Caring Together Addictions and

The Caring Together program, established in 1991 by Barbara Schindler, M.D., helps women and their children overcome substance abuse and start a new life without drugs and alcohol. The program utilizes a multi-phase, multi-disciplinary approach to treat the addiction and any other issues which may have caused or resulted from using.

Be sure to listen to Dr. Schindler's podcast on addiction.

To participate in the program, patients must be referred by their primary care physician.

The program, which is managed by the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine, is located at 4700 Wissahickon Avenue (Wissahickon and Route 1/the Roosevelt Boulevard).

If you're a physician, please do not hesitate to contact the staff at Caring Together at 215.967.2130 to consult with our addiction experts, make a referral, or check on a patient's progress.

10% of people will have a problem with addiction during their lifetime. It's a condition that's often overlooked, simply because many doctors don't ask questions to properly spot an addict. Additionally, users are often hesitant to bring up the issue on their own.

The first step in identifying an addict is having a clear understanding of addiction, substance abuse, and substance dependence.

Here are some brief descriptions of key terms:

Addiction: Psychological or physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control.

Substance Abuse: People who abuse a substance typically experience one of the following over a 12-month period of time:

Substance Dependence: People who depend on a substance experience three or more of the following symptoms/behaviors over a 12-month period of time:

While men may be more likely to become addicts, women traditionally face tougher challenges. The Caring Together program lets women know they're not alone in these challenges.

Studies show that women tend to progress more quickly from using a substance to dependence. Women also experience medical or social consequences of addiction faster than men, often find it harder to quit using addictive substances, and are more susceptible to relapse.

These gender differences can affect treatment, which is why we designed a program specifically for women and their children.

Caring Together takes a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment. This means that a group of health care professionals, such as physicians, nurses, social service, and mental health providers work together to meet the needs of our patients.

The team specializes in providing services to women who are pregnant and/or have children and/or who are dually diagnosed. In addition to getting patients through the different stages of treatment, the group offers:

The information on these pages is provided for general information only and should not be used for diagnosis or treatment, or as a substitute for consultation with a physician or health care professional. If you have specific questions or concerns about your health, you should consult your health care professional.

The images being used are for illustrative purposes only; any person depicted is a model.

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Primary Focus of the Provider

• Substance Abuse Treatment Services

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Type of Care

• Substance abuse treatment
• Naltrexone (oral)
• Do not use medication for opioid addiction

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Facility Type

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Treatment Approaches

• Cognitive/behavioral therapy
• Substance abuse counseling approach
• Trauma-related counseling

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Facility Smoking Policy

• Smoking permitted in designated area

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Service Setting (e.g., Outpatient, Residential, etc.)

• Outpatient
• Intensive outpatient treatment
• Regular outpatient treatment

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Facility Operation (e.g. Private, Public)

• Private organization
• State substance abuse agency
• State department of health

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Payment/Insurance Accepted

• Cash or self-payment
• Medicaid
• Medicare
• State financed health insurance plan other than Medicaid
• Federal, or any government funding for substance abuse programs

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Emergency Mental Health Services

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Payment Assistance Available

• Payment assistance (check with facility for details)

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Language Services

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Special Programs/Groups Offered

• Persons with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders
• Clients referred from the court/judicial system
• Pregnant/postpartum women
• Adult women

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Ancillary Services

• Individual counseling offered
• Group counseling offered
• 12-step faciltitation approach
• Brief intervention approach
• Motivational interviewing
• Anger management
• Relapse prevention

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Age Groups Accepted

• Young adults
• Adults

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Gender Accepted

• Female

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Exclusive Services

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