Vahalla Place

I've been at "Vahalla Place", less than ten minutes from St. Paul, Minnesota for almost three years. Unlike many other MMT patients, this is my first time in any type of treatment/harm-reduction program, so I don't really have anything to use as a reference for comparison, but I would rate my experience there an 8 out of 10 (10 being the best). Had I made this post two months ago, I would have said 10 out of 10. The 2-point reduction is owed 90% to me being dropped from my original counselors case-load. It was my randomly picked counselor on my intake day. We clicked instantly and I knew we would work out. I honestly can't imagine how a counselor could be better. Anyways, a couple months back, she got promoted twice and became the head-counselor there, thus her responsibilities increased to the point that she had to drop her entire 62-person case-load and refer them (after careful consideration) to different counselors, with the exception of ten or so clients whom considered her to be indispensable and have severe anxiety related to change.

Anyways, the new guy I have isn't a bad counselor by any means. We just don't have a great chemistry, and I don't feel nearly as comfortable around him nor do I trust him (this problem is currently being worked on).

From what I've read/heard, this is the 1#rated clinic in the midwest. All the staff are incredibly friendly, caring and I have never felt the least bit judged or looked down upon there, which, I've heard is a common reason that people will leave their clinic.

My only other complaint is that they opened two new dosing-windows last year, making a total of 4. Ironically, since then, they are calling the numbers noticeably slower. I waited 45 minutes a couple weeks back and there were literally 12 people in the queue.

Besides the above-mentioned, minor issues I love the place and would never consider switching. They also offer a number of other services/meetings etc... It is definitely not a "dose and dash" clinic, though many people use it as such, they try to encourage their clients to take advantage of their "amenities", so to speak.

There it is, Vahalla in a nutshell through my perspective..

Thank you telling us about your clinic, it is always great to hear something positive.
Good luck with the new counselor. If you find that you are still uneasy after a time of trying to work it out, I would suggest trying to see if you can transfer back to your original counselor.
Check back when you have some time and let us know how it is going.
Dee

Thanks, Dee.

I've talked to her (my old counselor) about a possible switch-back and was she explained that there really is no way for me to have her again. She is now the head-counselor, one of the clinic managers, and is in charge of all intakes (they get between 2-4 intakes per day). However, I can still talk with her whenever I want or need to (just can't do regular meet-ups) and, she says she promises that she'll make sure that I get the services I need.

The other thing is this new guy will not phase me up as long as I have THC in my system, and my old counselor would encourage it, lol. So that's a bit of a problem, as I don't have my own vehicle and need to rely on others to get there. I also will not quit smoking right now for several reasons that are irrelevant.