Connecticut Counseling Centers Inc. announces that its Bridge to Recovery Program will receive the Federal SAMHSA Science and Service Award at the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence Conference Award Banquet in Las Vegas on April 24, 2012.  The Bridge to Recovery Program has been chosen to receive the award out of thirty-eight applicants.  The Program received funding from the CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Norwalk United Way.

The Bridge to Recovery Program is an innovative treatment initiative designed to increase medication assisted treatment retention and produce positive treatment outcomes. The initiative provides enhanced services to patients receiving treatment for narcotic dependence from Connecticut Counseling Centers’ Norwalk Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program. The Program trains patients as peer mentors who demonstrate a desire to help others achieve their own recovery. The mentors meet with patients who are having difficulty maintaining sobriety, missing counseling sessions, and are at risk of dropping out of treatment.  The Program works because the mentors have the ability to quickly bond with the patient and provide a “bridge” to recovery that helps them connect with the program’s other services. Outcome studies of this innovation have been extremely positive.

Additionally, the Peer Mentors attend 300 hours of counselor training in order to become a CT certified addictions counselor, which then offers them a career in the addictions treatment field.   The federal government projects that there will not be a sufficient number of addiction counselors to meet future demand for treatment.

Connecticut Counseling Centers, Inc. is a state-licensed, nationally accredited, not for profit Behavioral Healthcare Corporation that offers counseling, psychiatry, education and medication assisted treatment.  Connecticut Counseling Centers’ has facilities in Norwalk, Waterbury and Danbury which serves approximately 1700 patients annually from 67 Connecticut cities and towns.    

The purpose of these awards is to promote excellence in the treatment of opioid addiction by recognizing OTP's and OBOT practitioners who use pharmacotherapy as part of their treatment protocol and have demonstrated implementation of exemplary innovation services, practices, and/or strategies. resulting in improved patient outcomes.

Applications for the award were reviewed by a panel of experts in the field of addiction medicine using five specific criteria: (1) treatnent oioykatuins(s) served, (2) the EBP/EBT, (3) improved patient outcomes, (4) innovativeness, and (5) management and staff capabilities. Each application received three independent reviews by panel members who then nominated the program or individual practitioner for the award.

For more information about the “Bridge to Recovery Program” contact:
Robert C. Lambert, MA, LADC at 203.838.6508 ext. 238, or rlambert@ctcounseling.org

Kurt Kemmling, CMA at 209-RECOVER, or ccnama@gmail.com