DWI
ACI provides New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Service approved DWI, DUI counseling, treatment, screening and assessment to individuals charged with DWI and ordered to receive screening and/or assessments due to their arrest. We specialize in providing these services to address legal stipulations and screen for substance abuse and possible treatment depending on motorist need.
When reporting for assessment, the motorist must bring (1) A copy of their DWI case history, (2) a copy of their police report and (3) a copy of any court orders, citations or a breathalyzer report. DWI offenders, as part of their assessment, may also be required to undergo a urine drug screening which is performed by a qualified laboratory licensed pursuant to Public Health Law. The primary goal of our DWI/DUI treatment program is for the motorist to become aware that responsible use of alcohol rules out driving a car while under the influence.
The individual successfully completing our program must leave with understanding that there are no exceptions to this rule, no special circumstances, and no safe level of intoxication. Secondly, all motorists are guided through an examination of their own reasons for using alcohol and/or other mood altering substances. Motorists completing the program should arrive at an informed decision about their possible dependence. Through the cognitive behavioral curriculum of our specialized DWI/DUI treatment program, all motorists are expected to assume responsibility.
Art Therapy
Historically, when used in conjunction with treatment, art has been known to have many benefits for the substance abuse population. In addition to groups and individual therapy, using art creatively in treatment is an additional therapeutic tool. Patients are offered weekly opportunities to participate in the Art of Recovery Group in which clients enrolled will be able to express themselves through collage, sculpture, painting, and drawing.
All patients are welcome, regardless of their level of natural artistic talent or ability. The only requirement is a willingness to participate and explore one’s own thoughts and feelings.
Patients are encouraged to express themselves through each project sharing their own experience of self-esteem, pain, joy, anger, stress, anxiety, trauma, confusion, frustration and change. During each therapy session, patients will discuss their work and explore relationships between these feelings and reasons they turn to alcohol and/or drugs. Masks, paintings, collage, sculpture and a variety of other creative mediums offer individuals a chance for reflection on the “self” and those around them. The purpose is to encourage self confidence, self control, and to empower patients to take their lives back from alcohol and drug use.
Adolescent Program
Adolescents are assessed by our counselors in order to evaluate their treatment needs. Once admitted to our outpatient chemical dependence program, a written comprehensive individualized patient- centered treatment and recovery plan will be developed by their primary counselor in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team. Treatment goals are then developed and fine tuned in collaboration with the patient’s parent, legal guardian and/or other supportive family members. Family involvement supports the adolescent and provides hope and encouragement during the treatment process. Families can be incorporated into the treatment process through our Family Therapy Treatment.
Alumni / Jump Start
The Alumni program at ACI is committed to the lasting recovery of every individual. All clients and family members are encouraged to be a part of our Jump Start Program. We consider our alumni a part of our family; so, we provide alumni with ongoing support. We provide weekly peer support alumni meetings at the outpatient location, regular follow-up calls and emails, reunion events and support groups for both alumni and family members. To further support and encourage alumni, we also sponsor annual alumni barbeques, alumni holiday parties, and various other alumni activities throughout the year.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a mindfulness-based treatment which balances the use of change techniques from cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) with acceptance strategies from Zen practice. It is designed to address problems in regulating emotions, impulse control, assertiveness, and distress tolerance. In therapy, patients learn cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness skills to better identify and manage their emotions, including anxiety and depression.
They then practice applying those skills to better tolerate life events and improve their ability to interact effectively with others. ACI offers DBT services through individual outpatient psychotherapy, skills training groups, telephone consultation between sessions and case consultation meetings for the therapists. Patients have the option to receive all of their treatment services at ACI or select specific components of the program to meet their individual needs.
Through individual and group skills training, our highly trained and dedicated professionals balance validation and acceptance with work toward changing problematic behaviors. Consistent with the overarching goal of DBT, ACI is committed to improving our clients quality of life while enabling them to have more control, meaning and pleasure in their lives.
Drama Therapy
Our Outpatient Program is committed to providing holistic treatments where we attend to the mind, body, and spirit of our patients. Our Drama Therapists utilize experiential therapeutic interventions like “role plays,” “scene work,” and “psychodrama” to help patients work through their feelings of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness, which helps individuals understand the consequences of their drug addiction, increasing their feelings of self-efficacy. This self realization leads to increased insight into their behaviors and choices.
Eating Disorders: Our Bodies Ourselves
This is a comprehensive program designed specifically for the treatment of compulsive overeating, bulimia and anorexia, and also benefits those who struggle with body image and understanding of proper nutrition. This program integrates medical, behavioral, psychodynamic, and 12 Step addiction approaches. Our staff members are experienced in helping clients work toward successfully stabilizing a healthy body weight as part of their recovery from substance abuse. Our Bodies Ourselves also focuses on restoring workable eating patterns, identifying and addressing emotional barriers to maintaining an abstinent lifestyle, and finding freedom around food in conjunction with finding freedom from substance abuse.
Family Therapy
The Family Therapy Support Program in ACI's Outpatient Program has been established to provide psycho-education, emotional support and hope to families impacted by the disease of addiction. We are fully committed to the belief that family involvement is fundamental in the care and treatment of recovering family members. Our staff understands that when substances enter and interfere with family life, normative adaptive growth inherent in the life of the family stalls as the family organizes around the addict. This systemic transformation throws off the family equilibrium as the things that make a family a family such as rituals, roles, shared values and beliefs as well as the day to day developmental tasks cease to be actualized. This process often leaves the family feeling isolated, anxious, and overwhelmed as their previous coping skills are no longer effective to manage this on-going crisis. Family counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling are offered and encouraged.
LGBTQ Track
At ACI, we are committed to offering LGBTQ affirmative services where our LGBTQ-identified clients have a safe space to address a spectrum of issues related to recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction. Weekly closed group therapy and individual therapy address the most common concerns for LGBTQ-identified clients such as:
- LGBTQ identity and managing stigma,
- Motivation for Recovery
- Sober Socialization
- Coming Out Issues
- Family Acceptance
- Managing Heterosexism and Cisgenderism
- Working through Trauma in Recovery
- Relapse Prevention
- Recovery Tools
- Coping Skills
- Alleviation of Risk-Taking Behaviors
- Compulsive Behaviors (sex, food, love, spending)
- Mental and Emotional Health in Recovery and
- Addressing Barriers to Healthcare
Parenting
The relationship between parents and their children is important, which is why we provide a parent education group. Our goal is based on improving child outcomes that are directly related to their parents' increased understanding of child development, the importance of positive attachments, an increased understanding of the emotional needs of children and the significance of education and medical care.
Spirituality
We recognize that discussions of and activities around spirituality are an important aspect of integrated treatment and a very important coping tool for people working towards obtaining and maintaining an abstinent lifestyle. Our Outpatient Program works with you to address this as needed.
Smoke Cessation Program
The Smoke Cessation Program offers safe and effective methods to help tobacco using patients stop smoking. This offers customized treatment planning, coaching, smoking cessation counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, nicotine replacement therapy, and medication management for clients who use tobacco products.
Seeking Safety
Our Outpatient Program offers a specialized Seeking Safety group, a manualized treatment for patients suffering from both Substance Abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This evidence-based practice focuses on helping individuals obtain safety in all areas of their life: safety from drugs and alcohol as well as safety and from dangerous people and situations.
Trauma Group
ACI’s Outpatient Program offers a specialized recovery group for individuals who are victims of trauma and abuse. Participants learn to develop effective coping skills to assist in refraining from drug and alcohol use. The goal of this group is to help patients move forward from their past abuses and learn to cope with past trauma and abuse in sobriety.
Anger Management
Many patients with substance abuse problems have co-occurring disorders that make it difficult for individuals to modulate their emotions effectively. In the Anger Management track of the Outpatient Program, individuals develop the skills necessary to respond to situations in new and healthy ways.
Domestic Violence
As part of the outpatient program, ACI provides a comprehensive domestic violence program with staff members trained in the area of domestic violence. The ACI staff members' jobs are to provide support to victims of domestic violence. This support can include but is not limited to:
- Crisis Intervention
- Individual Case Management
- Assistance with navigating various judicial systems
- Help victims of domestic violence understand their options and provide appropriate referrals
- Provide safety planning
- Providing information about support groups, counseling, advocacy, children’s services, and, hotline assistance
We recognize that there are significant differences between Anger Management and those individuals who commit domestic violence. Batterers require different assistance through batterers' intervention programs. ACI uses the New York Model for Batterer Programs as a service to the civil and criminal court systems for individuals who have committed acts of domestic violence. The New York Model Batterer Program is utilized to extend judicial monitoring (both pre-disposition and post-disposition) and to provide a mechanism for offender accountability.
