As home to 11 colleges and universities, each Fall, thousands of students come to Central MA to begin their journey of higher education. They bring their hopes, dreams, and ambitions along with their personalities and coping methods of ways to manage relationships and life.
The Unexpected College Experience
Although college is seen by many as fun-loving years, for some, it’s a stressful and difficult period of adjustment and acclimation. To address this issue, colleges have allocated resources to help students make this challenging transition by funding Counseling Centers that are staffed with clinicians who are trained to help students navigate their journey. College, for some, is their first experience living away from home. Their newfound independence exposes them to new experiences, including alcohol and drug use and new social situations they must manage. Many make this transition without incident, but others struggle and make mistakes along the way.
Utilizing College Counseling
College Counseling Centers are a vital first contact for students to have a place to go and connect with someone trained to assess mental health and substance use disorders. However, most are not equipped and staffed to deliver ongoing specialized services and rely on having relationships with specialized outside organizations.
Lake Ave Recovery is one of those resources in the Central MA community that specializes in assessing and treating individuals that are experiencing problems with alcohol or other drugs. Lake Ave Recovery recently hosted a visit with Lynn Curran, LICSW, Director of Health and Counseling Services at Anna Maria College, to discuss how we can assist Anna Maria College students who find themselves experiencing problems with alcohol and/or drug use. Lynn was so impressed with the facility and its services that Lake Avenue was immediately listed on the Anna Maria website as a resource.
Healing with Lake Ave Recovery
Lake Ave Recovery offers Day and Evening Treatment services that include a wide variety of mindfulness and experiential offerings. Our independently licensed and experienced clinicians believe that “for one to truly heal, healing must come from within.” Alongside our clinical staff, experienced wellness and fitness instructors enable clients to reach their highest potential through the union of body, mind, and spirit through the practices of Yoga, Reiki, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Mindful Meditation. Lake Avenue is committed to total body wellness, and we believe it can be achieved by training the mind first. These mindfulness practices are offered alongside a number of other treatment services, including fitness training, expressive arts therapy, occupational therapy, and more, in order to provide a well-rounded approach to recovery. In combination with evidence-based treatment, holistic approaches to addiction help provide balance in a crucial time on the path to meaningful recovery.
Having expert resources such as Lake Ave Recovery is invaluable to the clinical staff at colleges when they need to intervene with students and do so quickly. Lake Ave Recovery is available to all colleges and students of those colleges, and we will work to partner with them to formalize our partnerships and make our services available to them. Unless hospitalization is warranted, individuals can seek treatment on an outpatient basis and begin their journey in recovery while continuing their studies or employment.