About BriteLife Recovery West Kill

Our Philosophy: Healing Through Connection

At BriteLife Recovery, we believe that both substance use and mental health challenges stem from disconnection—from self, from others, and from a sense of meaning or purpose. Although the origins of disconnection are complex and often rooted in trauma or adverse experiences, we view these challenges not as evidence of pathology, but as responses of a nervous system and psyche doing their best to cope without adequate safety and support.

Healing begins by rebuilding connections: reclaiming personal identity, fostering healthy relationships, and cultivating a meaningful relationship to something greater, whether through values, community, nature, or spiritual belief. Recovery is more than symptom reduction; it is the restoration of wholeness, agency, and authentic well-being.

Integrated, Whole-Person Care

Because substance use and mental health conditions frequently coexist and influence one another, effective care must address the full complexity of each person's experience. We recognize that recovery is rarely linear, and we are committed to offering responsive, coordinated care that evolves alongside each individual's unique path toward healing.

Our integrated model brings together medical, psychiatric, clinical, and wellness services to support the whole person. This unified approach allows us to support each client and their loved ones with compassion, continuity, and deep respect for the interconnected nature of healing.

Trauma-Informed Care

We know that trauma and adverse life experiences often underlie the emotional, psychological, and behavioral patterns that bring individuals into treatment. Rather than treating trauma as separate or secondary, we integrate trauma-responsive principles throughout our care, providing a foundation of safety, empowerment, and compassion.

Our West Kill Campus

Located at 2774 NY-42 in West Kill, New York, our facility is set in the breathtaking Catskill Mountains. The serene natural setting provides a peaceful backdrop that enhances the healing process, offering clients the opportunity to disconnect from the stresses of daily life and reconnect with themselves.

A Natural Setting for Healing

The Catskill Mountains offer unparalleled natural beauty with rolling hills, pristine forests, and fresh mountain air. This outdoor-focused environment is particularly well-suited for our Nature-Informed Therapy programming, allowing clients to experience healing in direct connection with the natural world.

Our campus features multiple buildings with modern amenities, including comfortable common areas, a game room with arcade games, a recreation center, a theater for movies, and a music room. The facility is designed to feel more like a mountain retreat than a clinical setting, supporting clients in feeling at ease while they focus on recovery.

Outdoor Recreation and Activities

The West Kill location offers exceptional opportunities for outdoor programming and recreation. Our campus includes marked trails of varying difficulty levels for hiking, a fire pit area for gatherings, outdoor spaces for activities like bocce and beach volleyball, and a teepee tent for outdoor groups and reflection.

The surrounding Catskill region provides access to waterfalls, scenic overlooks, state parks, and numerous outdoor activities. These natural resources allow us to fully integrate nature into the treatment experience in ways that are simply not possible in urban settings.

Treatment Programs

Detoxification

Our medically supervised detox program provides round-the-clock care during the withdrawal process. With nursing staff available 24/7 and oversight from our medical team, clients safely and comfortably withdraw from substances in a supportive environment. We offer medication-assisted treatment when clinically appropriate.

Our detox programming includes seven groups, each targeting a specific coping skill that clients can practice immediately. These skills include guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, self-compassion, breathwork, meditation, adult coloring, and affirmations. Each group includes a brief educational component, hands-on practice, and reflection time.

Residential Treatment

Our residential program offers intensive, 24-hour care in a structured yet flexible environment. The average length of stay is 28 days, with a goal of 30 days for comprehensive treatment. Clinical staff are available seven days a week, 12 hours daily, ensuring continuous support.

Clients participate in individual therapy sessions twice weekly and attend three group therapy sessions each day. Our group programming is carefully designed to blend structure with the flexibility needed to address real-time issues, build authentic connections, and heal interpersonal wounds.

Our Therapeutic Approach

Process Groups

These groups focus on the here-and-now interactions between group members to target interpersonal learning and emotional processing in a safe and supportive environment. There is an emphasis on how group members relate to each other, aiding in the development of self-awareness and real-time conflict resolution. Addiction is a disease of disconnection most often contributed to by interpersonal wounds—process groups allow for healing through interpersonal connection.

Specialty Groups

These groups typically run for four weeks and are topic-driven, with both teaching and processing components. Clients can choose which specialty group they would like to attend based on what they feel would be most helpful for them. Examples include Healthy Relationships, Codependency, Family Roles, Book Club (featuring works like Taming the Anxious Mind), and Communication and Conflict Resolution.

Nature-Informed Therapy

BriteLife Recovery is one of the few treatment centers with clinicians certified in Nature-Informed Therapy (NIT). This innovative approach integrates the healing power of nature with evidence-based therapeutic practices. NIT addresses the mental health impacts of nature disconnection by fostering deeper relationships with the environment, oneself, and others.

Our West Kill location is uniquely positioned to offer the full breadth of Nature-Informed Therapy programming. The pristine mountain environment allows for immersive outdoor experiences that simply aren't possible in more urban settings.

Our 14-module NIT curriculum includes:

• Rewiring the Anxious Brain with Nature in Mind
• Positive Neuroplasticity: Growing Inner Resilience Through Nature
• Human Rewilding: Discovering the Self in Nature
• Radical Acceptance and Letting Go: Lessons from the Trees
• Sacred Connections: Awe and Transcendence in Nature
• Human Flourishing: Sowing the Seeds of Thriving
• Where Boundaries Blossom, Inner Power Grows
• Self-Compassion: A Pathway to Peace
• Rooted Awareness: Understanding the Self with Nature's Help
• Returning to Joy: The Healing Power of Play in Nature
• Making Peace with the Past
• From Grief to Gratitude: Nature as Companion on the Healing Journey
• Food as Medicine: Nature Nourishes
• The Power of Release: Letting Anger Flow

Adventure Recovery

The experiential component of these groups is facilitated by Adventure Recovery staff with a clinician in attendance. The Adventure Recovery model incorporates mental health awareness and recovery-based practices to facilitate transformative, healing experiences.

In the Catskills, Adventure Recovery takes on new dimensions with activities like hiking waterfalls, mountain exploration, outdoor team-building challenges, and nature-based mindfulness practices. These experiential activities create space to explore, experience awe, embrace beginner's mind, and overcome limitations—real or imagined.

Following the experiential component, the clinician leads a process-driven group for members to deepen into their experience and how it reflects or relates to other parts of their lives, behaviors, and relationships. Adventure Recovery is offered on Fridays and Saturdays.

Focus Groups

These traditional psychoeducational groups cover focused topics with the goal of increasing knowledge and awareness. Topics may be addiction-specific (Science of Addiction, How Substances Affect the Brain, Strategies to Maintain Sobriety, Triggers and High-Risk Situations) or recovery-adjacent (Attachment Styles, Forgiveness, Anger Management, Mindfulness-Based Skills).

Evidence-Based Therapies

Our clinical approach incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and specialized curricula addressing relational trauma repair, shame and vulnerability, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles.

Holistic Wellness Services

Our commitment to whole-person healing includes integrative wellness services that support clients in reconnecting with their bodies, regulating their nervous systems, and cultivating balance across mind, body, and spirit. Our West Kill campus is developing a comprehensive wellness program that takes full advantage of the mountain setting, including yoga, meditation, breathwork (Qigong), massage therapy, Reiki, acupuncture, and other ancillary wellness services.

Family Support

When clients choose to involve loved ones, we provide education and resources to foster healing for the whole system. Our BALM® (Be A Loving Mirror) Family Recovery Program offers free weekly, two-hour virtual sessions for all families. These groups teach the 12 principles of family recovery and provide ongoing support for as long as families need it.

Life at BriteLife West Kill

Daily Structure

Clients follow a structured daily schedule that includes individual therapy sessions, group programming, wellness activities, and free time. The schedule is designed to provide stability while allowing flexibility to address individual needs as they arise. Weekend activities are structured similarly to weekdays, with Adventure Recovery programming offered on Fridays and Saturdays.

Accommodations

Rooms are shared, with modern, comfortable furnishings and private bathrooms in many rooms. The facility features multiple common areas, lounges on each floor, a game room with arcade games, and a theater for movies. The mountain retreat atmosphere helps clients feel at ease while focusing on their recovery.

Communication

During detox and residential treatment, phones and laptops are not allowed. Clients have access to monitored phone calls three days per week (10 minutes each), split between teams. Calls are monitored by behavioral health technicians, and phone time is earned through program participation. This technology-free environment supports focus on recovery and building authentic connections.

Dining

Under the direction of our executive chef Karl Rasmussen and his culinary team, we offer gourmet dining with varied menu options each week. All dietary restrictions can be accommodated, and our culinary team creates meals that are both nutritious and delicious.

Recreation and Activities

The West Kill location offers unparalleled access to outdoor activities and natural beauty. Clients participate in supervised outings including:

• Hiking marked trails of varying difficulty
• Visits to local waterfalls and scenic overlooks
• Outdoor recreation including bocce, volleyball, and other activities
• Trips to local attractions including ski resorts (mountain sightseeing), petting zoos, and water parks
• Use of on-campus amenities including the game room, theater, music room, and outdoor fire pit
• Off-site recreational activities at local parks and natural areas

The beautiful Catskill setting provides a peaceful, healing environment that reinforces the connection between nature and recovery that is central to our treatment philosophy.

Clinical Team

Our leadership team includes Don Gasparini (Executive Director), Shanell Carney (Clinical Director), Rich Funk (Director of Operations), Jodi Gurley (Director of Nursing), and Kristina Hitchcock (BHT Supervisor). Our full clinical team includes board-certified physicians, psychiatric nurse practitioners, licensed therapists, certified Nature-Informed Therapy facilitators, registered nurses with addiction specialization, case managers, and behavioral health technicians.

Clinical staff are available seven days a week, 12 hours daily, ensuring continuous support throughout the recovery journey. We are working to improve our psychiatric services to match the robust offerings at our other locations.

Discharge Planning and Aftercare

One of our greatest strengths is our comprehensive discharge planning process, which begins on day one of treatment. Case managers work closely with clinical staff to create individualized continuing care plans that address real-life barriers and set clients up for sustainable recovery.

We help every client build supports that continue beyond discharge, including referrals for ongoing therapy, sober living arrangements, FMLA paperwork, and connections to community resources. Our emerging alumni program is getting off the ground and will include virtual support groups and in-person events, fostering lasting connections among those who have completed treatment at BriteLife Recovery.

What Makes Us Different

Our group work stands out for its careful balance of structure and dynamism. While we have robust curricula and frameworks, we don't rigidly follow manuals at the expense of addressing what's actually happening in the room. This approach allows clients to make authentic connections, work through real-time conflicts, and heal the interpersonal wounds that often underlie addiction.

We maintain small group sizes (ideally 12 clients, never exceeding 16), ensuring everyone has adequate speaking time and personalized attention. With over 32 hours of group therapy per week compared to just a few hours of individual therapy, our group programming is where the transformative work truly happens.

Commitment to Inclusive, Dignified Care

BriteLife Recovery is committed to providing treatment that is trauma-informed, culturally humble, and respectful of every individual's dignity. We affirm people of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and spiritual traditions. We practice authentic leadership, cultivating a workplace rooted in transparency, shared purpose, and personal growth—because the way we care for one another shapes the way we care for those we serve.

The Catskills: A Natural Sanctuary for Healing

West Kill is located in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, approximately 2.5 hours north of New York City and easily accessible from Albany, the Hudson Valley, and western New England. The area is known for its natural beauty, four-season recreation, and peaceful mountain communities.

The pristine environment offers clients a true escape from urban stress and distractions. The clean mountain air, abundant wildlife, changing seasons, and stunning vistas create an ideal setting for the deep personal work of recovery. Many clients find that the natural beauty of the Catskills becomes an integral part of their healing journey.

Accreditation and Insurance

BriteLife Recovery West Kill is accredited by The Joint Commission and licensed by the state of New York. We accept most major insurance plans, including BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, United Healthcare, Cigna, Optum, UPMC, and others. Our admissions team can verify your insurance benefits and guide you through the admissions process.