Drug & Alcohol Addiction Services

The Caroline Counseling Center offers education and individual and group therapy to those with drug and alcohol problems. The Addiction Program provides outpatient services at the Health Department and in the schools. Referrals to other treatment programs and agencies, as well as AA/NA, are made when appropriate.

· Treatment for those with Co-Occurring Disorders (i.e., a diagnosed
substance abuse and mental health disorder)

Chemical dependence - alcoholism or other drug dependence - is a disease that may start with one person, but eventually involve every member of the family. Living in a constantly shifting , distressing family and not feeling free to talk about the situation is a difficult, emotionally painful experience for all family members. The Caroline Counseling Center provides help for those affected by alcohol or drug misuse, abuse, or addiction. Each month a family group is held for the families and significant others of clients and basic facts about how the family is affected by the disease of substance abuse is presented.

We can help adolescents break free from starting a life of alcohol or other drug abuse. We all know that adolescence is an extremely difficult period, a time when teenagers often experiment with drugs and alcohol. This experimentation can turn into far more serious problems.

The Caroline Counseling Center provides help for adolescents who may already have a serious problem with chemicals or may just be starting to experiment. We can provide guidance necessary to help an adolescent make a responsible choice about using chemicals. Our trained adolescent counselors provide the following services:

For those adolescents who concurrently are in trouble with the law, the Caroline Counseling Center participates with the Juvenile Drug Court run by the Circuit Court of Caroline County. The Circuit Court recognizes that continued use of alcohol and other drugs in adolescent years greatly increases the likelihood of recidivism in the legal system through adulthood. Therefore, a partnership with the Caroline Counseling Center, Circuit Court, State’s Attorney’s Office, Office of the Public Defender, Department of Juvenile Services and Board of Education was developed to intervene early. The Juvenile Drug Court program is a twelve-month program designed to provide intensive family treatment and build skills to prevent relapse into further drug use.

The Addictions Program, in conjunction with Caroline County Mental Health Services, offers group and individual counseling for individuals suffering from dual disorders. In order to be a member of the Co-Occurring Disorders Group, an individual must be a client of both the Addictions Program and the Mental Health Program and actively participate in treatment for both his/her addiction and mental health disorders. Group counseling consists of a 24-week program of classes followed by guided discussion. Mental health and addiction topics are interspersed. These groups are co-facilitated by a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Social Worker. All clients are expected to participate in some type of 12-Step Support Group.

The Caroline County Alcohol/Drug Prevention Program philosophy and implementation is based upon the concept of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Our goal is to promote the personal and social growth of the individual to his or her maximum potential and deter the use of alcohol or other drugs. The Prevention Office is a free service to the community to use as a local resource. Prevention Office employees are available to speak to groups on alcohol and other drugs and related topics.

Currently, we offer a parenting curriculum on CD-ROM called Parenting Wisely. Parenting Wisely helps to increase the use of good parenting methods and parent’s knowledge about proper parenting skills, improves family relations and decreases problem behaviors in children. This program is used individually and is self-paced.

The Prevention Office also offers the All Stars Program through the after school program administered by Caroline County Recreation and Parks and through the Board of Education. All Stars is designed to delay and prevent high-risk behaviors in middle school-age adolescents (11 to 14 years old), including substance use and violence, by fostering development of positive personal characteristics. All Stars is based on strong research that has identified the critical factors that lead young people to begin experimenting with substances and participating in other high-risk behaviors. The program is designed to reinforce positive qualities that are typical of youth at this age.

The Combating Underage Drinking Coalition is also administered through the Prevention Office. The goal of the coalition is to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors by using a variety of techniques. The Coalition is composed of members from law enforcement, Board of Education, local parenting groups, health department employees, liquor licensing board and the general public. If you are interested in serving on the Coalition, please contact the Prevention Office at 410.479.3501.

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Leland D. Spencer, M.D. : Health Officer