RESCU, a confidential addiction recovery program for first responders and military members
Whether you’re an active or former law enforcement officer, firefighter, corrections officer, EMT/paramedic, or military member––if you’re struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol, we can help.
Our RESCU treatment program, which stands for ‘Recovering Emergency Service Community United,’ is designed to address and assist with profession-related obstacles you may be facing, so you can gain lasting recovery from drugs and alcohol.
Since anonymity is critical for you to be able to focus on your treatment and recovery, we are committed to your privacy. You will be immersed into a tight knit community of fellow first responders and military service members and recover alongside individuals who share similar life and professional experiences.
On our unit, we talk about three things. We talk about courage—the courage it takes for you to come in for treatment; pride, and when I say ‘pride’, I do not mean ego—I mean the pride that each family member or each patient should have in the fact that today they’re clear of substances; and then finally is gratitude, and the gratitude comes from the fact that they have this opportunity that they are getting better. But I like to pass on to them my gratitude that they give me purpose and they give me fulfillment, and they remind me of the struggles that I went through.”
– Brian S, RESCU Program Alumnus
Watch our RESCU video
Break the chains of addiction with treatment that’s proven to work
While in RESCU, a 3-4 week program, you will be with other first responders who are also committed to overcoming addiction and achieving a lasting recovery. You’ll be engaged by staff members who have personal experience in the first responder community, as well as expert addiction treatment staff, who will help you address profession-related issues that impact your recovery from addiction, such as:
- Work-related traumatic events
- Guilt about breaking public trust or disappointing your co-workers
- Fear of losing your job or pay/benefits and returning to duty
- Drinking culture
- Difficulty asking for help and the warrior ethos
- Mistrust in mental health professionals
Through RESCU, you will be treated with proven treatment approaches that have already helped countless others gain freedom from addiction and live their best life.
Get reconnected with the values and aspirations at your core and take a stand for yourself by staking your own claim on recovery.
Your RCA team will work with you to identify and inventory potential pitfalls to your recovery and help you address them. By identifying specific issues – and not you– as the problem, you can apply solutions more easily. A basic tenet of Narrative Therapy is “the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.”
You will learn to find and change mistaken ways of thinking that support behaviors with negative consequences and reinforce negative emotions and beliefs, thereby improving your emotional fitness and overall well-being.
Gym time and fitness instruction
Opportunities to help others through community involvement
Connections and sober events with those you met in treatment through the RCA Alumni Association
Alternative therapies such as art and music therapy
12-Step immersion and 12-Step yoga
Family involvement and support
A seamless transition to outpatient programs for continued recovery support, in-person or virtual
Get the customized help you need with RESCU
The RESCU curriculum is designed to help you free yourself from addiction, rebuild trust and regain your confidence. It’s a tailored and tested approach to addiction treatment for first responders that works.
Examples of core curriculum include:
While in the RESCU program you will join daily group therapy sessions exclusive to law enforcement, firefighters, correctional officers, emergency medical personnel, and military members. Groups with other first responders will allow you to discuss issues relating to your profession and addiction more freely, as well as gain valuable feedback. Your group will be facilitated by a licensed clinician trained in both addiction treatment and the special issues involved with first responder professions.
You will learn how to address the unique cultural challenges and workplace pressures you may face in your profession. Run by credentialed clinicians with years of experience working with first responders, this course is designed to effectively remove work-related psychological barriers to achieving recovery from addiction and maximize the power of the first responder culture of camaraderie.
We will help you address the anxiety related to returning to duty after treatment, as well as guide you on how to rebuild trust and work relationships. You will leave treatment with efficient tools to make a successful return to work. If you need to facilitate communications with your job, your union representatives, command staff and/or employee assistance program, we will help. However, if you do not want workplace involvement, that decision will be honored without question.
Most first responders are exposed to traumatic events and images during their careers. PTSD is common. Addressing trauma and its impact on addiction to drugs and alcohol is a critical facet of the RESCU curriculum. We will help you resolve your trauma so you can overcome your addiction.
SMART or Self-Management and Recovery Training is science-based and constantly updated to incorporate the most accurate, cutting-edge addiction treatment research. Through SMART recovery you will focus on identifying and changing unwanted behaviors through Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).
Want to learn more about RESCU? Download this preview of the proprietary clinical content.
Support For First Responder Families
Recovery Centers of America offers family services and programming specifically tailored to support the families of our first responders and military members and who are impacted by the disease of addiction.
First Responder Only 12-Step Meetings
Meetings are hosted virtually on Wednesdays at 19:30. These are CLOSED meetings only for law enforcement, firefighters, corrections, emergency medical personnel and military. If you are a member of the first responder community and would like an invitation to join the meeting, please email alumni@recoverycoa.com.
RESCU Locations
Indianapolis, IN
Danvers, MA
Westminster, MA
South Amboy, NJ
Devon, PA
Questions about starting treatment?
Call 1-800-RECOVERY or complete the form below.
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and mental health training specifically for First Responders?
