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American Addiction Centers National Rehabs Directory

The Clearing

2687 West Valley Road, Friday Harbor, Washington, 98250
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Facility Location

Patient Reviews

Overall Ratings
  • 4.6
    Avg. score from 33 reviews
  • 4.7
    Accommodations & Amenities
  • 4.3
    Treatment Effectiveness
  • 4.8
    Meals & Nutrition
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Tracy
  • Accommodations & Amenities
  • Treatment Effectiveness
  • Meals & Nutrition
The Clearing is a wonderful place. The program itself is amazing. Hands down this program should benefit your life at some level. I came in there completely broken. I was a member of NA for twenty three years and it no longer worked for me. I was looking for something different. I had just gone through a torturous year battling breast cancer and physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually dead. On my way there I had so many traumas overlapping each other I could see straight. I needed help. In my opinion the clearing is not about addiction at all. Anyone with issues would benefit. The clearing really helped me get a grip of my life. I left in much better shape than when I arrived. I’m not cured by any means but I’m doing much better. It is worth the time and money and I’m very grateful. It’s like a spiritual boot camp. Personally I gave it 110 percent. I worked hard and did my best . They have a very thoughtful and caring staff. Every morning you wake up to yoga and tai chi. It’s awesome. Your days are filled with workshop, meditation, book clubs, personal work, and much more. They train you to rewire your brain. The focus is self love. This program Is real. As a mater of fact the entire staff works the same program. They put their heart and souls into the program. They care. They created an amazing place. They taught incredible skills. They do their very best to accommodate you. They even have a well thought out aftercare program to support you when you leave. In other words, they don’t just drop you. You are still working the program when you leave. They really do their best and they really care. My concern is that it worked wonders “ while in the atmosphere.” The problem for myself I needed more time to train myself. I almost wish it was a 6 month outpatient program so I had more time to process issues and get in the habit of personally integrating and utilizing the tools on my own. I needed more time to process my traumas. The program definitely helped me “crack the egg” but I was lagging behind and having a difficult time keeping up. I’m my opinion, If you have fatigue or physical limitations it could negatively affect your experience. It did mine. The rush to get my work done and get adequate sleep gave me more stress and therefore less processing. I would have benefitted more if it were a slower circicullum and more time. This is all my own experience. For the month I spent there. The staff members are all super. They are kind and loving. They do everything they can to make it as homey as possible. They are incredible people. All of them. Although there are some problems with the owners. They are both incredible people with their own issues. It was wonderful seeing them incorporate the teachings in their own life. Like I said it’s incredible work and the the tools make sense. I used to be in NA for 23 years. I was done with the 12 steps and I admit it no longer worked for me . They do not bash the 12 steps but they say it does not do anything to help your issues. In my opinion they are unfamiliar with the real workings of the 12 steps and base their opinions on a couple meetings and rehabs. I have 23 years of experience and know the true potential of spiritual growth with “writing” all 12 steps. Although it stopped working for me so I needed something different. The following paragraph is my own experience. The owners are kind people. They care. But you don't want to get on their bad sides or you will be walking on eggshells for a month. Its almost like you are part of a little family with two parents you don't want disappoint them . I felt like a little girl trying to please my Parents. Another problem is if you are upset ( crying) while there is no session you have to isolate yourself. There were a couple times I was crying and one of the owners told me not to talk about my feelings with any of the other members because it disturbed their process. That personally didn’t feel so great. One of the owners wanted me to sit in my room so I didn’t expose the other clients to any negativity ... I understand what they are trying to accomplish but I personally felt isolated and scolded . There was one incident that caused one of the owners screamed at us and took all our privileges away. We basically got grounded. Also if you have a temper you have to hold it in. There is a healing vibe on the property so if you are going through uncomfortable feelings you can potentially mess the other clients energy so you have to pull yourself together in order to be around other people. That part didn’t feel very good. ... also the program is awesome but when I left I had many tools and an excellent aftercare program but I found it difficult to utilize the tools without being in the company of my support group. Once I left there I have found it hard to stay with the program. That is my present situation. I fell off because I’m back at home and away from the environment. If you were to live there or work there you would be with a community with the same purpose of healing. It works. When I left it didn’t work as well for me. This is all my own personal experience. Overall, I highly recommend the clearing for help with substance abuse and dual diagnosis. They undercover the real trauma. They keep you moving and support you through the process. The staff is kind and loving. The environment is beautiful. The food is yummy. There were a couple set backs but that are always asking for help from the participants if they could do anything to make it better ? They are a work in progress and always wanting to change for the betterment of the program. I recommend the clearing.
Brian
  • Accommodations & Amenities
  • Treatment Effectiveness
  • Meals & Nutrition
At 64 I had been locked in a cycle of depression and substance abuse for decades. The Clearing provided me the tools and unwavering support to deal with my struggles long after leaving the facility. Treatment more closely resembled a Masters Program, gently teaching us how to uncover deep rooted emotional struggles and deal with them one at a time, instead of attempting to bury things in a fog. While the work is difficult, not once did I feel alone or lost. The Staff is genuine, attentive, and committed, I believe management has assembled a remarkable team. The facility is peaceful, with enough land to sit next to a stream or feed the Goats, Chickens, Alpaca to clear your head. Two years on and despite experiencing a number of difficult life situations, I have dealt with them head on and not relapsed once. I am thoroughly grateful to the Clearing for giving me an approach that truly works, and highly recommend them.
R.D.
  • Accommodations & Amenities
  • Treatment Effectiveness
  • Meals & Nutrition
My name is Grace. I am just about to be 72 years old. This past September and October I attended The Clearing, a 28-day in-patient rehab center in Friday Harbor, WA. I am a renowned cynic and a practiced critical thinker. I have read nearly every self-help book published in the past 35 years. (A slight exaggeration), I have attended various churches, studied and practiced Buddhism, and tried and tried to make the 12-Step program work for me. Yes, my cynicism and my attempts at finding help for alcohol addiction, anxiety, and depression really do clash, but I was desperate. I had been desperate for years. And I had bouts of not drinking, but I always found my way back to relieving my anxiety with help from the bottle. I was a teacher/administrator/consultant for 47 years—success was my game. I never missed a day of work or embarrassed myself. I just secretly kicked my own ass and pretended that I was “fine.” My wife, of course, knew about my struggles, because I woke her up as I headed out for 7 AM meetings many times. Then I slipped into a deep depression along with the drinking and got to the point of the “either or question.” Get help or die. I began to search for something different than a 12-step program. After 30 years of trying that path without lasting success, it was time for something else. I found information on THE CLEARING and zeroed in. I talked with Betsy, one of the directors and Claire, a counselor. Of course, I had my hyper-cynical and critical radar on, but no alarm bells or whistles went off. I found them both extremely warm, helpful and down-to-earth. I had an intuitive understanding that The Clearing was the place for me. But wait, it cost what? I am on Medicare and have supplemental insurance but neither would help with the cost. So I thought about it like this: if I died, our family’s income would be cut in half. If I got the help I needed, it would only be a year or two before the program would pay for itself. I signed up and, with a lot of fear, headed to The Clearing for four weeks of rehab. As you might guess, I was the oldest person there. Our cohort of 9 ranged in age from 28 to 71. But it felt like the first year of college all over again. We were thrown together into a cozy setting where we shared, laughed, cried, played and eat together. That group of 8 strangers helped save my life. The official daily work counselling, exercising, meditating, reading and writing is the core of the program. At first, I looked for the cracks in the program, but as hard as I tried, I did not, could not find them. Betsy and Joe, the directors, were real, honest and knowledgeable. There was not even a whisper of hypocrisy. The counselors were insightful and caring. The chefs were skilled and never failed to present a wonderful meal. The office staff were efficient and warm. The farm helpers were hardworking and friendly. I was then and am now even more impressed with the skill that Betsy and Joe have in hiring and keeping just the right people who make a wonderful place for people to heal and learn to heal themselves. I loved the daily routine; it was just right, and it was mandatory. We started with yoga and Tai chi then we had a full breakfast, or whatever you chose. The real work began at 9 AM, when we started class for the next four hours. It was in these sessions, led by Joe mostly and the help of Tom and Claire that we got to the heart of the matter. We learned counselling skills, emotional and intellectual skills, as well ideas about spiritual psychology. We learned and then we practiced. Learning to listen to others deeply and listening to ourselves. I was renowned for using the most Kleenex in these sessions as I unearthed hurt and pain so that I could heal. We spent the afternoons doing meditation, individual counselling, book discussion, art sessions, or walking the path on the property. I tried to fit in a session on the stationary bike each day too. Dinner was at 6 PM . . . another exquisite meal. From 7 PM until bedtime the cohort usually gathered in the living room to talk, play games, laugh like crazy or attempt to read our homework for the next day. After 26 days of our routine family members came to be with us and learn what we had been learning. My family came. And our time at The Clearing separately and together has changed us all. Now, nearly six months later, I see clearly and practice what I learned each day. I did not get a final cure . . . I got tools to practice each day and the insight to accept that there is only that. My name is Grace. I am just about to be 72 years old. This past September and October I attended The Clearing, a 28-day in-patient rehab center in Friday Harbor, WA. I am a renowned cynic and a practiced critical thinker. I have read nearly every self-help book published in the past 35 years. (A slight exaggeration), I have attended various churches, studied and practiced Buddhism, and tried and tried to make the 12-Step program work for me. Yes, my cynicism and my attempts at finding help for alcohol addiction, anxiety, and depression really do clash, but I was desperate. I had been desperate for years. And I had bouts of not drinking, but I always found my way back to relieving my anxiety with help from the bottle. I was a teacher/administrator/consultant for 47 years—success was my game. I never missed a day of work or embarrassed myself. I just secretly kicked my own ass and pretended that I was “fine.” My wife, of course, knew about my struggles, because I woke her up as I headed out for 7 AM meetings many times. Then I slipped into a deep depression along with the drinking and got to the point of the “either or question.” Get help or die. I began to search for something different than a 12-step program. After 30 years of trying that path without lasting success, it was time for something else. I found information on THE CLEARING and zeroed in. I talked with one of the directors and a counselor. Of course, I had my hyper-cynical and critical radar on, but no alarm bells or whistles went off. I found them both extremely warm, helpful and down-to-earth. I had an intuitive understanding that The Clearing was the place for me. But wait, it cost what? I am on Medicare and have supplemental insurance but neither would help with the cost. So I thought about it like this: if I died, our family’s income would be cut in half. If I got the help I needed, it would only be a year or two before the program would pay for itself. I signed up and, with a lot of fear, headed to The Clearing for four weeks of rehab. As you might guess, I was the oldest person there. Our cohort of 9 ranged in age from 28 to 71. But it felt like the first year of college all over again. We were thrown together into a cozy setting where we shared, laughed, cried, played and eat together. That group of 8 strangers helped save my life. The official daily work counselling, exercising, meditating, reading and writing is the core of the program. At first, I looked for the cracks in the program, but as hard as I tried, I did not, could not find them. The directors were real, honest and knowledgeable. There was not even a whisper of hypocrisy. The counselors were insightful and caring. The chefs were skilled and never failed to present a wonderful meal. The office staff were efficient and warm. The farm helpers were hardworking and friendly. I was then and am now even more impressed with the skill that the directors have in hiring and keeping just the right people who make a wonderful place for people to heal and learn to heal themselves. I loved the daily routine; it was just right, and it was mandatory. We started with yoga and Tai chi then we had a full breakfast, or whatever you chose. The real work began at 9 AM, when we started class for the next four hours. It was in these sessions that we got to the heart of the matter. We learned counselling skills, emotional and intellectual skills, as well ideas about spiritual psychology. We learned and then we practiced. Learning to listen to others deeply and listening to ourselves. I was renowned for using the most Kleenex in these sessions as I unearthed hurt and pain so that I could heal. We spent the afternoons doing meditation, individual counselling, book discussion, art sessions, or walking the path on the property. I tried to fit in a session on the stationary bike each day too. Dinner was at 6 PM . . . another exquisite meal. From 7 PM until bedtime the cohort usually gathered in the living room to talk, play games, laugh like crazy or attempt to read our homework for the next day. After 26 days of our routine family members came to be with us and learn what we had been learning. My family came. And our time at The Clearing separately and together has changed us all. Now, nearly six months later, I see clearly and practice what I learned each day. I did not get a final cure . . . I got tools to practice each day and the insight to accept that there is only that.
J.B.
  • Accommodations & Amenities
  • Treatment Effectiveness
  • Meals & Nutrition
I was a participant in The Clearing's 28-day program after watching the transformative process of a close family member graduate from the same program. Having gone through a tough season of change in my own life, and a lifelong struggle with mental health, the healing and the tools that accompanied the program were invaluable.
H.M.
  • Accommodations & Amenities
  • Treatment Effectiveness
  • Meals & Nutrition
I came to The Clearing completely destroyed, humiliated and broken. In searching for treatment, my final “hurrah” of hope, I knew there was so much within me and had no idea how to deal with. Like past attempts, I couldn’t will it, breathe it, write it, hope it, nor talk all those feelings away. Upon initial investigation of treatment places, The Clearing offered something so profoundly different and it made total sense me to look at the underlying issues that caused me to drink, starve, or vomit in the first place. I was a participant in a group that all began and ended on the same day learning the strategies and tools to safely and lovingly look at past experiences and beliefs and heal them without shame. The Clearing is beyond trite sayings, surface practices, and “good feeling” methodology. Tools and strategies are learned from an emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual level. I finally came to a way to be with myself, with others, and ultimately in this world with greater ease and peace.