An Alternative Peer Group (APG) is a community-based, family-centered, professionally staffed, peer support program that offers pro-social activities, group counseling, education, prevention and intervention for youth who struggle with substance abuse and mental illness.
Our Alternative Peer Group program borrows from the traditional “Twelve Step Model.” These steps are tailored to meet the developmental needs of adolescents by focusing on peer relationships as the catalyst for change. Our Twelve Step model includes many different activities and benefits for teens, such as:
Criteria - The criteria for admittance into the APG level of care is: client is age 13-21 and family displays a need to eradicate substance use or substance use related issues from their lives. This level of care operates concurrently with all other levels of care and continues after other levels of care are completed.
The length of stay for the APG level of care is 12 months on average.
Our youth groups are facilitated by licensed professionals. Staff members are trained in a model of care based on research-supported principles that address risk factors for substance abuse and mental illness.
Services are provided in a wide range of advanced therapy and counseling skills so that treatment may be provided to clients with complex substance abuse and/or mental health issues.
Groups that are held meet 2x a week for 2 hours. See the different groups below.
APG’s are a much better fit for the young person seeking recovery because the main focus is to offer and shape a new peer group that utilizes positive peer pressure to obtain and maintain recovery. In addition, APG’s focus on making recovery more fun by organizing and staffing functions throughout the week, weekends, and summers.
