History

Since its founding in 1989 by Norma Finkelstein, Ph.D., the Institute for Health and Recovery (IHR) has worked across systems to develop gender-specific and trauma-informed models of prevention, early identification, intervention, and treatment services. Our focus areas have included:

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
Parenting and child development
Pregnancy and perinatal health
Family-centered care
Civil commitment and individuals in conflict with the law
Mental health (both adult and child)
Child welfare
Youth and adolescent treatment
Violence and trauma
Health care, especially prenatal care and HIV/AIDS related issues
Homelessness and supportive sober housing
Pre-vocational and vocational needs, and
Other social services.

IHR originated as the Coalition on Addiction, Pregnancy and Parenting (CAPP), a five-year, federally funded, research and demonstration project designed to:

Intervene in the first months of pregnancy to prevent adverse birth outcomes among babies born to women addicted to drugs or alcohol,
Provide parenting skills training and support to women in residential treatment with their young children, and
Integrate parenting into substance abuse treatment to support treatment retention, resiliency and family recovery.

CAPP began to work closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health/Bureau of Substance Abuse Services in 1990, providing expertise in the development of a gender-specific continuum of care for pregnant and parenting women, their infants and children. This work has expanded over the years and continues to the present day.

In 1997, CAPP was certified by the State Office of Woman and Minority Business Associations as a women-owned business.

In 1998, CAPP changed its name to the Institute for Health and Recovery (IHR) to reflect our expanded mission of coordinating and delivering gender-specific and trauma-informed services to a broader range of individuals and families. IHR has become a recognized leader, both in Massachusetts and nationally, in policy and system development of cross-disciplinary service models that support both individual and family recovery. We have worked across systems to implement a comprehensive continuum of prevention, early identification, intervention, and treatment services that successfully impacts alcohol, tobacco and substance use and abuse among families and individuals. Norma Finkelstein, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of IHR and has 35 years of professional and research experience working in these areas.

IHR's Past Projects Include: