A profound deficit requires an extraordinary solution. The deficit: according to Mental Health America’s “2022 State of Mental Health In America,” Alabama ranked 50th out of 51 states and US territories in access to mental healthcare. So, what’s the solution? Longleaf Recovery and Wellness, parent company of the renown Birmingham Recovery Center, is expanding its premier services in Birmingham and opening facilities in Huntsville and Dothan in 2024. Finally, Alabama is on its way to providing better and more extensive mental health and substance abuse services to its communities.

Founded in 2022 by Colin Harris, the recovery centers aim to provide compassionate and comprehensive care with both inpatient and outpatient treatment for mental health, substance use, and recovery support.

As a person in recovery, Harris intimately understands the challenges faced by people struggling with addiction and their families. During most of his twenties, Harris was a client of numerous addiction programs through the southeast. It is from this personal experience that Harris brings a passion for quality treatment to his role managing the daily operations of Birmingham Recovery Center.

As a native of Alabama, he has committed his life and career to developing programs that offer Alabamians the best chance at success. He realized a need that wasn’t currently being met by Alabama’s limited recovery options in the state and decided to change that with their flagship center in Birmingham.

Birmingham Recovery Center is tucked away in the heart of Hoover, Alabama and feels like a secluded oasis, giving patients the best chance at success during outpatient treatment. While the facility itself offers a pristine, comfortable, and elevated environment, Harris and his staff have maintained their value of making it a price point attainable to everyone.

Set to open in spring, Longleaf Wellness is located adjacent to the Birmingham Recovery Center and will build upon the success of the existing programs with an adapted model focused on treating mental health disorders like anxiety and depression.

“Mental health and substance use disorder treatment options have been extremely limited in our state for far too long,” said Birmingham Recovery Center Chairman Thomas Harris, in an interview with AL.com.

Longleaf aims to shift the narrative and provide Alabamians with the holistic care they need, in which “patients are surrounded by a compassionate staff who deliver a consistent, quality experience,” as their mission statement describes.

In addition to the Birmingham location, Longleaf Recovery has also broken ground in Huntsville and in Baldwin which anticipates to welcome new patients by summer.

The goal is to expand quality treatment options across the state and offer the same excellence in care for individuals in North, Central, and South Alabama– as well as to shatter stereotypes of what it means to receive mental health or substance use treatment.

“Given what we know about substance use disorder and mental health, it is vital that we break down barriers to treatment,” says Ian Henyon, Chief Operations Officer of Longleaf Recovery & Wellness. “We don’t want any patients to feel there are no options. Longleaf is providing patients with even more opportunity to receive the help they need.”

Shattering stereotypes, providing education, and growing awareness surrounding addiction and mental health, can be found on their blog where licensed professional counselors and experts cover topics like family support, identifying addictions, deep dives into particular substances, types of treatment, benefits to a holistic approach and more.

The newly unveiled brand reflects the warm, inviting, comfortable, and serene environment where lives have already been changed. The new name of the center is beautifully symbolized by the “longleaf pine,” which represents resilience and strength. A longleaf pine can endure in the most challenging conditions, including fire, and recover stronger than ever before.

For more information and updates on the various locations’ opening dates as well as services and treatment options, follow Longleaf Recovery and Wellness on social media or visit their website at https://www.longleafcenters.com.