Great Lakes Recovery Adolescent Center

Located on 32 acres of land, Great Lakes Recovery Center for adolescents is a residential facility providing substance abuse treatment and relapse prevention services for individuals ages 12-17. Caring and empathetic staff are trained to support each individual holistically, working with clients to develop life-skills, engage in healthy relationships, address trauma, and maintain sobriety. Patients will attend school on-site and attend 2 group sessions daily, along with weekly individual and family therapy.

Great Lakes Recovery provides a home-like atmosphere and year-round classroom education allowing patients to continue their schooling while in treatment. The comfortable environment offers semi-private bedrooms with an attached bath, a community living space including a TV area, social community meal times, an enclosed courtyard, outdoor basketball court, a greenhouse, walking trails, and a healing circle. A certified Special Education teacher is on-site to work with clients and meet each of their academic needs, including GED testing when needed. An in-house medical provider and nurse are also available to provide comprehensive medical care ensuring clients have their medical and dental needs met.

The on-site classroom offers natural lighting with views of nature, and is equipped with comfortable desk seating, laptops for educational use only and headphones when needed, a dry erase board, projector, monitor, and smart board for various learning presentations. A Great Lakes Recovery counselor is also assigned to the classroom, creating a low adult-to-student ratio. School records are transferred from the patient’s school district upon admission, allowing the teacher to prepare similar lesson plans and curriculum. Weekly school reports document classroom performance, and academic recommendations are given to the district to help patients transition back into school. A school psychologist is also available for consultation and developing or managing individualized education plans. Books, materials, and transportation are all provided by Great Lakes Recovery Center.

When patients enter treatment at Great Lakes Recovery Center, each is assigned a primary counselor to provide weekly individual therapy sessions. Clients participate in multiple therapeutic or didactic group therapy sessions daily with group discussion on various topics and group activities or workshops. Care givers are given a family questionnaire as part of the admissions process, allowing the primary therapist to use the family’s input and develop a treatment plan that includes family involvement. Primary therapists will maintain contact regarding the patients progress and facilitate family therapy sessions that can be done both in person and virtually. Adolescent residential services can also address patients with co-occurring disorders, providing medication education and management, along with specialized clinical treatment with motivational and engagement strategies along and evidence-based practices.

Residents will also experience several forms of experiential and recreational therapies, such as music expression which includes instruments, song writing, singing, and lyrical analysis and explores personal feelings, promotes personal expression, and helps develop healthy coping skills. Art expression involves various art projects and activities that promote creativity and provide alternative coping strategies for trauma and overwhelming emotions.

Surrounded by 32 acres of campus, clients will also explore recreational interests like hiking, basketball, gym and fitness, and outdoor seasonal activities such as swimming, volleyball, kayaking, ultimate frisbee, tennis, skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing, and sledding. Seasonal equine therapy is also available at nearby Heritage Hills, where patients can learn to groom, feed, halter, and lead a horse as part of a therapeutic process.

Through Our Eyes is a photography program, teaching photography skills and allowing patients to hike the campus taking photographs that fall within the current month’s theme. The Bridges program connects adolescent patients with local senior citizens from assisted living communities, focusing on fellowship with games, crafts, and activities and community involvement. Service learning provides the opportunity for feeling like an accomplished and valued member of the community, allowing clients to perform community service projects ranging from working with senior citizens, special needs, reading to children in local daycares, and planting community gardens.

On-staff Acupuncture Detoxification Specialists provide auricular therapy, using acupuncture to aid in the detoxification process and promote relaxation as an alternative form of healing. Other holistic therapies include meditation, essential oils, and guided visualization, offering foot baths and herbal teas as part of the treatment experience.