Support for all: TrueNorth Treatment Center celebrates 5 years in operation

It was just last month Dr. Travis Morrison and his wife Lauren Morrison celebrated the five-year anniversary since opening TrueNorth Treatment Center, a licensed mental health and substance abuse treatment facility serving men and women, at 121 E. Second St.

And in that half-decade, there’s been a lot of moving parts that have helped the organization grow and serve the community as much as possible despite the journey itself being unpredictable.

The treatment center, which opened up in April 2019 on the fourth floor of the former McAtee’s building offering mental health and substance use assessments, individual counseling sessions and a person-centered treatment approach, has expanded “tremendously,” according to Lauren Morrison, LCSW, LCADC and TrueNorth’s executive director.

“I never planned on working here full-time,” Lauren Morrison said with a laugh. “... I thought that would have maybe one portion of the fourth floor. … For it to be five years, (it’s) way more than we expected.”

“It is fantastic, and we are very lucky to make it to five years,” said Travis Morrison, DSW, LCSW, LCADC and the agency’s clinical director.

But the history of TrueNorth began before the Morrisons.

It initially started two years prior as a sober living facility for women under the direction of founder and former Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Lewis-Seaton before the Morrisons came on board with their wealth of experiences.

“Travis and I had both been licensed clinicians for about 15 years. His whole career has been working in the substance abuse and mental health field. I started working in doing behavioral health therapy for kids and adults with special needs … for about 10 years,” Lauren Morrison said. “At some point, we both started working in the prison system (where) we were doing group therapy for inmates for mental health and substance use disorders (and) primarily working in a program that was helping men in segregation at Kentucky State Penitentiary.”

Eventually, Lauren Morrison said she and her husband noticed their collective expertise and expertise would be beneficial near home.

“Like so many people in our community, substance use issues and mental health have touched our lives, specifically our families,” Lauren Morrison said, “so we really realized that there was quite a need for these types of services in the community (and) we decided that we would do it locally ….”

Shortly after partnering up, TrueNorth opened up its treatment facility in Owensboro before the Morrisons would go on to become the sole owners of the agency over two years following Lewis-Seaton’s departure from the organization.

Though the initial sober living facility under Lewis-Seaton’s tenure closed, the Morrisons didn’t miss a beat and started their own, certified by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR), and “added a lot of more beds.”

“It started out with us housing 24 women,” Lauren Morrison said, “and now we house more than 100 people, both men and women.”

However, just short of a year after the treatment center opened, the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic became present, causing disruption in the agency’s in-person programs and services.

While the company had to pivot to telehealth and other technological means, the Morrisons found the pandemic was more of a help than a hindrance.

“We actually grew tremendously during that time because there was such a need for support and services, specifically for people for substance use disorder or mental health issues,” Lauren Morrison said.

Though Lauren Morrison said some of the clients may not have had the means to use the internet or phones, that didn’t stop the organization from still providing care.

“... We had some people coming up here, we had some people going to the park,” she said. “... A thing that we’re really big on is meeting the client where they’re at; and we really had to step up and do that.”

“... (It) gave us the flexibility and freedom to be able to operate (in the office) but also … really work with the clients in real-time with what they (needed) and how they (needed) to do it in a way that (was beneficial),” Travis Morrison said.

Since then, TrueNorth has flourished with now offering partial hospitalization, an intensive outpatient program (IOP), a standard outpatient program and a specialized mental health IOP, along with staffing two nurse practitioners providing medication management and additional programs, some geared towards all ages.

The organization also has more of a presence in the building, now spanning a total of three floors.

Additionally, the agency has gone beyond the Daviess County lines by opening a second treatment center in Central City out in Muhlenberg County two years ago.

Lauren Morrison said the focus of TrueNorth is to provide “a safe and welcoming environment that provides dignity and respect to everyone who walks through the door” by emphasizing support and quality care.

And that means the employees, too, which has risen from three to a total of 55 — with a majority staffed at the Owensboro center.

“We focus on that with our staff; we focus on that with the supervision we provide to the staff,” Lauren Morrison said. “Staff development is a big part of what we do.”

In a previous article in the Messenger-Inquirer dated September 2019, Travis Morrison said the organization’s intent was “to provide an environment that helps individuals reach their full potential.”

As of Tuesday, he feels this has come to fruition and then some.

“That is still our intention … but … we now do that with staff and professional development; which then, in turn, helps that staff help assist the client,” he said. “And to expand that, we now have the opportunity both here and Central City to have clients that have completed this program and the program in Central City and are now employed by this program and Central City.

“... In some cases, we’ve been fortunate enough to assist clients transition into a professional role.”

Though some days can be stressful and emotionally difficult, the Morrisons still enjoy coming in and showing up.

“We are still in contact with a large number of people that have graduated from our program. They still come up and visit,” Lauren Morrison said. “Seeing the success that they have and the success that our staff has (is) the reason (I’m here).”

“... What we attempt to impart to the clients through recovery is we’re role modeling what we believe to be our level of success to our children,” Travis Morrison said. “... That’s a big part of what keeps me pushing and going.”

For more information about TrueNorth Treatment Center, visit truenorthky.com.