Drug & Alcohol Rehab Program for Young Adults

Addiction Treatment Targeted to the Needs of Young Men and Women

Early adulthood is difficult on its own and adding a drug or alcohol addiction to the experience presents even more challenges. The team at RCA understands this and has developed a Young Adults Drug & Alcohol Addiction Program to help young men and women grow into a life of meaningful recovery.

Through this program, we bring a custom-tailored approach to treatment to adults aged roughly 18 to 34-years-old, to help navigate recovery from addiction while addressing co-occurring disorders, including:

Trauma
Anxiety
Depression
Anger
Codependency

ADD/ADHD
Mood Disorders
Eating Disorders
Self-Harm
Other Mental Health Issues

Patients in RCA’s Drug & Alcohol Rehab Program for Young Adults recover together, immersed in a close-knit community and focused environment that fosters connection and support with peers, therapists, recovery support specialists and other addiction professionals specially trained to work with young adults. To provide a safe environment that encourages young men and women to feel comfortable and open up, patients in the Young Adults Program meet with gender-specific groups, through which we address their unique treatment needs, wants and concerns.

Recovery Centers of America knows you may be spending time away from family, work and other integral parts of your life to attend treatment, so we ensure that every moment of treatment counts. Each and every day is approached with high-energy and activities to keep the young adult body, mind, and spirit active and engaged—from individual therapy, group therapy and 12-step recovery meetings, to outdoor adventures, trips to the gym, life and job readiness skills trainings, and more.

Individualized Attention and Expert Care Set the Course for Success

Patients at RCA are in the care of addiction treatment experts and get the individualized attention they need and deserve. Our masters-level clinicians have significant experience working with young adults, maintain low caseloads, and use best-in-class, evidence-based approaches to addiction treatment. Patients benefit from the following treatment methods that are proven to help young adults find meaningful, lasting recovery:

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)— Identify unhealthy and self-harming behaviors learned over time and begin to retrain the behaviors.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)— Uncover and strengthen your own motivation and readiness to change.
Adventure Therapy— Grow and develop through structured experiential activities that address the body, mind and spirit. Examples include interactive 12 step meetings, outdoor trips and other activities that promote well-being.
Twelve-Step Facilitation Therapy— Explore the spiritual principles of acceptance and surrender and lay the foundation for involvement in a 12-step program, such as AA or NA.

Curriculum Preview for the Young Adults Program

Learn more about RCA’s Drug & Alcohol Rehab Program for Young Adults by downloading a preview of the proprietary clinical content we use every day at our facilities.

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Break Through the Challenges Young Men and Women Face in Rehab

RCA’s Young Adults Addiction Program is hyper-targeted to the needs of young men and woman in rehab. The following is a list of common challenges young adults face, and how our program addresses each area.

Addressing Brain Development: The brain is still developing well into a young adult’s 20’s-and with late bloomers, beyond. RCA clinicians are trained in brain development of young adults and their propensity for risky behavior and lack of reason.

Overcome the Consequences: Our clinicians will provide age-appropriate therapy that helps them understand their risk-taking behaviors with drugs and alcohol have dangerous, life-threatening consequences. Therapists teach them how to overcome the consequences of bad decisions of the past and look forward to the future.

Understand the Brain and Body: Young adults learn best through sensory experiences, action and visual engagement. We offer a wide range of therapeutic activities in purposeful spaces which are designed for the psychological and physical well-being of our young adult patients in recovery.

Succinct Teachings: Clinical content created for the Young Adult’s Program is designed in 30-minute increments. With handheld technology and the pace of information delivery, we work within the young adult’s attention span. Now they can focus on the work of recovery and learn the tools and skills necessary for continued sobriety without social intimidation or distraction.

Overcoming Anger and Shame: From day one in treatment, our clinicians are trained to establish trust and rapport with our patients. Our therapists are skilled at allowing young adults to feel comfortable in group therapy so they can identify and discuss their feeling without fear of appearing weak or ashamed. We counsel young adults to dig deep to identify their feelings and learn to react appropriately to those feelings in recovery. Issues with anger and shame frequently prevent recovery, our clinicians are trained to teach anger management skills and give young adults the tools to combat feelings of shame.

Understanding Trauma: Our therapists are trained in the types and patterns of trauma that a young adult battling substance use disorder might have experienced.

Treating Trauma: Our clinicians are highly skilled in integrating evidence-based practices combining time-tested and research-supported techniques from several scientific and psychological disciplines to meet the individual needs of our patients.

Recover Life: Our therapies enable a young adult to address his or her past and helps the individual face their future with positivity and confidence.

A New Start: Addiction robs a young adult of key milestones of their life. We have created seminars and workshops, as well as individual therapies, that help a young adult begin to restore some of the essentials in life: education, career, marriage, parenthood, and other social skills.

Recover Hope: Through group and individual therapy, our patients in the young adult’s program will find the motivation to find hope after their time in treatment. They can enter the world with renewed confidence and a new sense of self-esteem.

Body. Mind. Spirit: Our therapies embrace all elements of life:

Fitness and wellness counseling and instruction
Individual Nutritional Consulting (when requested)
Spiritual Advisor (when requested)

Recover Independence: Through our Life Skills Training for Young Adults, our patients begin to recover or develop the basic tools a young adult needs to live a life in recovery.

Focus: Each counseling group will be delivered in 30-minute increments to accommodate the attention span and learning styles of a young adult.

Back to Basics: These are the skills that help a young adult regain independence and self-reliance. Life Skills Training includes:

Managing stress and anxiety
Coping with trauma-related symptoms
Navigating family dynamics
Communicating and setting boundaries
Developing healthy habits and hobbies
Managing a structured schedule/time management
Parenting in recovery
Setting realistic goals
Health and wellness in recovery
12-step approach to recovery
Social media safety
Job or occupational skills training
Resume building

Life-Long Relationships: Our Young Adult’s Program provides what frequently lacks in society for a young adult with substance use disorder: a sense of belonging. Young adults have a need to be a part of a group or fellowship. By bringing young adults together in an age-specific environment to address their specific physiological and psychological needs, they become part of an important group.

Friends Supporting Friends: We give patients the opportunity to feel they belong to a supportive community with a common goal of tackling addiction and beginning a life of meaningful and sustaining recovery.

Removing Distractions: Young adults behave differently when members of the opposite sex are present. A co-ed environment in therapy may present sexual tension and social pressures that present distractions from their ability to focus on recovery.

Gender-Separate Groups and Therapy: Young adults engaged in the Young Adult’s Program will meet with gender-specific groups for their “Primary Group.” Segmenting groups and therapy will provide a safe environment that helps young men and women open-up to the therapists and one another without the pressure of having members of the opposite sex in the room.

Connect, Learn and Grow with a Peer Support Network

Social and community support is vital to a young adult’s success in recovery from substance addiction. Experience proves that building a strong support foundation now will help each individual launch into sustainable, long-term recovery.

Surrounded by others in the same age group, RCA’s young adult patients connect on shared life challenges, experiences, goals, and dreams. Alongside peers, patients explore recovery from addiction, while learning and developing critical life skills required to become self-supporting and successful in their flourishing independence.

At RCA, patients can maintain the connections they make in treatment and expand their peer support networks by joining the RCA Alumni Association which facilitates a schedule of recovery groups, activities, and events.

The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. It’s connection… If you are alone, you cannot escape addiction. If you are loved, you have a chance.”

-Johann Hari, New York Times best-seller ‘Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs’

The Whole Family Needs Support Through Treatment and Recovery

It is particularly important for families of recovering young adults to provide continual support and encouragement. And just as we ask families to be a pillar of support, the team at RCA is committed to championing the entire family unit through treatment and recovery.

RCA’s programming for families of young adults in treatment includes:

Individual and group counseling
Weekly family therapy and contact
Weekly educational seminars/webinars
Monthly education and support specifically created for families of young adults

Is Your Loved One Resisting Addiction Treatment? Don’t Lose Hope

Do not get discouraged if your loved one is resistant to substance abuse treatment. Often, an intervention can open the door to addiction treatment for young adults. With RCA’s intervention team by your side, there is a 90% chance your loved one will enter addiction treatment. Learn more about our drug and alcohol intervention services.

Need another dose of hope? Watch these incredible stories of young adults in recovery.

Dillon’s Story: “My Life Now in Sobriety is Free”

Dillon’s first experience with using a substance was at 12-years-old, and he says his addiction took off during his senior year of high school, when he began using drugs every day. His disease progressed over the years, leading to failing out of college, robbing his family, being kicked out of his parents’ house, and living on the streets. “Getting high was more important than the roof over my head.”

After beginning a life in recovery, Dillion turned things around, and a highlight of his recovery was celebrating his 1-year sobriety anniversary with his family. Today, Dillon says he has self-acceptance. “I love the person I am.”

Kat’s Story: “They Just Saw Me as a Human Who Needed Help”

Kat says she had a normal childhood, but always felt different from her peers. Beginning at 14-years-old, she found comfort in drinking and says she felt like it helped her fit in and be her true self. As she progressed through life, it became more apparent for Kat that her drinking and drug use was a problem, especially when she failed out of college her first semester—and the destructive path she took thereafter.

In this video, Kat talks about her personal experience at RCA, where she connected with herself, with the community, and a personal passion for art.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recovery Centers of America believes in the importance of connection and comfort – and we know the best way for our patients to achieve this is by being surrounded by like-minded people. You will be sharing a room with another Young Adult patient of the same gender, who will be between the ages of 18 and 34. This way, you’ll be comfortable with having someone in the same stage as life as your roommate.

Yes, the patients in your counseling group sessions will also be a part of the Young Adults Addiction Program. We want you to get the most out of your time with us, so you can live a happy, healthy life. Immersing yourself in a program with people who understand the challenges and changes of young adults will help you in your journey. You’ll be able to rely on, build off, connect with, and support other patients who are in your age group.

Having a solid support system is critical to achieving and maintaining recovery. We welcome family to come in for family counseling sessions as well as visitation hours*. Visiting hours vary depending on the site—we will provide you with all visitation upon admission, or you can give us a call and we’ll provide you with the information for the site.

*In-person counseling and visitation hours are temporarily paused due to COVID-19

Recovery Centers of America provides a full continuum of care. This means we treat addiction every step of the way, starting with inpatient and continuing into outpatient care and beyond. Our staff will work with you to come up with a comprehensive aftercare plan which includes an outpatient program (including in-person and teletherapy options). Here, you’ll get individual and group counseling and alumni support. RCA’s outpatient program offers many different levels, including Partial Hospitalization, Intensive Outpatient, and General Outpatient, so you can transition back to a routine. Additionally, RCA patients can maintain the connections they make in treatment and expand their peer support networks by joining the RCA Alumni Association which facilitates a schedule of recovery groups, activities, and events.

Young Adults Locations

Earleville, MD
South Amboy, NJ
Devon, PA

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