includes motivational enhancement therapy, the structured short form.
The same people each session, so accountability is real. Where most of the traction in outpatient treatment comes from.
Every group and session run on predictability, choice, and safety, because most people carry something older than the substance.
Mental health, relationships, work, and purpose treated as one picture, with a recovery lifestyle you define.
You do not choose a therapy from a menu. Your counselor teaches you all of them as options and the plan uses what works for you.
Paying for treatment
Insurance-covered addiction treatment that's accessible to anyone who wants it.
Medicaid was the first network we joined, on purpose. We’re also in-network with major commercial plans. We’ll verify your benefits and tell you plainly what your plan covers before you commit to anything.
Minnesota Medicaid
Blue Cross Blue Shield
HealthPartners
UnitedHealthcare
Medica
Hennepin Health
Private pay accepted
Not listed? Call and we'll check.
Common questions
Questions about getting started
Every situation is a little different, and the first call is where the specific answers come from. These are the questions people ask before they pick up the phone.
LegitScript Certified
Verified addiction treatment provider
Can I start today?
The assessment comes first, and programming starts right after intake. On the first call we verify your insurance and schedule your chemical use assessment. Once the assessment recommends outpatient care and intake is complete, you begin. We do not skip the assessment, because it is what makes the plan fit.
Can someone call for me?
Yes. About half of our calls come from a family member or friend. We can explain the program, the assessment, and insurance, and talk through how to help your person take the next step. Treatment itself starts when the person who needs it is ready to call or come in.
What if I am in withdrawal right now?
If you are having a seizure, cannot stop vomiting, are confused, or feel unsafe, call 911. Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can be dangerous and need medical care. Northwoods Haven Recovery does not provide detox, but call us anyway: we help you find one and welcome you back into outpatient treatment after.
Do I need a referral?
No. You can call directly. Referrals from courts, probation officers, hospitals, residential programs, therapists, and primary care providers are welcome, and a recent comprehensive assessment from another provider can be reviewed instead of repeated, but none of that is required to start.
What does it cost?
It depends on your insurance. We are in-network with Minnesota Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, HealthPartners, UnitedHealthcare, and Medica. We verify your benefits on the first call and tell you what, if anything, you would owe before you commit. If you have no insurance, call anyway and we will talk through your options honestly.
What happens in the chemical use assessment?
A confidential clinical interview with a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, usually in one visit. It covers your alcohol and drug use history, mental health, medications, and current stability, using standardized screening tools. You leave with a diagnosis, if one applies, and a recommended level of care.
What if I need detox or residential treatment first?
Then we say so, and we help you find it. Northwoods Haven Recovery is outpatient only. When a higher level of care is the safe place to start, we connect you with a provider who offers it, and outpatient treatment here is ready for you when you step down.
Do I have to stop working to do this?
No. Both levels of care are outpatient and scheduled around work, school, and family. IOP is three-hour groups most programming days plus individual counseling; the Relapse Prevention Program is lighter. You go home after every session.
Related articles
Related reading on taking the first step
Your team
Meet the counselors who answer the phone and guide your treatment.
Getting started
How to get started: four steps, no waiting eleven days.
Reaching out doesn’t commit you to anything. It means you asked a question, and we answered it.
01
Call
We listen to what’s going on and where you are in the process. No script, no pressure.
02
Chemical use assessment
A comprehensive assessment to determine diagnosis and the level of care that fits.
03
Referral to the right care
Ideally with us. If another program fits you better, we’ll connect you to it.
04
Intake
Programming starts immediately after intake. Already have an assessment? Send it over and we’ll review it.
Take the first step
When you're ready, we're here.
Reaching out doesn’t mean you’ve committed to anything. It means you’re asking a question, and we’ll answer it honestly, even if the answer points somewhere else.
100% confidential
Insurance verified fast
No commitment to ask
Outpatient only
Referring professionals
Send a comprehensive assessment, plus treatment plan reviews, discharge summary, med list, and insurance information if applicable. A list, not a portal.
Visit us in Hopkins
Northwoods Haven Recovery
5900 Green Oak Drive, Ste 306
Hopkins, MN 55343