What is WRS?
WRS is a residential treatment program for chemically dependent women and their children. Priority is given to pregnant and parenting women and intravenous drug using women. Individualized treatment focuses on two main areas: developing a chemical-free lifestyle and improving parenting skills. WRS can accept up to 11 children between the ages of 6 and 11.
Because empowerment is key to our philosophy, residents make decisions about their treatment plan, as well as decisions about day-to-day living at the program. In doing so, they strengthen decision-making skills they will need to succeed in living a healthy lifestyle.
Who is eligible?
To participate in the program, a woman must meet the following criteria:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Illinois resident
- Have a primary diagnosis of substance abuse
- Demonstrate clinical symptoms indicating a need for residential treatment of up to three months
- Be capable and willing to participate in all treatment
What is the cost?
Fees for WRS services are based on level of income and number of dependents. A sliding fee schedule based on national poverty levels is available for Lake County residents.
Hours of service and location
The program is located at 24647 North Milwaukee Ave., in Vernon Hills, approximately one mile south of Rt. 60. Services are provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Several help/support groups are held at WRS, including:
- Anger Management - This group will help you develop the skills that are necessary to successfully manage anger.
- Art Counseling - This group provides the opportunity for you to express yourself through the use of art exercises. This is a hands-on group that taps into your creative side.
- Aspects of Intimacy - An overview of intimacy will be presented. You will learn different types of intimacy, explore healthy and unhealthy relationship beliefs, and discuss safe and unsafe self-nurturing, as well as setting appropriate boundaries.
- Bereavement - The grieving process and the importance of “allowing” this process to occur will be discussed. You will be encouraged to take ownership of your pain and put closure on that part of your life.
- CBT - This group will provide you with the skills necessary to change dysfunctional thinking. You will have the opportunity to challenge your old thoughts with new ways of looking at yourself and your recovery.
- Community - This group processes issues impacting Women’s Residential Services as a community. You will be involved in rule reviews and discussions, sharing your concerns, ideas or requests, repairs needed, and a personal review of your weekly progress and issues you will work on the following week.
- Continuing Care - You will learn to develop and implement self advocacy, communication and organizational skills in order to put structure in your recovery and maintain long term sobriety.
- Domestic Duty Day - This group is to assist you in developing life management skills. As the addiction progresses, these skills tend to decrease to a point where the addict becomes consumed in obtaining their drugs. This group encourages you to develop a team approach by lending to others’ physical, as well as moral, support. Furthermore, this group supports personal responsibility and accountability in the care of your environment.
- Dual Diagnosis - This group will address co-occurring disorders as they relate to your chemical dependency and recovery. You will explore methods for coping with mental health, eating and other issues related to your wellness and recovery.
- Drug Awareness - Education and discussion will occur of the history of women’s drug use, the role of advertising in normalizing drug use, assessing your high risk situations and confidence in resisting substance use and the role of sleep in substance dependence.
- Family Education - Family/significant others are invited to learn about aspects of substance abuse/dependency. Discussion is facilitated to share concerns, coping strategies, and stages of recovery.
- Family Systems - You will have the opportunity to process personal family issues in a group setting. The focus is to develop an awareness and understanding of your own feelings and past behaviors and how those behaviors relate to your own family of origin.
- Goodbye Group - When a peer leaves Women’s Residential Services, it is a mixture of happiness and sadness, hopefulness and fears. Goodbye group gives you the opportunity to put closure on your relationship with the peer. It is time to send the peer off with words of advice and favorite memories.
- Interpersonal Skills - You are provided the opportunity to learn needed skills that will enhance interpersonal relationships. These skills include self-disclosure, listening, empathy, proper confrontation and expressing difficult emotions. The group teaching technique involves lecture and experiential exercises.
- Issues in Recovery - Individual assignments enable you to examine personal issues related to a variety of recovery topics. Staff provides assistance and instruction on assignments.
- Motivational Wellness - This group provided activities for personal development in developing coping skills including meditation, deep breathing, grounding techniques, mindfulness, and guided imagery.
- Parenting Partners - The parenting partners group will encourage mothers to use their strengths in parenting, to learn new skills, to become more involved in their children’s lives, education, and become active it their communities. The group will also provide strategies to minimize the opportunity to continue the cycle of abuse regarding to drug usage in the family. The group is equally beneficial to many different cultural and socio-economic groups and family structures.
- Process of Change - You will be educated on the stages of change. You will be able to identify what stage you are in with the changes you are attempting and learn ways to move to the next stage. You will self-assess and peers will provide feedback to assist you in this assessment process.
- Relapse Prevention - This group provides you with skill building instruction to increase relapse prevention skills. The focus of this group is to develop an awareness and understanding of high-risk situations and emotions that may interfere with continued sobriety.
- Seeking Safety - This group will address PTSD/Trauma and substance abuse. The group focuses on the need to establish safety – to work toward discontinuing substance use, letting go of dangerous relationships, and gaining control over symptoms that stem from trauma such as dissociation and self-harm. This group will teach “safe coping skills” that apply to both trauma/PTSD and substance abuse.
- Spirituality - Spirituality is a recognized aspect of recovery. It will also address how chemical dependency creates the loss of one’s spirituality and the violation of one’s morals and values. This group will assist individuals to rebuild this aspect of their recovery toward establishing a foundation.
- STEPPS - In this cognitive-behavioral, skills training approach, group participants will learn about Emotional Intensity Disorder. You learn specific emotional and behavioral management skills.
- Women's Activitiy (alternate weeks) - This group is designed for women who do not have their children on the unit. This group allows these women the opportunity to experience the joy of sober fun. Planned activities such as games, arts, outdoor sports, etc. will teach sportsmanship as well as social skills.
- Women's Education - Women not participating in the parenting group will attend this group. You will be taken to the local public library to explore services available to you at public libraries.
- Women's Health - You will be educated on the numerous health issues that women face today. This educational group will encourage discussion and questions.
- WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Planning) - this group presents a structured system for monitoring uncomfortable and distressing signs and symptoms. You will learn to maintain your wellness and sobriety through planned responses, reducing, modifying, or eliminating those signs and symptoms.
Contact Information
For more information, please call the WRS offices at 847.377.7950.
Funding provided in part by the Department of Human Services Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.
