Aventa Centre of Excellence for Women with Addictions

Aventa helped save my life! The staff were very compassionate, caring, and empathetic. As a professional in the addiction field, the counsellors showed me how to be a good counsellor. The program taught me so much. I will be forever grateful to Aventa for the dedication in helping the suffering addict/ alcoholic. Thank you for your guidance on my life.

Aventa's facilities are very comfortable, clean and safe. The food is great! The staff truly care, are supportive, compassionate, and skilled. The program is excellent, working through trauma is challenging but an essential part of the healing and recovery process. I highly recommend Aventa to any woman seeking recovery.

Attending Aventa was life changing and truly helped me to recover and learn about myself in deep meaningful ways. I would recommend Aventa to any woman struggling with addiction. The amazing supportive and caring staff and the group therapy really helped me to stay recovered and learn ways to be healthier and happier . Thank you Aventa !! Best treatment center ever!!

In my over 15 years of experience working with addictions, in my opinion Aventa offers a great program for women. Working collaboratively with Aventa Centre of Excellence for Women with Addictions for 3 years is quite positive, rewarding and the staff are very supportive. The agency that I work for refer to them from the hospital. The patients that I work with would specifically request Aventa as they offer Gender specific trauma informed program and great outcomes.

I am posting this review anonymously in hopes that my story is shared. How this business chooses to perceive it, is on them. If they want to punish women for speaking up, that speaks to how they treat their Alumni. This review only seeks to prevent further harm - not attack or slander whatsoever. Out of respect, I have not mentioned names. But I will share my story about what happened because I deserve to have a voice. Isn't that what reviews are for?So, I attended this program 5+ years ago. I waited until I healed from the trauma that this place subjected me to to share openly. If they choose to attack this fact, it speaks to what they stand for.I initially did the Adult program, where there was lots of bullying and a mean girls environment. Staff acted like they got it under control and cared about all clients and they did not. Constantly enabled bullying, expected me to basically “shut up” about my experiences and “get over it.” I could not speak up without getting backlash. My counselor loved to play dumb all the time. Another counselor loved loosing emotional control over herself to intimidate clients and reinforce how hard she has worked for her social work credentials.A program attendant acted like she was all about the rules but was also poor at her job and did not care about the patients in this facility. I managed to graduate because I spent copious amounts of time in their gym away from the girls in attempts to avoid the drama. Therefore, I had down time. I also only stayed in this program, not because it was useful to me but I aimed to stick it out and not make rash decisions, not because I was enjoying my time there.I moved on to the YAT program, total chaos.The YAT counselor was also a horrible counsellor. She was also not constructive in the “30 min sessions.” Due to my gym attendance and mostly sticking to the salad bar, I maintained a good shape because I made a personal choice not to eat their garbage, processed food. Others girls in YAT became jealous and started accusing me of being Bulimic when I have zero histories of this. They played all buddy buddy, and when I expressed that I did not appreciate the cattiness and gossip, the all turned on me, constantly screaming and both counselors were present and did not do anything to get the situation out of control. Other than one of them attempting to get me to sign something confirming that everything is my fault and therefore, I should change. When I didn’t raise my voice, or any of that stuff. Another counselor discouraged me from going to the gym, saying that I should not go, hang with the girls etc. I ended up risking myself of homelessness (because I moved out of my room that I was renting because I was so ambitious and I had so much faith in this place) to leave this facility. I knew that my early recovery would be totally compromised if I did not leave. So I did, was couch surfing until I got myself in to second stage housing, where I stayed for 11 months. And slowly moved up the ladder at a good, healthy pace.I took 7 years clean and I am clean to this day. I have healed through much of my past through many different avenues that do not include Aventa.To anybody considering Aventa for themselves of their loved ones: look out for your own physical and emotional safety! If you are extremely vulnerable and seek care in a facility, look elsewhere. Lots of amazing options out there, Aventa has horrible, incompetent and unempathetic staff and you or your loved one would better benefit somewhere else. Seeing the other reviews further validated my story and proves this place to have a significant list of problems that they continually fail to address.I am fully aware that Aventa may choose to respond with a superficial answer that’s close to fraudulent. My experience tells me otherwise. I can say that many years later after I left this facility that my recovery greatly benefitted when I left this place. I am super thankful for other organizations that have actually helped me!

Aventa is a beautiful place to work, with truly dedicated staff. I worked there for 4 years and what I learned there has been a foundation for my career in the addiction sector, which I still work in, 10 years later. I worked as a Residential Counsellor for two years and then moved into the position of Admissions and Assessment Counsellor. It was an exceptionally rewarding work experience and I can say that many women benefitted from this program. Aventa has saved lives.

I worked for AHS and we worked closely with Aventa! We referred clients on a regular basis! Aventa is a highly reputable program for women. It uses a trauma based approach which is necessary for women with addictions. I did and will continue to refer there!

Aventa is a lifesaving program, that values women and their experiences. They are focused on helping women overcome their trauma and understand their individual reasons for substance use or gambling. The staff are supportive, educated, non-judgemental and caring; making your stay there a safe experience. They will work with you to understand yourself on a different level, and plan with you how you can continue your recovery long past the time you graduate. They are always there for you, caring and cheering for you in the background. Some women have returned more than once; and they recognize that relapse is sometimes a part of recovery. There is a high level of expertise, professionalism, connection to required services to ensure that you have your needs met and the best possible chance at a healthy and connected life.

I worked as a consultant dealing with Management and the office side of the business at Aventa on 3 separate contracts. These contracts were a big change from my typical oil/gas contracts. First off, kudos to the clients who took that big step to enter into an addictions program. It cannot be easy. But the difference I saw physically in some women from the first day they entered the facility to the time they left was inspiring…many literally looked like they had undergone makeovers. Second, the staff and management that work at Aventa truly care about the women that come in there. I have never been in an atmosphere that was so genuine and supportive. The staff are upbeat and down to earth. The ambiance is positive and welcoming, and the management set the expectation that everyone is to be treated with respect. If I had a friend or loved one with an addiction issue I would not hesitate to try and get them into Aventa for help. And I would happily go back anytime for another contract.