County Substance Abuse Program helps mothers recover from addiction
Battling addiction is one of the hardest things a person can do. It’s even more terrifying when you’re the mother of a young child.
But there is a place in San José that is devoted to supporting people in these harrowing circumstances. The County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health System, part of the County Health System, operates a clinic that helps mothers and pregnant women get clean from drugs or alcohol and turn their lives around.
The Perinatal Substance Abuse Program, the only one of its kind in the county, provides comprehensive services at little to no cost. A small team of experts offers a warm and nurturing environment for patients, who come to the clinic in dire straits.
Women who participate in the program often have a history of trauma, including abuse as a child and domestic violence. Some have experienced homelessness. Their relationships with their parents and family are typically nonexistent or strained. They often lack a support system or stable relationships. They may have limited life and parenting skills.
In most cases, patients were ordered to undergo treatment by the Santa Clara County Drug Treatment Court.
“Oftentimes the substance abuse is multigenerational,” said Ericka Grinna, lead counselor for the program, “and the person who is now our client had parents who struggled with substance abuse.”
Team of experts provides a range of services
The program offers an array of services, starting with medication-assisted treatment to help patients overcome their addiction, usually to opioids such as heroin and morphine, prescription painkillers and fentanyl. They also provide pregnancy support and education, health and nutrition education, practical life skills, case management, individual and group therapy, and referrals and transportation to other health services. The program also includes childcare for young children while their mothers receive treatment and services.
Some patients have lost custody of their children. The clinic supports mothers in their effort to reunify with their children as they move through the program.
“Seeing families reunited and watching moms go home with their kids is hugely rewarding,” said Dr. Suma Singh, lead physician for the Perinatal Substance Abuse Program and three other County-operated substance abuse clinics. “Our goal is to help our patients stop the cycle of addiction and trauma, so they can build the healthy lives they want for themselves and their families.”
Singh and her team operate out of a small building on the campus of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. The program is fully covered by Medi-Cal, the state of California’s Medicaid program.
The key to the success of the program is its multidisciplinary approach, according to Singh and her team.
“Part of what helps people heal and recover through the Perinatal Substance Abuse Program is that it’s a group effort,” said Grinna. “Patients don’t just have a relationship with one person. They have a relationship with a whole team of experts.”
Building the skills to handle life’s ups and downs
As patients stabilize and emerge from the fog of addiction, clinic staff help them develop a range of skills to navigate sober life as a pregnant woman or mother of an infant or toddler, such as self-compassion, how to manage relationships and set boundaries, advocating for themselves and their children, scheduling and organization, and soothing themselves when painful emotions arise.
Having a young child can be stressful, as any parent knows, especially if you are struggling financially. The program helps patients cope with that stress in a healthy way, without relapsing, and deal with painful emotions and traumatic memories without spiraling into shame, which could trigger them to use drugs again.
“Clients really learn about themselves, how they were parented, and how to break the cycle of family trauma,” said Jackie Allardyce, the program’s health educator. “Every mother wants to do right by their child, but many of our clients didn’t have role models growing up who taught them how to parent, limiting their ability to parent their own children in healthy ways. We try to give them the knowledge, tools and support to be effective parents, as well as manage the stressors that come with parenting and being in recovery.”
Staff at the clinic go above and beyond to support the patients and their children. The program has a tradition of decorating the clinic for Halloween, Christmas and Easter and hosting holiday celebrations.
Nancy Martinez, who works in the clinic’s day care center, is the program’s “head elf.” After joining the program in 2013, she decided to put her DIY skills to work and turn the program’s modest holiday celebrations into extravaganzas, with staff donating their time and money.
Christmas is the most magical of the holiday celebrations. Staff love seeing the children’s eyes light up when they glimpse the Christmas tree, presents and decorations.
“It makes it all worth it when you see their reactions,” Martinez said. “For some of the kids, it’s the first time they’ve experienced something like that. We want them to feel special. It’s what Christmas is supposed to feel like.”
Call 408-885-5400 or visit the webpage of the Perinatal Substance Abuse Program for more information about the program.