RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM
Resident Responsibility - New residents must assume certain responsibilities and follow a routine from the day they enter the program:

        • Keep their beds made and rooms clean
        • Attend all required meetings and be on time
        • Fulfill assigned daily cooking or housekeeping responsibilities
        • Maintain sobriety
 
All residents must continue to meet these expectations throughout their stay. The required discipline teaches residents what works in life.

Counseling - Each resident is assigned to a counselor who seeks to engage the client in a strong, collaborative therapeutic relationship. The counselor sees the client in therapy and works with the client to design his or her own recovery program, work on personal issues, and develop a long-range treatment plan. The counselor will be available to assist the client following discharge from the residential program as long as needed.

Education - A number of classes provide residents with information essential for understanding themselves, how to cope effectively, and how to change:

        • Drug and alcohol education
        • Mental illness education
        • Medication education and management
        • Relationships
        • Dealing with issues of shame and guilt
        • The 12-Step Program
        • Relapse prevention
        • Life skills training
        • Healthy living

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or Dual Recovery Meetings - Residents with a chemical dependency diagnosis are required to attend six meetings a week. There are six in-house AA or dual recovery meetings each week.

Self-Examination and Personal Initiative - We deliberately try to avoid "filling up" the residents' time with activities, particularly in the early phases of the program. It is important for residents to have time "with themselves" in order to feel the full impact of the illness and/or addiction on their lives and to find a greater internal drive and motivation for recovery. We want clients to take initiative to provide their own structure, so that when they leave the program they will be more effective carrying on without the structure the program provides.

Transition Planning - From the time of admission we emphasize to clients the importance of a long-term commitment to working toward re-stabilizing themselves in the community. During residential treatment a transition plan is developed that includes transitional housing, employment, and continued treatment.

VOCATIONAL PROGRAM
Residential and outpatient clients who are physically able to work or do volunteer work are involved in a vocational program. Our vocational staff help clients identify job or volunteer opportunities and learn how to present themselves effectively to employers. The program provides incentive and direction for their job search. All clients, with infrequent exceptions, are expected to find productive activities that they begin as soon as they are stable enough.

While most of our clients have not been productively employed the 12 months prior to entering our program, many clients obtain employment within two-three months of entering our program.