Footprints to Recovery – Illinois

Footprints to Recovery Illinois

Footprints to Recovery

Elgin, Illinois

Just an hour outside of Chicago, Footprints to Recovery in Elgin, IL offers a full continuum of care in a home-like setting. Treatment facilities are comfortable and include a state-of-the-art gym. Our team includes highly experienced clinicians who provide evidence-based, compassionate care. We tailor treatment to the needs and preferences of each client and draw on both traditional and alternative approaches.
FOOTPRINTS TO RECOVERY logo

411 West River Road
Elgin, IL 60123
United States
(877) 210-5807

Our Treatment Facility​

What to Expect at Footprints to Recovery

Illinois

Just an hour outside of Chicago, Footprints to Recovery in Elgin, IL provides evidence-based, trauma-focused treatment for substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders in a home-like setting. With a full continuum of care that includes medical detox, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, and outpatient treatment, we’re able to meet clients wherever they are on their recovery journey.

Our staff is highly credentialed and compassionate addiction experts. They tailor substance abuse treatment to each client’s individual needs, experiences, and goals. Our integrated clinical approach includes traditional therapies like individual, group, and family therapy as well as alternative approaches such as EMDR, massage therapy, yoga, acupuncture, and fitness.

Treatment Programs

Levels of care at our Illinois rehab include:
Medical Detox For many clients, drug and alcohol detox is the first step in their recovery journey. Our Illinois addiction treatment center provides medical detox in a safe, home-like environment. Our skilled medical team ensures detox is safe and as comfortable as possible with around-the-clock care. They ease withdrawal symptoms with research-backed medications, continuously assess vital signs, and immediately attend to any emergencies. Clients have the option of private rooms and are encouraged to participate in therapy as they feel better. Alcohol and drug detox includes:

Inpatient Treatment
Our residential treatment program provides a live-in treatment setting where clients can get space away from triggers and focus on themselves and getting better. Our highly experienced treatment team helps clients address underlying issues that have fueled their substance abuse like co-occurring mental health disorders, trauma, and other challenges.

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
Our PHP program provides clients 5 hours of structured treatment programming throughout the day, 5 days a week. Clients can live at home or at our recovery home right next door to the treatment facility.

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
Our intensive outpatient program focuses on self-discovery, integration back into society, and regular responsibilities. IOP is a step down from PHP. Clients attend treatment for 9 to 15 hours per week but have the flexibility of living at our sober living residences or at home while attending sessions at our Illinois rehab center in the days or evenings.

Outpatient Program
Our outpatient program is the last step before transitioning into full independence in recovery. It’s structured around sessions meeting three hours per day, one to two days per week. Clients have a supportive place to process stressful situations and continue learning how to handle sobriety while living at home and maintaining a regular work and family schedule.

Therapies

We use a combination of traditional and experiential approaches that may include:

Illinois Leadership

Natalie Thukkaram

Natalie Pflueger, MS, LCPC, CADC, NCC

Chief Operating Officer

Natalie Pflueger is the chief operating officer for Footprints to Recovery in Illinois, Colorado, and California. Natalie brings over 15 years of diverse experience in behavioral health treatment to her leadership role with Aliya Health Group. Her background in treatment and management across the full spectrum of clinical populations, age groups, levels of care, and settings is invaluable as she oversees operations, manages multidisciplinary team members, nurtures organizational culture, and helps staff meet the diverse needs of our evolving client population.

Natalie’s career path has led her through several distinguished positions that include clinical, admissions, communications, and supervisory roles in behavioral health treatment for adolescents with substance use and eating disorders, adults and youth with high-acuity mental health diagnoses, hospice care patients and their loved ones, geriatric patients, and children in foster care, to name a few. Natalie earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Governors State University and a master’s degree in community mental health counseling from National Louis University. She is a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor (CADC), a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC), a national certified counselor (NCC), and has completed training at the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) as well as a leadership seminar through the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA).

Natalie holds great admiration and pride for the teams she builds and watching them grow, come together, and achieve the extraordinary. She credits the people in her life that took the time to love her unconditionally and saw something in her when she was not yet able, for her ability to feel hopeful for clients or staff who haven’t yet recognized the extent of their gifts and potential.

Justin Wolfe, LCPC, CADC, CRC, PCGC​

Justin Wolfe, LCPC, CADC, CRC, PCGC

Director of Clinical Services

As clinical director at our Elgin treatment center, Justin Wolfe provides support, supervision, and leadership to our clinical team. He oversees and builds our clinical program and ensures clients receive exceptional care. Justin earned a master’s in counseling with a specialization in rehabilitation from Adler University. He is a certified alcohol and drug counselor (CADC), certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC), and a problematic and compulsive gambling counselor (PCGC). Before joining Footprints to Recovery, Justin served in several roles at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health, including manager of outpatient addiction services, clinical supervisor of addiction services, and lead clinical therapist. He has also worked in private practice and as a counselor for youth and family services organizations.

Justin says a traumatic brain injury from an automobile accident and the tragic death of a friend flipped his world upside down but ultimately led him to a place of healing that inspired him to get into the behavioral health field. He hopes to provide the same guidance and support that he received during that difficult time to others. Seeing clients find hope and move forward in their lives — and playing a part in that — is what Justin finds most rewarding about this work. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, coaching his kids’ soccer teams, working out, and rooting on the St. Louis Cardinals.

Laurie Hadler

Laurie Hadler, MSW, LCSW

Director of Outpatient Services

Laurie Hadler brings three decades of experience in behavioral health treatment to her role as director of outpatient services for Footprints to Recovery’s Illinois location. A licensed social worker, she joined Footprints in 2018 as a senior therapist and has been promoted twice during her tenure. Laurie oversees all outpatient programming and outpatient clinical staff. She received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois and an advanced MBA certificate from Tulane University.  Laurie has worked in behavioral health treatment her entire career. Prior to joining Footprints, she held roles such as counselor, therapist, clinical supervisor, and clinical director.

Laurie fell in love with the behavioral health field after working as a counselor for three years when she was unable to find a position as a probation officer as she had intended. Seeing clients grow, get better, and especially when they reach out and say they are clean, sober, and enjoying life is what she finds most rewarding about this work. In her free time, Laurie enjoys attending concerts, watching movies and crime shows, and rooting on her favorite sports teams.

Samantha Machniak-Cedano

Samantha Machniak-Cedano, LCPC, CADC

Director of Inpatient Services

Samantha Machniak-Cedano joined Footprints to Recovery in 2022 and oversees our Elgin treatment program and the clinical team as director of inpatient services. Prior to her role at Footprints, Samantha worked with youth with developmental disabilities; women with eating disorders, trauma, and co-occurring disorders; and adults with substance use disorders. Samantha has over eight years of experience in behavioral health. Samantha earned a master’s degree in counseling and is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) and Certified Alcohol Drug Counselor (CADC).

Samantha entered the behavioral health field to fight the stigma of substance use disorders through education and providing support to not only those who struggle with drug and alcohol use, but their families as well. Building connections with people who feel they have lost all hope is what she finds most rewarding about this work.

“I highly recommend this facility for anyone needing treatment. The staff isn’t just nice and genuine there but instead one big family. Whether it’s the owner, housing manager, or a bht you get the best down to earth genuine care. The material they teach in group is very helpful also.”
– APRIL P.

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