College Student Addiction Prevention

If you want to cut down or quit your alcohol or drug use, we'll give you the tools to succeed. We won't label you, we won't pressure you to quit. We don't use the whole 12-step AA deal.

The College Student Program is covered by the UW Student Health Plan, and most other student health plans in the area.

We are located about a mile from UW campus, just a few blocks from Dick's Drive-In.

The College Student Program is open to currently enrolled students or those on a temporary hiatus from school. Students must be between the ages of 18 and 26, however some 25 and 26 year olds find our adult programs to be a better fit. We don't accept college clients with a legal requirement to receive treatment.

For parents:

Our College Student Program is based on a model of treatment that does not require lifelong abstinence. All of the research on college students who use heavily shows that 2 years after graduation, 75% of those individuals are no longer diagnosable as alcohol or drug dependant or abusive. In fact, many people who become involved in AA in their teens or twenties come to believe that there is no possibility of controlling their alcohol or drug use. Although we have seen AA as effective self-help support for some of our adult clients who choose it, the abstinence-only message in 12-step programs can be extremely misleading for young people who have only a temporary heavy use pattern.

The College Student Program encourages practicing abstinence, finding new ways to socialize and enjoy time outside of school, and learning how to refuse outside pressure to drink or use. We give each student the tools to have choices about their drinking or drug use, and the ability to use those tools to cut down or quit. Interestingly, the majority of the graduates from our College Student Program choose abstinence for themselves, even though it was not a requirement of participation in group.

We are a departure from the negativity that can be found in 12-step programs. We don't use slogans like "One drink one drunk" that imply that having even one drink will lead you down the path to alcoholism. We find this approach to be misleading to many people in their teens and twenties. AA tells people that they can never be able to become a normal social drinker, and will be unable to control themselves if having just one drink.

Most college students mature out of their heavy use patterns because of increased responsibility, relationships, new interests, etc. Students are in the most alcohol and drug saturated environment that many have or will ever be in, and it is temporary. Labeling someone in this situation as a lifelong alcoholic is self-defeating.

For some students, genetics have so predisposed them to addiction that they may never be able to be social drinkers. We clearly communicate to those individuals that they may truly need lifelong abstinence, and if they are not able to achieve that within our program we refer out to abstinence-based programs in the area.

Our goal is to give students the tools and motivation to get through this difficult environment saturated with drugs and alcohol and come out with the skills for lifelong control of their use.

» Please see our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Please contact Catherine to discuss whether our approach would be a good fit for you. (206) 547-1955