About Us
Our Mission
Origins of the Project
Healing Arts for Recovery began as a research-driven initiative designed to address two challenges in addiction treatment: limited access to creative therapies and real-life financial challenges that many times act as barriers to engaging in appropriate and holistic treatment – e.g., contingency management.*
The project was created with a dual purpose. First, we aim to directly support individuals working toward recovery by helping them access services that can strengthen emotional resilience and engagement in treatment. Second, we seek to generate meaningful data about how these services influence recovery outcomes.
By operating as both a recovery support program and a research initiative, Healing Arts for Recovery hopes to demonstrate that expanding access to creative therapies can improve treatment engagement and help more individuals build sustainable paths to long-term sobriety.
*INSERT BUBBLE with the content: Contingency Management is a proven and widely used behavioral therapy technique, supported by decades of academic research and extensive clinical implementations, that uses tangible rewards to reinforce positive behaviors, such as abstinence from substances. By offering incentives for meeting treatment goals, it has been shown to significantly enhance engagement and long-term success in addiction recovery.
Our Theory of Change
Our work is guided by a simple but powerful idea: when individuals are given meaningful tools to engage in recovery—and when barriers to those tools are removed—outcomes improve.
Creative therapies such as music and art therapy can strengthen emotional resilience and deepen engagement in the recovery process. However, these services are often inaccessible because they are rarely covered by insurance.
Healing Arts for Recovery addresses this gap by helping remove financial barriers to participation while also providing supportive cash bonuses assist in daily life financial needs while reinforcing recovery behaviors. By combining creative therapy access, structured engagement, and measurable incentives via contingency management, the program encourages consistent participation in recovery activities.
At the same time, we track participation and outcomes to generate data that can help inform future addiction treatment policy and expand access to these therapies nationwide.
Organizational Structure
Healing Arts for Recovery operates with a governance and operational structure designed to ensure accountability, transparency, and effective program delivery.
Leadership and program operations include:
- Board of Trustees providing strategic oversight and governance
- Program Administrators responsible for day-to-day operations and participant support
- Licensed Social Worker on Staff who assists with participant engagement and program guidance
- Research and Evaluation Partners who help analyze program outcomes and support the project’s learning agenda
This structure allows the organization to balance compassionate participant support with rigorous program oversight and data collection. By combining operational experience with research expertise, Healing Arts for Recovery can both deliver meaningful services and generate insights that inform broader recovery initiatives.
Policy Influencing Vision
Healing Arts for Recovery was designed not only to support individuals today, but also to help shape more effective recovery systems in the future. Many promising therapeutic approaches remain underutilized simply because policymakers and healthcare systems lack clear evidence about their real-world impact.
Our program seeks to help fill that gap through a structured learning process:
- Operate a structured assistance program that encourages music and art therapy engagement and rewards sobriety via contingency management incentives
- Track outcomes and participant engagement throughout the recovery process
- Analyze results and publish findings in partnership with research and evaluation experts
- Present evidence to policymakers and healthcare leaders to inform future treatment policies
By combining direct service with careful evaluation, Healing Arts for Recovery aims to help expand access to creative therapies within addiction treatment systems.
Areas We Serve
Healing Arts for Recovery is building a network of program support across several regions of the United States, focusing particularly on communities where access to recovery services can be limited.
Our program is currently designed to operate in the following states, with plans for continued expansion as the initiative grows:
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Maryland
- California
- Texas
As the program develops, we aim to expand into additional regions where individuals face significant barriers to accessing creative therapies and recovery services. Our long-term goal is to build a model that can be replicated across communities nationwide.
A map of current and planned service areas is provided below.