Highland Health Systems

About Highland Health Systems

Highland Health Systems is a public nonprofit community mental health center in Anniston, Alabama, serving Calhoun and Cleburne Counties since 1967. Alongside mental health and developmental disability services, they offer substance use treatment through their New Directions outpatient program, which addresses alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates, benzodiazepines, and other substances. Care ranges from standard outpatient sessions, scheduled anywhere from one hour a month to eight hours a week, to a co-occurring track for people managing both a mental illness and a substance use disorder. They also run a more intensive day treatment program for people who need residential-level care but can’t afford it or are waiting for a bed, and they refer those who need residential treatment to other facilities.

Treatment combines individual, group, and family therapy with psychoeducational groups, family support, psychiatrist sessions, case management, and peer support from people with lived experience. Admission follows a confidential screening, and priority goes to pregnant people who use substances, people who inject drugs, women with dependent children, and people living with HIV. For those involved with the legal system, they offer 12-hour and 24-hour DUI education programs, an Adult Drug Court diversion program, and a Family Drug Court that helps parents involved with DHR keep or regain custody of their children. Clients can also use on-site primary care and a pharmacy that works directly with the organization’s physicians.