Asheville Addiction Program Continues to Attract the Best People

Next Step Recovery, based in Asheville, North Carolina, has revealed that their unique treatment model with features, such as bringing fun to addiction recovery and taking a holistic approach to recovery, has allowed them to attract the best people. They have been able to attract people like Alex Mandikos, who is their lead therapist. Last January 2020, Bryan Johnson had joined them as the new director of business development. And recently, John E. Ferris and Luana Olavarria joined the team as admissions coordinators.

Alex Mandikos, MSW, LCAS-A, explains their approach, “Yes we're doing serious work, but we're also having fun. And we truly take a holistic approach because a lot of times an addiction treatment seems like just removing the substance but that’s to me that’s where the work begins. It’s like, okay, we’ve put down the substance and now let’s focus on all areas of our personal development and life path, meaning emotional development, physical development, and then social and even spiritual development. And so we’re truly working on the person building a foundation from the ground up to get them to where they need to be live a happy and successful life.”

Bryan Johnson, the new director of business development, had participated in researching sober living environments and several extended care models during his tenure with DePaul University. He was able to publish articles on sober living and extended care. He has also been professionally trained in different models of intervention. He became familiar with Next Step Recovery when he visited more than 200 treatment centers across the US, and he realized that their model for recovery is a cut above the rest.

Next Step Recovery staff stories abound on what makes the facility unique. For instance, Luana Olavarria says, “When I was introduced to Susan, I felt like I’d met a kindred spirit, someone who truly values the best interest of the client. After meeting the rest of the team, it was clear to me that I needed to be part of Next Step team.”

Luana has several years of experience working as an admissions director. This experience, combined with her Master’s level clinical education and nine years of Al-Anon, is what qualifies her to work with families and clients when they make their first call to Next Step. She says, “A sense of urgency and compassion comes naturally for me on every call, to make every client and their families feel confident that they’ll get the help they need.”

What they provide is an Asheville extended care and sober living program for men. This is why their addiction treatment program is considered to be one of the best in Asheville, primarily because it results into personal transformation and recovery.

What Next Step Recovery does is to use compassion, structure, and community to offer the continuum of care that is required for sustainable recovery. Their focus is to help the men make lifelong changes that will lead to healthier daily habits, relationships, and overall well-being.

Meanwhile, John E. Ferris, the other newly hired admissions coordinator, says, “I’ve been fortunate to see programs of all shapes and sizes. Next Step is one of those very rare gems you see amongst the hustle and bustle that does what it says it does to help its patients. I love that and that is precisely why I wanted to work with Susan.”

John started working as a mental health technician at a non-profit mental health institution in 2006 and he gradually worked his way up the ladder. He has also been able to see various treatment programs of various shapes and sizes.

With such stories from staff like Bryan, Alex, Luana, and John, Next Step Recovery is indeed a unique addiction treatment facility that offers a continuum of extended care for sustainable recovery. Their program has served as proof that freedom from addiction is indeed possible and that it is currently happening in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

People who would like to learn more about the services offered by Next Step Recovery or want to hear more Next Step stories can check out their website, or contact them through the telephone.