White Bison Wellbriety Program in South Bend, Indiana

How Wellbriety Supports Connection During Treatment

Wellbriety groups give people structured ways to listen, reflect, create, and build supportive relationships. Most may be open to anyone in treatment when clinically appropriate. Native American and Alaska Native participants also have access to dedicated peer support and cultural guidance.

Three Wellbriety Talking Circles Each Week

During a Talking Circle, one person speaks at a time while others listen without interruption. You may share or choose to pass. Discussions can include recovery, trauma, grief, identity, family, responsibility, and the support you need. Reflection and storytelling help people build trust and learn from one another.

Cultural Learning, Creative Expression, and Life Skills

Weekly groups may include traditional arts, storytelling, creative expression, and practical life skills. The Cultural Advisor shares teachings from his Anishinaabe heritage while encouraging Native participants to reconnect with the traditions and languages of their own Tribal Nations. This respects the diversity of Native cultures without presenting one Nation as the standard.

Weekly Native Peer-Led Recovery Group

This weekly group is reserved for Native American and Alaska Native participants. It provides a dedicated place to connect with peers who understand why culture, identity, family, and community matter in recovery. Participants choose the discussions, activities, and support they need each week. Topics may include recovery, grief, family, cultural connection, teachings from Elders, or current challenges.

One-on-One Cultural and Spiritual Guidance

Native participants can meet individually with a Cultural Advisor for spiritual guidance, cultural education, or support reconnecting with traditions that are meaningful to them.

Tribal and Community Support During and After Treatment

With your permission, the care team can participate in tribal meetings, coordinate with tribal support teams, and include community resources in your treatment and discharge plans. This helps keep care connected to the people, relationships, and organizations that can continue supporting you after treatment.

Traditional Practices Supported with Native Guidance

Traditional practices may be included when appropriate cultural guidance, community partnership, and Tribal protocols are in place. Support may include:

Smudging
Prayer and reflection circles
Traditional medicine support
Seasonal ceremonies and events

Traditional sweat lodge

Indiana Center for Recovery does not lead, copy, or recreate sacred ceremonies from another Tribal Nation. Cultural practices are supported only when they are invited, properly guided, and appropriate.

Cultural and spiritual activities are never required. You can talk with the treatment team and cultural advisor about what you want to include in your care.

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What White Bison Certification Means for Your Care

White Bison certification shows that culturally responsive care is part of how the treatment center operates, not a one-time activity. Certified treatment centers must:

Use Wellbriety curriculum and recovery materials
Train counselors to use the Wellbriety approach
Offer one-on-one counseling
Provide access to a Native Elder for teachings and ceremonies
Make room for traditional healing practices, such as smudging or sweat lodge ceremonies, when appropriate
Build aftercare plans with community referrals and continued recovery resources

White Bison reviews certified treatment centers each year, adding accountability and helping ensure cultural care remains part of the program.

The program is also guided by the Seven Grandfathers’ Teachings: wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth. The Medicine Wheel provides a framework for balance across emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health. Because teachings and protocols vary among Nations, care is delivered with cultural humility and respect.

Wellbriety with Detox, Residential, Psychiatric, and Outpatient Treatment

At Indiana Center for Recovery South Bend, Wellbriety can be part of a personalized addiction or mental health treatment plan. Depending on your needs, you may receive medical detox, residential treatment, inpatient psychiatric care, or outpatient treatment. These services provide medical, psychiatric, and therapeutic care while Wellbriety makes room for culture, identity, community, and spiritual wellness.

Advanced Treatment Options Available in South Bend

Your treatment plan may also include advanced options when they fit your diagnosis, symptoms, and
medical needs.

A mental health professional and patient sit facing each other during an EMDR therapy session

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR uses guided eye movements to rewire the brain’s response to distressing memories — healing trauma without talking through every detail.

GeneSight genetic testing sample preparation.

GeneSight® Testing

GeneSight is an advanced genetic test that shows how your genes affect medication response — taking out the guesswork for faster relief, fewer meds, and less frustration.

Transcranial-Magnetic-Stimulation-Therapy

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

TMS is a noninvasive, FDA-approved treatment that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain — improving mood, energy, and focus without side effects.

Spravato Ketamine Therapy

Spravato® is a fast-acting esketamine nasal spray for severe or treatment-resistant depression. With medical supervision, it can relieve symptoms within hours.

NAD+ IV Therapy

NAD+ is a natural coenzyme that repairs cells and boosts energy. During detox, it eases withdrawal, curbs cravings, and improves mood to feel clear-headed and stable faster without side effects.

Meet the Wellbriety Team at ICFR South Bend

The Wellbriety team combines clinical care, peer support, cultural guidance, case management, and hands-on programming.

Advisor

Fred Jacko

Cultural Advisor

Fred is an Anishinaabe Cultural Practitioner and Peacemaker from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Guided by the Seven Grandfather Teachings and the belief that every person is a sacred being worthy of compassion and love, he brings clarity, balance, and cultural respect to his work. With over 15 years of experience working in Indian Country and serving Tribal Citizens, Fred guides talking circles and teaches culturally relevant crafts that help guests reconnect with identity, tradition, and personal meaning. He also consults with ICFR to ensure culturally specific needs, practices, and protocols are honored for American Indian guests of the facility.

THERAPIST

Heather Young, LSW, MSW

Tribal Therapist

Heather Young provides mental health and addiction treatment to Native American patients while approaching each Nation and community with cultural humility. Heather is also a certified facilitator of Mending Broken Hearts: Healing Unresolved Grief, strengthening her ability to address grief, trauma, connection, and recovery within the Wellbriety Program. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and received Indiana University South Bend’s BSW Student Award for Commitment to Social Justice and Human Rights in 2023.

Manager

Liz Adair, BSW

Case Manager

Liz Adair brings seven years of social services experience to the Wellbriety Program, including six years with the Indiana Department of Child Services as a Permanency Family Case Manager and in other roles. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Indiana University South Bend and is a certified facilitator of Mending Broken Hearts: Healing Unresolved Grief. Her experience with substance use, mental health conditions, homelessness, child welfare, and Native communities helps her bring a culturally responsive, family-centered perspective to case management and Wellbriety groups.

Facilitator

Savannah Citter

Healing Space Facilitator

Savannah Citter develops hands-on behavioral health programming that helps people build practical coping skills and connect with recovery outside traditional therapy groups. She created ICFR South Bend’s Nature Therapy Program from the ground up and coordinates equine-assisted therapy through Reins of Life. Savannah also helps facilitate Wellbriety groups focused on connection, cultural respect, and whole-person healing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies with a minor in nutrition from Indiana University South Bend, giving her a distinctive understanding of how environment, community, physical wellness, and emotional health work together.

One Point of Contact for Tribal Referrals and Placement

When a Native person, family, or tribal partner reaches out, the Tribal Liaison coordinates directly with admissions, program staff, and clinical leadership. This provides one consistent point of contact and helps keep important information from getting lost between departments.

If private insurance must be verified, the liaison stays involved while admissions reviews benefits and treatment options. When coverage is unavailable or insufficient, the liaison may work with the person’s Tribe to explore funding and contracted tribal rates.

If ICFR cannot provide the needed care or accept the person’s coverage, the liaison can help identify other options, including facilities that accept Medicaid. The goal is to help each person find an appropriate next step, even when it is not at ICFR.

Need Help Getting Started?

Talk with our Tribal Partnerships team for help finding the right program, navigating private insurance, tribal funding, Medicaid placement, and determining the next appropriate level of care.

Talk With Our Tribal Liaison

Dominic Milano
Director of Partnerships

Call/Text: (347) 804-4055

Allen King
Tribal Partnerships Manager

Call/Text: (602) 405-3889

Common Questions About the Wellbriety Program

Wellbriety welcomes anyone in treatment when clinically appropriate. Some peer and cultural supports are reserved for Native American and Alaska Native participants.

No. You may have grown up close to your Nation and traditions, or you may be reconnecting after years of distance. You do not have to prove how connected you are to receive care.

No. You choose whether to participate. Availability also depends on proper cultural guidance, clinical needs, and the protocols connected to each practice.

Yes, with your permission and when appropriate. The team can join tribal meetings, coordinate with support teams, and include community resources in discharge planning.

Yes. The South Bend location offers detox, residential treatment, inpatient psychiatric care, outpatient services, therapy, medication management, and care for co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions.

Yes. Medication management and medication-assisted treatment may be included when clinically appropriate. Advanced options such as GeneSight®, TMS, and Spravato® are also available for people who meet clinical requirements.

Private insurance may cover treatment. When appropriate, the Tribal Liaison may also work with a person’s Tribe to explore funding. If ICFR cannot accept the person’s coverage, the liaison can help identify other treatment options, including facilities that accept Medicaid.

Call or text Indiana Center for Recovery 24/7. You can ask about program fit, insurance, availability, transportation, and the next step without committing to treatment.