Our Services

CARF Certification thru

May 2012

Our Vision:

A Substance Abuse-Free Sumter

Treatment

Treatment takes place primarily at the New Alternatives Family Counseling Center located at 441 N. Main Street. New Alternatives provides counseling and support for substance abusers and their families. We provide Community Based Treatment (CBT), which allows the opportunity for participants to maintain a normal lifestyle while receiving counseling support in an individual or group setting. We also offer an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) which offers individuals the chance to receive more intensive care on an outpatient basis while remaining active at work or in the home. We offer Women’s IOP for women only and addresses women-specific issues. We also offer Men’s IOP for men and issues specific to them.

Day and night programs are offered, including programs for women who fall victim to domestic abuse, programs for those with gambling addictions, and programs for smoking addictions. HIV/AIDS Education is also offered at New Alternatives and addresses prevention, education, adjustment, and living skills pertaining to the disease.

Adolescent Services are available for those adolescents who are involved in alcohol/drug use, have had school-related problems (fighting, expulsions, suspensions, etc. ) anger management, legal problems (arrests, DJJ involvement), behavior issues, and crisis interventions. Individuals will receive a complete bio-psychological assessment to determine appropriate services that may include individual, group, family counseling, and drug screening. Services may be obtained by phoning (803) 775-6815.

Intensive Family Services (IFS), IFS is a program at New Alternatives, part of the treatment division of the Sumter Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Our program is intended to assist, support and keep families together. We work with cases referred by human services agencies in our community.

Often families find themselves in crisis. The children won’t stay in school, someone in the family uses/abuses alcohol, marijuana or other drugs, a family member may be in jail or DJJ custody. The child may have behavioral issues at home or school or may be on the verge of being removed from the home. IFS can help stabilize the family via a wide range of support services, counseling (individual and family) and interventions.

Intensive Family Services offers a broad range of intensive clinical services designed to intervene in families where the threat of removal of one or more children from the home may be imminent. Services are predominantly provided within the home environment of the identified child.

The identified client for IFS is a child (age 0-21) who may be at-risk of being removed from the home due to family discord, problems at school or legal involvement. The purpose of IFS services is to reinforce and enhance the child’s ability to function at school, in the community and within the family by communicating and demonstrating behavior management methods / techniques and appropriate skills to promote stability and resolve conflict.

IFS is a 24 week program. After the family unit has been stabilized and preserved, the IFS Counselor will discontinue services or refer the family for ancillary services available in the community.

IFS Components:

Client Record – A client record is opened for each child referred to the program.

Ongoing Assessments – Assessments are conducted to determine the strengths and needs of the child, family, school, peers, neighborhood, community and linkages between the systems.

Individual Treatment Plan – Mutually developed by the identified child/family and the IFS Counselor in collaboration with the referring agency’s Case Manager.

Individual Counseling Sessions – Geared to increase self esteem, improve communication and develop coping skills.

Family Counseling Sessions – Tailored to address the unique needs of each family in the home environment.

On-Call Services – IFS Counselors are available to their families on evenings and weekends as needed.

Staff/Case Ratios - One full time counselor to five child/family units.

New Alternatives

441 N. Main St.