West End Clinic

The West End Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital is an outpatient facility for those with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders.

The clinic offers a wide range of outpatient therapies, including:

• Intensive outpatient programs
• Individual, family and group therapy
• Treatment planning
• Medication treatment management

The clinic also offers educational and treatment resources for people with substance use disorders. In addition to providing treatment and education, the West End Clinic helps patients and families navigate what can be burdensome insurance issues.

We work with each patient to determine the best course of treatment, and this multidisciplinary approach helps ensure our patients and their families receive the best care possible.

Clinical Services

The West End Clinic offers a wide variety of treatment options for people with all types of substance use disorders and addictive behavior. We work with each patient to review your history, understand your current needs and make recommendations for the most appropriate treatment options.

Outpatient Care for Addiction

The West End Clinic provides comprehensive evaluation of alcohol and other substance use disorders, including individualized treatment planning and referrals.

The West End Clinic also provides resources for hospital staff concerning issues of patient management, treatment, planning and resources, discharge planning, employee assistance and general information on substance use disorders. The West End Clinic maintains special clinical ties to other service areas, including Infectious Diseases and HIV, OB/GYN, Geriatric Medicine, Liver and Kidney Transplant and the Pain Management Center, due to the high rate of co-occurring medical issues and substance use disorders.

Group Therapy

The West End Clinic offers diverse modalities for group therapy and are held at the West End Clinic, located at Massachusetts General Hospital. See our group therapy listing to learn more about the groups we offer each week.

See group therapy options

How to Enroll 

Any patient interested in enrolling in group therapy at the West End Clinic must have a Mass General primary care physician (PCP) or specialist and must complete a new patient evaluation prior to enrolling. For more questions, please contact the West End Clinic at 617-724-2480.

Intensive Outpatient Care for Addiction

The Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) serves as step-down care for patients who received detoxification and medical care who are ready for treatment but have had little or no outpatient treatment in the past. For patients who are currently outpatient but need to have more services to achieve recovery, IOP serves as a higher level of care. We accept patients over 18 years old.

The IOP provides services three hours a day, three days a week, for four weeks:

• Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

The program provides curriculum-based psycho-education group followed by a process group for patients with co-morbid mental health and substance use disorder diagnoses provide in a group format. The curriculum includes topics such as:

• Biology of addiction
• Process of addiction and recovery
• Basic recovery skills, such as managing cravings, self-care and mood management
• Using family, social and community-based resources as support in recovery

Each patient is assigned a provider for individual check-ins during the course of the week. The IOP team meets three times a week for rounds to discuss patients. During these meetings, the team reviews the patient progress, or problems, and noncompliance. Individual providers communicate the suggestions or feedback with each patient.

One very important piece of our program is the psychopharmacology evaluation. Medication management is usually provided once a week but occurs more often if need be. In addition to commonly used psychiatric medication, we provide treatment with medications to treat specific to addiction issues, such as naltrexone, acamprosate, disulfiram, topiramate and buprenorphine (Suboxone®).

During their IOP treatment patients receive case management services for issues related to housing, disability, FMLA, legal, coordination of care, communication with other providers.

There is medical coverage every day for all WEC patients, including IOP patients. It is not uncommon that IOP patients may need to be assessed by a clinician during their treatment with us for issues such as medication side effects, sedation, withdrawal symptoms or safety issues.

Facilitated by: Lisa Du Breuil, LICSW, Shayna Bassett, PhD, Estee Sharon, PsyD

Couple & Family Therapy

Recovery & Relationship Enhancement Program: A Service for Couples, Families and Supportive Significant Others

The Recovery & Relationship Enhancement Program invites family members or friends – generally called “supportive significant others” (SSO) - to actively participate in the treatment of their loved ones and enhance support for recovery through education and explorations of the impact of addiction and recovery on both patients and their families. Research has shown that SSO involvement can help improve treatment outcomes. Motivational interviewing strategies are used to explore patients’ thoughts about having SSO involvement and encourage them to join the program.

Once patients with substance use disorders undergo intake at the West End Clinic and actively pursue our services, they become eligible for this program.

Facilitated by: Estee Sharon, PsyD, Marc Bolduc, LICSW, and Jennifer Blewett, LICSW

Therapy Options

There are two ways to access the program:

• Intermittent family therapy sessions – sessions include patients and supportive people in their lives (such as family, friends, AA fellows, clergy)
  • The primary purpose of these sessions is education and support.
• Ongoing family or couples’ therapy – sessions include patients and SSOs with a focus on:
  • Understanding that as much as the patient is in recovery, so are his\her nuclear or extended family and friends
  • Exploring communication styles to establish open and honest ways of connecting
  • Mapping relational patterns to eliminate enabling behaviors and introduce smoother and healthier interpersonal dynamic

Medication Management

Vivitrol® (Naltrexone IM) Injection Clinic

Vivitrol® is FDA approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorders and opioid use disorders. Naltrexone in intramuscular form (Vivitrol®) has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and assisting in sobriety. Patients who are able to abstain from alcohol (even for a short time) are appropriate for an injection of intramuscular naltrexone.

The West End Clinic oversees an injection clinic based in Cox 1 at Mass General where intramuscular naltrexone can be administered. We will assist in evaluating criteria for naltrexone as well as prior authorization related to the medication.

Suboxone® Outpatient Program

Opioid-dependent patients who are in need and eligible for office-based opioid substitution therapy e.g. buprenorphine (Suboxone®) are admitted on a special track to the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

After completing a first-time evaluation with the West End Clinic and a Suboxone® evaluation with a physician, eligible patients start the IOP and are seen by our Suboxone® providers for induction. During the week of their induction, these patients are seen three to four times in that week by an MD or RN. Suboxone patients continue receive all the other services provided to IOP patients.

Upon completing the IOP, Suboxone® patients are required to attend a Suboxone® Recovery Group that meets once a week (see days offered on the Group Therapy list) for a minimum of six months. After six months, patients are reassessed and considered for more individualized treatment.

Clinical Staff

• Prajwal Acharya, Medical Assistant
• Dawna Aiello, CARC Recovery Coach
• Jennifer Blewett, DSW, LICSW, DCSW, CGP, Clinical Social Worker, Assistant Director for Community Outreach and Engagement
• Marc G Bolduc, LICSW, CADC II, CGP, Clinical Social Worker
• Stephanie Butler, RN, PMHNP-BC, Nurse Practitioner
• Lisa Du Breuil, LICSW, Clinical Social Worker
• Christoforos Iraklis Giakoumatos, MD, Psychiatrist
• Allison Labbe, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
• Toby Lynch, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Assistant Director for Psychotherapy Innovations 
• Meredith Morrison, RN, PMHNP-BC, Nurse Practitioner
• Helen Ni, LCSW, Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Care Coordinator
• Estee Sharon, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist
• Rachel Steere, DO, Psychiatrist
• Tahir Tellioglu, MD, Psychiatrist
• Alicia Ventresca, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist

Administrative Staff

• Rachel Meyers-Weinerman, Patient Service Coordinator
• Mayra Zelaya, Practice Manager

Training & Peer Supervision

In addition to providing exemplary therapeutic care to patients, the West End Clinic is dedicated to assisting Mass General trainees, including fellows, residents, medical students, psychology and social work interns and staff clinicians, who are interested in facilitating groups and would like to enhance their knowledge and therapeutic skill.

To support these goals, a peer supervision group has been organized. Within this group, each participating clinician is viewed as an essential element of a “group-as-a-whole” directed toward the understanding of group dynamics and processes. The emphasis is on the presentation of actual clinical material. Group members have the opportunity to comment on the emerging group process and to provide support for the presenting clinician who may be struggling with particular challenges or concerns. Another focus is on addressing all formal aspects of group psychotherapy, including the identification of a clinical need, linking to referral resources, accessing appropriate patient populations, legal and ethical concerns, and the assessment of group process and outcome. Effectively communicating with others involved in the patient's care and monitoring the patient’s overall progress is an overarching priority.

The peer supervision group also offers the following opportunities:

• Co-facilitation of groups in which a trainee is paired with an experienced clinician
• Didactic experiences with group therapy experts
• Initiatives to educate others and raise awareness regarding the efficacy of group therapy in substance use disorder treatment, both at Mass General and beyond
• Participation in local and national group psychotherapy associations