Spokane Valley addiction center Harmony Grove Counseling is offering recovery services not only to those with addiction issues, but for addicts’ families as well, says Joe Terhaar, the owner and administrator of Harmony Grove. 

   “We provide counseling that is responsive to the needs of the drug user and the family,” says Terhaar, who is licensed for both mental health and marriage and family therapy, as well as being a nationally board-certified chemical dependency counselor and intervention specialist. 

    The business, which opened in 2008 and was purchased by Terhaar in 2010, offers an emphasis in family counseling, as well as traditional addiction therapy.

    The average cost for a one-year recovery program at Harmony Grove, he says, is about $2,500, with an additional $500 to $800 if the client wants family members to participate in the recovery process. Most insurance carriers have coverage for this kind of treatment, Terhaar says. The center, which is exclusively outpatient, offers individual therapy, group therapy, and combinations of the two.

    Terhaar says that the center exposes its clients to 12-step programs and encourages them to use them, but doesn't require them to do so.

    Harmony Grove, which has four full-time employees, focuses on bringing family members into the recovery process because simply educating them about addiction doesn't necessarily help the addict recover and doesn't provide the family with the necessary recovery tools either, Terhaar says.

    "Many addiction centers just send an addict home without any family counseling, because they don't know how to help the family and addict heal together," Terhaar asserts.

    Most addiction counselors, he says, receive little training in marriage and family therapy. Conversely, he says, many marriage and family therapists aren't trained to counsel addicts. Harmony Grove brings the two together, Terhaar says. However, he also says that clients don't have to bring their families into the counseling process if they don't wish to.

    Terhaar says that as a by-product of Harmony Grove's family approach, family members who are in therapy with a client often will identify other family members who may need help and bring them into treatment.

    Harmony Grove, which is located at 9203 E. Trent, also puts a heavy emphasis on hiring compassionate workers, something Terhaar says is valued by its clients.

    "We specialize in only hiring people who are compassionate, truly friendly, and dedicated to helping people recover from addiction," Terhaar says. "We routinely have people come here and say they chose us because we are personable."

    Terhaar estimates that the clinic sees between 40 and 80 clients a month. It also makes every effort to allow clients to receive treatment confidentially, Terhaar says. The building's exterior, for example, doesn't even have Harmony Grove's name on it.

    Another unique aspect of the center, he says, is that the practice uses neurobiology to help clients understand their individual addictions.

    "We know from extensive research that the brain of a person using methamphetamines is not the same as a person using cannabis, or a person using opiates," Terhaar says. "We design the recovery program around the drug and what the patient needs. It's individualized care."

    Many other programs, he claims, treat one addict like another and don't address the specific differences between different kinds of drugs or alcohol.

    Often, when treating a client, Terhaar says, the first step is to explain to the client what's going on in his or her brain. This is different for every type of drug, from methamphetamines to alcohol, he says.

    "We train our counselors to understand the neurobiology of every drug so they can explain to the user what's happening to them," he says. "It's no different than a dentist explaining why your tooth is bad, or an oncologist explaining where your cancer is and how to treat it. It helps clients understand their cravings and compulsions. Then, they are motivated to take steps to continue abstinence."

    As an example, he says, a person using methamphetamines for the first time experiences huge explosions of the chemicals dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in their brain. These chemicals cause the user to experience unusually intense feelings of pleasure, euphoria, and satisfaction. However, afterwards, the level of these chemicals drops far below normal because they are all used up from the drug's rush, Terhaar says.

    This causes the user to seek the drug again, but he or she can't achieve the same intense high as on the first use, he says, because with each use, the user's level of these chemicals decreases even more.

    "This is the nature of all addictions," Terhaar says. "It's a system of diminishing returns."

    He says he had one client here who was addicted to opiates and alcohol and sought treatment with Harmony Grove. On the client's third session, with his family present, Terhaar says he used neurobiology to explain to the client and family members what the addiction was doing to his brain.

     "He then understood what was happening to him. We did not have to confront him about his denial. That's old," Terhaar says. "Instead, we empowered him to accept help."

    In addition to using neurobiology, the clinic also puts an emphasis on treating past traumas that can lead users to become addicted, using a psychotherapy method known as EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, Terhaar says.

    EMDR is an information-processing therapy that uses eight stages to identify past traumas or issues, the current situations that trigger destructive behavior, and the positive experiences needed to overcome them, he says.

    "EMDR provides a person with the capacity to deal with past trauma, which then supports recovery," Terhaar says.

    For Harmony Grove's future, Terhaar says the clinic's goal is to grow as the need here for its services increases.

    "We want to grow and meet the need with personable and personalized recovery that supports the whole family," he says.

    Terhaar also hosts a weekly radio show Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. on the VoiceAmerica-Health and Wellness website radio channel that deals with contemporary addiction issues. Terhaar claims that his show takes a different approach to addiction than other media outlets.

    "In the media, addiction has been about celebrities that crash, or die, or go to jail," he says. "Rarely do they cover any innovations, what works for treatment, what the challenges are."

    As an example, Terhaar says, the show recently had a discussion about the explosion of opioids, such as Oxycodone, opioid addiction, and the different facets of those who become addicted to the drug.

    "We asked, 'How do you distinguish between an addict with real pain, and those who use recreationally?'" Terhaar says.

    To answer that and other related questions, he says, he had a pain management expert on the show to discuss the differences and how to manage chronic pain without using opioids.

    "We cover contemporary issues in addiction recovery, but we do it with hope, science, and personal testimony," Terhaar says.

    Terhaar, who has been a chemical dependency counselor here for more than 30 years, earned his undergraduate degree in education and psychology from Central Washington University in 1977. He went on to complete a master's in counseling psychology from Eastern Washington University, as well as a doctorate in leadership studies from Gonzaga University. He also completed a certificate in alcohol studies and additional graduate work in clinical psychology at EWU.

    Before purchasing Harmony Grove, Terhaar was in private practice as the owner and director of Intervention Specialists LLC, which he still runs in tandem with Harmony Grove. He was also an adjunct professor at Spokane Falls Community College from 2004 to 2011, and EWU from 2000 to 2009. Terhaar taught classes in chemical dependency, ethics, pharmacology, and prevention.