About NTH Rehab
Our Story
In 2017, a group of addiction researchers at a Bay Area university reached a frustrating conclusion: the treatment protocols they were validating in controlled studies rarely made it into the clinics where patients actually sought help. The gap between what science knew and what patients received was wide — and it was costing lives. They decided to close that gap themselves.
NTH Rehab opened its doors in Daly City that same year, founded on the principle that a treatment center could operate with the rigor of a research institution and the warmth of a family. The team converted a former medical office on 87th Street into a 69-bed facility designed around the clinical workflows they had spent years studying. Every room layout, group schedule, and staffing ratio was informed by outcome data.
Nine years and more than 6,800 patients later, NTH Rehab remains what it was on day one: an organization where clinical decisions are driven by evidence, and where every staff member — all 149 of them — understands that behind every data point is a human being rebuilding their life.
Our Mission
NTH Rehab exists to advance addiction treatment through continuous integration of clinical research into everyday patient care. We believe that evidence is not a luxury reserved for academic journals — it is a right that belongs to every person seeking recovery. Our mission is to ensure that the best available science reaches the people who need it most, delivered with compassion and cultural awareness in our Daly City community.
We pursue this mission by maintaining active partnerships with research institutions, conducting internal outcome studies, and requiring every clinician to engage in ongoing education. When new evidence emerges, we adapt — updating protocols, retraining staff, and measuring results. Innovation at NTH Rehab is not a slogan; it is an operational commitment woven into how we hire, how we treat, and how we define success.
Treatment Philosophy
Our treatment philosophy rests on three interconnected pillars, each grounded in decades of clinical research and refined through nine years of direct patient care at our Daly City facility.
- Neuroscience-Based Care: We use neurobiological models of addiction to guide pharmacotherapy, cognitive interventions, and relapse-prevention planning. Understanding how substances alter brain chemistry allows us to target treatment at the root mechanisms of dependence — not just the surface behaviors.
- Family-Systems Theory: Addiction develops and persists within relational contexts. Our structured family therapy, multi-family groups, and psychoeducation workshops address dysfunctional communication patterns, codependency, and boundary erosion so that the entire family system supports sustained recovery.
- Peer Accountability: Recovery thrives in community. Our peer-led accountability groups, mentorship pairings, and alumni network create a culture of mutual responsibility where patients hold each other to the commitments they have made — building the sober support structure they will carry long after discharge.
Our Team
Dr. Elaine Matsuda, MD, FASAM
Medical Director
Board-certified in addiction medicine and psychiatry, Dr. Matsuda spent twelve years conducting NIH-funded research on opioid receptor pathways before co-founding NTH Rehab. She oversees all medical protocols, leads the detox program, and ensures that emerging pharmacotherapy findings are translated into patient care within months of publication.
Kevin Abara, PsyD, LMFT
Director of Family Programs
With a doctorate in clinical psychology and licensure in marriage and family therapy, Kevin designed the family-systems curriculum that has become central to our treatment model. He trains clinical staff in structural family therapy techniques and facilitates the multi-family group series that patients consistently cite as transformative.
Sonia Redfield, LCSW, CADC-II
Clinical Director
Sonia brings 18 years of direct clinical experience in substance use treatment to her role overseeing individual and group therapy programming. She holds advanced certifications in EMDR and dialectical behavior therapy, and she leads the integration of creative arts modalities into the residential schedule.
Tomasz Kijek, MS, CATC-IV
Peer Services Coordinator
A person in long-term recovery himself, Tomasz developed the peer accountability model that structures daily community meetings and alumni mentorship at NTH Rehab. He manages a team of certified peer support specialists and coordinates the aftercare network that keeps graduates connected well beyond their discharge date.
Testimonials
"After two deployments, I thought the noise in my head was just part of being a soldier. The clinical team here understood trauma at a level I had never encountered — they used neurofeedback and EMDR alongside group therapy, and for the first time in years, I slept through the night. Daly City gave me the quiet I needed to hear myself think again."
— Hector S., U.S. Army Veteran
"I spent years treating my depression with alcohol without realizing both problems fed each other. The dual-diagnosis program at NTH Rehab finally connected the dots. My psychiatrist and my therapist actually talked to each other — imagine that. Eight months sober now, and my medication is stable for the first time since college."
— Vanessa C., Dual-Diagnosis Graduate
"Watching my husband disappear into addiction was the loneliest experience of my life. The family-systems program brought us into the same room with a therapist who taught us how to communicate again. He completed residential, and we completed family therapy together. We are rebuilding — and this time, we have the tools to do it right."
— Corinne & James L., Family Program Participants