Woods leaving WestBridge, will launch consulting operation

Mary Ryan Woods, RNC, LADC, the co-founder and longtime CEO of a treatment organization that has set a standard for integrated care for co-occurring addiction and mental health disorders, has announced her retirement from WestBridge and is launching a consulting operation.

Woods has been with WestBridge, which has facilities in New Hampshire and Florida, since the organization's 2001 formation. She has taken prominent stands on numerous issues to improve the status and professionalism of the field, from offering leadership guidance to maximizing family involvement in care to promoting use of person-centered language in the treatment setting. WestBridge refers to the young men with whom it works as “participants” in the treatment process, as opposed to “clients” or “patients.”

“As a result of the commitment of the Board of Directors, we were able to create one of the best dual-diagnosis programs in the country and I know the staff are committed to continue that level of excellence,” Woods said this week in a news release announcing her departure from WestBridge. Among her other efforts in the area of dual diagnosis, Woods contributed to the development of the Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment Practitioners and Clinical Supervisors Workbook and Practice Demonstration Video.

The news release from the treatment organization adds that Woods “helped move WestBridge into national prominence as a thought leader known for exceptional recovery outcomes and innovative care.”

Woods served as WestBridge's first CEO and transitioned to the role of president last year. Steven M. Berry, MBA, now serves as WestBridge's chief executive.

During her tenure as president of NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals from 2004 to 2006, Woods was instrumental in helping to shape the content of Addiction Professional in its early years, then as NAADAC's official publication.

She also has played a pivotal role in the design of the curriculum for the annual National Conference on Alcohol & Addiction Disorders (NCAD), including by serving as a conference advisory board member and as a frequent conference panelist and solo presenter.

She has taught in the social work department at the University of New Hampshire, and co-authored the book I Didn't CAUSE It, I Can't CHANGE It: How Mothers of Adult Children with Co-Occurring Disorders Have Coped.