Espenshade Counseling

Espenshade Counseling, based in Denver, CO, is one of the SAMHSA-registered treatment programs operating in CO. The facility's programming is outpatient (Outpatient, Dual Dx), not residential. What this page can help with is the frame — what to ask, what to verify, what to compare against.

Care levels at Espenshade Counseling

Espenshade 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. The useful move is to have an ASAM-aligned assessment done before admission — ideally by someone outside the facility's admissions team — to confirm that the level of care offered here is what the clinical picture calls for.

Insurance and payment

Espenshade 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. If that matches what you or your family member need, great — and worth asking specifically about what the programming looks like day-to-day (how many hours per week of specialty-specific content, who leads it, what credentials they hold).

Before you call

The three questions that consistently separate programs worth considering from programs worth skipping: ASAM level of care match; written VOB for your plan; MAT policy. If the clinical situation involves opioid use disorder, confirm explicitly whether Espenshade Counseling offers medication-assisted treatment — buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone. Programs that do not are operating outside the current standard of care. Programs that cannot answer all three quickly are programs worth approaching with caution.