A New Program for Veterans & First Responders

March 15, 2024

HopeWay is now offering a new Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) specifically for Veterans and First Responders.

“Veterans and First Responders are the unsung heroes who selflessly put their lives on the line to protect and serve their communities and our country,” said Justin Johnson, MD, DFAPA, a board-certified psychiatrist and director of Veteran & First Responder Services at HopeWay. “They regularly face traumatic and high-stress situations that can have a profound impact on their mental health. After seeing a need in the community for both Veterans and First Responders, we created this new program to serve both groups.”

Clients in this program will participate in group therapy while continuing to see their individual providers in the community. Groups will focus on trauma and recovery – utilizing Cognitive Processing Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Post-traumatic Growth groups, process groups and integrative therapies – to help individuals learn skills to manage their mental health struggles and achieve their desired goals.

“We are excited to expand our service offerings to help our nation’s heroes find hope and healing through evidence-based mental health treatment,” said Alyson R. Kuroski-Mazzei, DO, DFAPA, FASAM, a triple-boarded psychiatrist who is HopeWay’s chief executive officer and chief medical officer. “The toll of experiences that Veterans and First Responders face can lead to significant mental health struggles that often go unnoticed or untreated. As a non-profit, we are grateful to be able to continue to meet the needs of our community by launching this new program so that we can treat the devastating and often invisible wounds suffered by Veterans and First Responders.”

Groups meet Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at HopeWay (1717 Sharon Road West in Charlotte) from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information about the program and admissions, contact HopeWay’s Admissions Team at 1-844-HOPEWAY or visit hopeway.org/veterans-program.

View Dr. Johnson's interview with WCCB New Rising about our new program. 

HopeWay’s Veteran & First Responder Services

HopeWay offers evidence-based treatment for Veterans & First Responders struggling with a variety of mental health conditions through individual psychiatric and therapeutic care, group therapy and integrative therapies. Led by licensed therapists specializing in Veteran & First Responder mental health, HopeWay provides Residential (24/7), Partial Hospitalization (5 days per week) and Intensive Outpatient (3 days per week) programs depending on the individual’s needs.

About Dr. Johnson

Justin Johnson, MD, DFAPA serves as Director of Veteran & First Responder Services at HopeWay. A board-certified psychiatrist who also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve, Dr. Johnson previously treated patients at the Durham VA Medical Center’s Iraq and Afghanistan combat Veteran center. Dr. Johnson is a North Carolina native, a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and completed his psychiatry residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital combined program at Harvard Medical School. He is currently an Assistant Consulting Professor at Duke University School of Medicine.