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Ke Ala Pono  ·  The Right Path
McKenna Recovery Center Hawaii
Outpatient addiction evaluation and treatment for Kauai, Oahu, and the neighbor islands. Serving Hawaii since 1989.
All patient services are also available online. Appointments are scheduled by telephone at 808.246.0663.
Lihue, Kauai
Ke Ala Pono
4374 Kukui Grove St., Ste. 104
Lihue, HI 96766
Honolulu, Oahu
Honolulu Professionals Program
Honolulu, HI 96814
Online by Zoom
Follow-up care by appointment
Available statewide
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McKenna Recovery Center Hawaii: Outpatient Drug and Alcohol Treatment in Lihue, Kauai and Honolulu, Oahu

We are here to help you. The McKenna Recovery Center is an outpatient treatment program with a mission to return the patient to health on ke ala pono, the right path. We work collaboratively with families, healthcare providers, employers, and monitoring programs across the islands.

“A safe place to heal and build the path to recovery.”

Substance use disorders are medically recognized illnesses. Patients here are treated with dignity and respect, and we do not assign blame or shame to patients or to their family members.

Outpatient Addiction Treatment Services Offered at Our Kauai Recovery Center and Honolulu Professionals Program

Addiction evaluation

Full substance use, medical, and psychiatric history with a clear level-of-care recommendation.

Outpatient detoxification

Medically supervised withdrawal management for patients who can be treated safely outside a hospital.

Intensive outpatient program

Structured group and individual sessions several times a week while living at home.

Medication-assisted treatment

Buprenorphine, naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram where clinically appropriate after physician evaluation.

Co-occurring mental health care

Depression, anxiety, trauma, and other psychiatric symptoms treated alongside the addiction, in one clinic.

Family and group therapy

Relatives are included in evaluation and treatment with the patient’s consent, so the household recovers too.

Therapeutic work draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, trauma-related counseling, and twelve-step facilitation. Adults, young adults, and adolescents are served.

How Our Levels of Care Step Down, From Medically Supervised Detox to Ongoing Recovery Support

Relative structure and time commitment
Outpatient withdrawal management
 
Intensive outpatient program
 
Regular outpatient treatment
 
Continuing care and monitoring
 

Bars show relative structure only. Individual schedules are set after evaluation.

Level of careGenerally considered for
Outpatient detoxificationWithdrawal that can be managed safely with medical supervision and medication support
Intensive outpatientPatients needing substantial structure who can remain living at home
Regular outpatientPatients managing work, school, or family alongside treatment
Continuing carePatients protecting progress made in a more intensive phase

Not everyone is a candidate for outpatient care. Severe alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal sometimes requires a hospital setting, and part of an honest evaluation is saying so when that is the case.

Three Locations Serving Kauai, Oahu, and the Neighbor Islands by Telehealth

LocationAddressTelephone
Ke Ala Pono, Lihue, Kauai4374 Kukui Grove St., Ste. 104, Lihue, HI 96766808.246.0663
Honolulu Professionals ProgramHonolulu, HI 96814808.246.0663
Telehealth by ZoomFollow-up appointments statewide808.246.0663

Kauai office hours run Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. On a small island, privacy is a real barrier to getting help, and video follow-up visits remove much of it.

The Physician Leading Our Hawaii Addiction Treatment Team and the Credentials Behind the Program

Medical Director
Gerald McKenna, M.D., FASAM, DLFAPA

Board certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine, with more than four decades in practice. Former faculty at Harvard Medical School and UCLA, and former Chief of Psychiatry at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Brentwood, Los Angeles. He has taught at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine and hosts medical students, physician assistant students, and psychiatric residents in the Kauai office.

He works with a multidisciplinary team of therapists, licensed clinical social workers, and counselors. Dr. McKenna has spoken publicly about his own long-term recovery from alcoholism.

1989
Ke Ala Pono opens in Lihue as the first intensive outpatient addiction clinic on Kauai.
1999
Ke Ala Pono Hilo opens, extending services to Hawaii Island residents.
2004
The Honolulu Professionals Program begins on Oahu for licensed professionals and working adults.

Anyone evaluating a treatment provider is entitled to verify credentials independently. Physician licensure can be checked through the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and facility licensing information is held by the Hawaii State Department of Health.

Important Safety Information About Withdrawal Risk and Emergency Help in Hawaii

Stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines abruptly after heavy, sustained use can cause seizures and other life-threatening complications, and should be managed with medical guidance rather than attempted alone. Opioid tolerance falls quickly during any break in use, which raises overdose risk on return to a previous dose.

In a medical emergency, call 911. For mental health or suicidal crisis support, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, 24 hours a day. Information on this page is general and educational, and is not a substitute for individual evaluation by a qualified clinician.

Looking forward to working with you
McKenna Recovery Center

Ke Ala Pono · 4374 Kukui Grove St., Ste. 104, Lihue, HI 96766  |  Honolulu Professionals Program, Honolulu, HI 96814  |  Telephone 808.246.0663  |  Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.