Carter Pope travels a new path with Buckhead Behavioral Health.
When Carter D. Pope Jr. was 29, he started down a path that led to a battle with substance abuse, and he struggled to find his way back. Bolstered by the support of his family, he got the help he needed and began the road to recovery. Though he searched for a treatment facility near home in Buckhead and intown Atlanta, he couldn’t find one that met his needs, including taking insurance. He ended up traveling nearly an hour to access the right care. With that memory always fresh in his mind, the former property and investment acquisitions specialist decided to start his own facilities.
In September 2019, he founded Buckhead’s Creekside Recovery Residences, a local sober living facility. Buckhead Behavioral Health opened in October 2021, offering individualized and comprehensive addiction and mental health treatment through partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services, such as detox, therapy, rehab and more. The new facility, which offers a safe, private and luxury setting, is the realization of a dream for Pope, who serves as CEO. Along with President Alec Pagliarulo and Medical Director Dr. Rahul Gupta, he has brought a new and necessary option to the area.
How did your own recovery lead to the creation of BBH?
I had an incredible opportunity to get well, and I grabbed ahold of that. If quality, localized treatment had been available, I would have chosen that. But I had to go somewhere else. I was able to stay relatively close to town, but the other options I was presented with were out of state. I was committed to being close to family because it was such an important piece of my recovery. Family really needs to be included in the process. That’s what we are trying to focus on—treating the entire family system.
What sets BBH apart?
We take adult patients, and we also take adolescents ages 13 to 18. It’s often difficult to find good adolescent treatment, and we are excited to offer this option to young people in the area. What sets us apart, though, is our clinical staff. We spent a lot of time working to find the right group of highly experienced and well-trained professionals. They really make a difference, and they focus on truly individualized treatment. There is no one fix that is going to get everybody well. The treatment has to be unique. It’s about getting beyond the substance abuse problem, finding what’s causing it and treating the source of the issue.
What kind of response have you received from the Buckhead community?
We’ve had nothing but support from the community and from the city. I grew up in Buckhead, and I just love it more than anywhere in the world. It’s so unique because you can get everything here. And I just want to help people. We see every day how horrible this disease [of addiction] can be and how it can tear people and their families apart. It’s so rewarding to be part of the solution.
What are your goals for BBH?
I would like this to be a true community resource where we are helping people get well from substance abuse disorders and mental health issues. I want it to be a place where everybody feels comfortable coming to get help. This is where it starts, and we are really trying to offer the full spectrum of care.
What is your advice to someone who may just be starting their own journey to recovery?
The hardest thing in the world to do is ask for help. You cannot do it alone, but you can do it.
BUCKHEAD BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
470.391.4603
buckheadbh.com
@buckheadbh
PHOTO: Joann Vitelli
