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As a part of our funding, we are required to ensure that each pregnant woman who seeks or is referred for and would benefit from substance use disorder services is given preference in admission to our program. We also are required to give preference to treatment as follows:

  • Pregnant women injecting substances
  • Pregnant women with a substance use disorder
  • Individuals injecting substances
  • All others meeting our admission criteria

Horizons staff members are available to speak with any woman to see what level of treatment will work for her. Horizons offers both residential and outpatient services, as well as prenatal/postpartum care and psychiatry services. Click on the links below to learn more about our programs.

The Horizons’ prenatal clinics are held at UNC Horizons in Carrboro and at UNC WakeBrook in Raleigh. Buprenorphine and naltrexone are available for women using opioids in both locations. At both sites prenatal visits involve a team including a medical provider, a substance use disorder therapist and a care coordinator. The therapist and care coordinator offer services including:

  • Helping the patient develop an individual treatment plan
  • Providing information about substance use during pregnancy and after the baby is born
  • Listening to the patient’s concerns and working with her toward solutions
  • Providing counseling for depression, anxiety, stress and other issues
  • Referring interested patients to Horizons’ outpatient treatment groups or to a residential program at Horizons or elsewhere in North Carolina

Prenatal Care at UNC Horizons in Carrboro

The clinic team in Carrboro includes the Horizons’ nurse practitioner (Dr. Elisabeth Johnson), a substance use disorder therapist and a care coordinator. Women see the same providers at each visit. Services include health screenings, regular prenatal check-ups, postpartum check-ups after you give birth, family planning services, health evaluations, screening and treatment for STDs, pap smears, well woman gynecology, and meetings with the therapist and/or care coordinator as a part of your medical visits.

Prenatal Care at UNC WakeBrook

The Horizons prenatal clinic in Raleigh is a satellite OB site within UNC WakeBrook. The team includes medical providers, a Horizons substance use disorder therapist, and a Horizons’ peer support specialist/care coordinator. In addition to prenatal and postpartum care women have access to family planning education and contraceptive care, as well as to an on-site primary care provider for ongoing care post-delivery. During their physical health appointments, women receive routine care and referrals to specialists when needed.

The residential program at Horizons, Sunrise, is designed to provide support and services to women and their dependent children in a residential setting. Each family lives in their own fully furnished apartment (rent-free). Treatment goals are individualized to address the needs of each woman and her family. Program elements include:

  • To qualify for our residential program a woman needs to either be pregnant or have physical custody of at least one of her children under age 12 who will come to live with her in the residential program.
  • The residential program is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Staff interact with women throughout the day and night as needs arise and make rounds on a regular basis.
  • The women in the residential program attend full-time treatment programming in Carrboro, including the Horizons’ Substance Abuse Comprehensive Outpatient Treatment (SACOT) program, followed by our Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program (SAIOP).
  • Children in the residential families who are up to age five attend the UNC Horizons Child Development Center, a 5-star program onsite in Carrboro. Older children attend the Chapel Hill-Carrboro public schools.
  • Residential staff assist each woman with the development of a recovery/substance use prevention plan and a network of support.
  • Residential therapists provide regular individual therapy and assist with working toward the achievement of personal goals and recovering from trauma.
  • Residential case managers provide assistance with employment or educational advancement, housing, budgeting skills and arranging for services for women and children as needed.
  • The program provides transportation and support/advocacy as needed for treatment services, medical and dental appointments, grocery shopping, court and legal appointments, social service appointments, etc.

The Horizons site in Carrboro offers a SACOT (Substance Abuse Comprehensive Outpatient Treatment) program, a SAIOP (Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program), traditional outpatient services, continuing care services, and onsite psychiatry services.

The SACOT Program

The Horizons’ SACOT (Substance Abuse Comprehensive Outpatient Treatment) program meets daily (Monday-Friday) at our Carrboro site for four hours per day, plus time for breaks. The SACOT program includes individual therapy as well as a diverse variety of therapeutic and educational groups. Examples of topics that are covered in group treatment include:

  • Addiction Education/Relapse Prevention
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
  • Healthy Relationships
  • Parenting
  • Women’s Health
  • Employment and Budgeting
  • Stress Management and Mindfulness

The Horizons SAIOP

The Horizons SAIOP (Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program) meets in Carrboro three days each week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) for 3 hours (plus a 15-minute break). Topics covered in this program include return to use warning signs/patterns, developing and practicing new recovery management tools, recovery from trauma, and understanding and managing dual diagnoses. Women in the SAIOP also continue to receive individual therapy. Most women at Horizons start with the SACOT program and then move into the SAIOP.

Other Outpatient Services

In Carrboro Horizons also offers individual psychotherapy, family therapy, mother/child dyad therapy, psychiatry services, and care coordination services. For women who are further along in their recovery Horizons offers a Continuing Care Group, led by one of our outpatient therapists, that is focused on living in and maintaining long-term recovery.

The outpatient program in Raleigh provides comprehensive behavioral health services for women, including pregnant and parenting women and their children, impacted by substance use, violence, and incarceration. We work alongside medical providers at WakeBrook, the Wake County Health Department, WakeMed and maternal-child health advocates to support the emotional and physical health of women and children.

Outpatient Treatment at WakeBrook

At WakeBrook our team provides traditional outpatient treatment, including comprehensive peer support/clinical case management, individual therapy, onsite psychiatry services, a diverse variety of therapeutic and educational groups, transportation, and informal childcare. Examples of topics that are covered in group treatment include:

  • Addiction Education/Relapse Prevention
  • Managing Feelings and Stress
  • Relationship and Family Issues
  • Women’s Health
  • How to Heal from Effects of Trauma
  • Parenting
  • Employment and Budgeting

Outpatient Treatment at the Wake County Health Department

The Horizons program in the Wake County Health Department enables us to provide behavioral health services in conjunction with other services that women receive at the Health Department. Our team works alongside the maternal-child health clinics to provide comprehensive clinical assessments, individual therapy, intensive clinical case management services and transportation.

Services for Women Transitioning Out of Prison in Raleigh

We provide post-release services for women impacted by substance use disorders who are transitioning from prison to help them avoid overdose death, improve their financial stability and independence, assist them with employment, and support them with maintaining drug abstinence. We aim to strengthen the connection between behavioral health services, post-release programs, and maternal-child health agencies to avoid recidivism and improve the use of positive parenting practices.