Success - Athens Area Commencement Center

Success in Sobriety

ATHENS AREA COMMENCEMENT CENTER

The Commencement Center’s Outpatient Treatment and Aftercare programs in Athens, GA really work, and statistics tell the story: the Athens Area Commencement Center boasts a one-year abstinence rate of over 80% for clients who undergo intensive treatment (defined as at least 9 hours per week) and attend aftercare for 12 to 24 months, compared to those leaving long-term residential treatment programs with a national success rate of only 10%. Compared to other out-of town-treatment centers you may find online, the Athens Area Commencement Center has been family owned and operated in the Athens, GA community since 1978 with deep ties to the local recovery and medical community to help foster support for our patients both during and after completion of Treatment and Aftercare.

Certificates & Standards

Our Tools for Success:

COMMUNITY ASSEMBLIES

AACC holds Daily Informational Meetings for announcements and discussion of current treatment issues. Assemblies are designed to encourage sharing among clients and serve as the setting for AACC graduations.

LEARNING TIME

In order to achieve a balanced and successful recovery, AACC believes it is important for patients to understand their disease through Educational Meetings. The facts about alcohol and drug dependency are presented in a direct format in a nonjudgmental atmosphere wherein counselors explain root causes of the addiction and provide solutions for recovery.

GROUP THERAPY

The heart and soul of AACC is Group Therapy. There are two types of group sessions: experiential and reality. Experiential Therapy allows participants to exchange personal experiences through life situations and learn from each other. Reality Therapy encourages participants to examine where they are on the road to recovery. Most participants find group therapy to be the most challenging aspect of treatment, but also the most helpful step to recovery.

HEALING FAMILIES

Drug and alcohol addiction can be devastating to the family of an abuser. The family’s role in the recovery process is vital. AACC encourages family members to meet together in Group Sessions, as well as privately in Individual Sessions with counselors, to talk about the effect of addiction on the family, the recovery progress, and the family role in continuing recovery care after leaving the program.

DISCUSSION

The backbone of AACC is based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Local AA and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) volunteers bring step-studies to AACC, and patients are also taken to meetings within the community to help guide them into a lifelong program of sobriety.

AFTERCARE / CONTINUUM CARE

Recovery doesn’t end with the completion of treatment. Overcoming an addiction is a lifelong process of healing. AACC works with each patient on developing skills to make the transition from therapy to a healthy lifestyle. Our Aftercare Program offers clients support and counseling services for up to two years after completion of treatment.

WHY OUTPATIENT TREATMENT WORKS

My experience at the Athens Area Commencement Center was enlightening, to say the least. Looking back, being able to go home at night was a very positive thing, because I had looked at long term in-house treatment facilities and did not want to be separated from my family and job to get treatment. After graduation from the Commencement Center program, I entered their Aftercare Program, which kept me accountable for my sobriety and gave me a group setting with other recovering alcoholics and addicts to discuss life’s situations in early recovery. I was also encouraged to get involved with one of the Twelve Step Programs early on and was taken to AA meetings while in I was in treatment. Today I am sober and living a life I could never have imagined!

An Anonymous Grateful Client