Aspen Counseling

If you are looking at Aspen Counseling in Denver, CO, the basics worth knowing up front: The facility's programming is outpatient (Outpatient, Dual Dx), not residential. This page walks through the questions that tend to matter most to families weighing a specific program.

Care levels at Aspen Counseling

The care-level question matters because what a facility offers is what it can realistically treat well. Aspen Counseling is an outpatient-focused program (Outpatient, Dual Dx) — patients live at home or in sober living and attend treatment sessions. This level of care is clinically appropriate for mild-to-moderate substance use disorder, or for patients stepping down from residential. Before admission, an independent clinical assessment (from a primary-care doctor, licensed substance-use counselor, or addiction-medicine physician) can confirm whether Aspen Counseling's offerings match the clinical need.

Insurance and payment

Aspen Counseling accepts both Medicaid and commercial insurance, which is the broadest payer profile and typically correlates with programs that operate at scale across the economic spectrum. The single most useful pre-admission move on insurance is requesting the facility send you — in writing, by email — the specific benefits verification for your specific plan product. That document is the answer to most post-admission billing disputes.

Specialty programming

The facility's documented specialty programming includes: Young adults, Seniors or older adults, Criminal justice (other than DUI/DWI)/Forensic clients. Specialty programming varies substantially by facility — some facilities offer "dual diagnosis" as a marketing category but not a clinical differentiator. Ask for the specific clinical-team credentials and the actual hours of specialty-specific content per week.

Before you call

Before admission to Aspen Counseling, three questions consistently produce the most useful information: (1) which ASAM level of care are you treating me at, and what is the clinical rationale; (2) can you send me a written Verification of Benefits for my specific insurance plan; (3) what is your policy on medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder — specifically, do you continue patients on buprenorphine or methadone during residential programming. If the clinical situation involves opioid use disorder, confirm explicitly whether Aspen Counseling offers medication-assisted treatment — buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone. Programs that do not are operating outside the current standard of care.