UNC Horizons Program

About UNC Horizons Program

UNC Horizons Program in Carrboro, North Carolina, is a women-only substance use disorder treatment program run by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Since 1993 they have served pregnant and parenting women and their children, including women who have experienced abuse or violence. Their trauma-responsive, attachment-focused model treats mother and child together so families can stay intact during recovery. Care includes residential treatment, comprehensive and intensive outpatient programs, traditional outpatient therapy, and continuing care, along with prenatal, postpartum, and family planning services, psychiatry, and medication for opioid use disorder such as buprenorphine and naltrexone. Pregnant women, especially those who inject substances, receive priority admission, and all clients and children must agree to vaccinations.

The residential program, Sunrise, gives each family its own furnished, rent-free apartment with 24-hour staffing. To qualify, a woman must be pregnant or have custody of at least one child under 12 who will live with her. Most women begin in the daily, four-hour SACOT program and then step down to a three-day-a-week intensive outpatient program. Groups cover relapse prevention, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, trauma recovery, co-occurring disorders, parenting, and healthy relationships, and individual therapy continues throughout. Family therapy and mother-child dyad therapy are also available. Young children can attend an on-site child development center, and case managers help with employment, education, budgeting, housing, and transportation to medical, legal, and social service appointments.