Programs, Groups & Education

WHAT WE DO

Since 1970, Port Counseling Center has provided counseling services to individuals and families involved in chemical dependency. In an overly stressful and demanding world, Port Counseling Center is interested in promoting recovery, well-being and health through awareness and understanding. The services of Port Counseling Center are a reflection of the interests, values and concerns of our community and are therefore designed to offer a broad spectrum of modalities.

• Treatment

  In an outpatient setting counseling is available for chemically dependent persons, and the spouses, children, siblings, and significant others within the chemically dependent person's emotional range.

• Recovery and Relapse Prevention

  The recovery and relapse prevention program helps clients to identify their triggers and develop a more productive and healthful way of coping with them while remaining clean and sober.

• Families Coping with Chemical Dependency

  This program is designed to help families become aware of the effects of chemical dependency and supports family members with their specific concerns, utilizing family therapy or individual counseling.

• Emotional Difficulties

  We help the client to identify how anxiety and depression can increase the dependence on drugs and alcohol in order to self-medicate.

• Life Transition Adjustments

  Port Counseling Center helps the client to identify difficulties ranging from adolescent pressures to mid-life crises to retirement issues and helps the individual to develop a more productive drug and alcohol free lifestyle.

• Education and Prevention

  The stress of growing up in today's world, or the pressures of raising a family or supporting oneself makes it easy to turn to drugs or alcohol in an attempt to cope. At Port Counseling Center, groups and classes offer information, clarification, understanding and alternatives to substance abuse.

• Chemical Dependency Education (Bilingual)

  Consists of a series of lectures and videos providing education to the chemically dependent person and their family about the physical, emotional, and spiritual causes and effects of using chemical substances.

• Significant Others/Family Members of Chemically Dependent Persons

  Significant others and important family members who are at risk are evaluated, and provided with an emotional support system in order to reduce the social and emotional stresses encountered while being involved in a relationship with a chemically dependent adolescent or adult.

• Vocational/Educational Counseling

  Provides on-site vocational/educational counseling and aptitude testing to assist recovered clients in completing their education and/or becoming skilled thereby increasing their employability potential.

• Compulsive Gambling Treatment

  Clients need not have a drug/alcohol diagnosis for this new program. This program assists persons who wish to stop compulsive gambling but are unable to quit on their own and need a support system. Gambling may include lottery tickets, scratch offs, online poker, slots, sports betting, poker, roulette, card games, OTB.

GROUPS

• Orientation Group for New Clients

  This required group meets one time to offer new clients an orientation to agency policies, rules and regulations pertaining to their participation in the program.

• Psycho-Educational Group

  An early recovery group is essential in gaining sobriety. The group is designed to have interactive discussions along with films and lectures. It also enlightens early recoverers to the disease concept. This is helpful to each group member in order to gain insight and awareness into their addiction. In P/ED group clients are introduced to self-help AA and NA meetings. This has proved helpful in the early recovery stage because each client is exposed to the 12-step concept. The P/ED group also covers issues relating to family and friends of early recoverers.

• Recovery Groups - English and Spanish

  The recovery group is designed to be an open-ended process group. Clients are encouraged to get in touch with feelings, perceptions, thought processes and attitudes that either aid or hinder them in their recovery. Focus is on being able to openly communicate with each other and to respect each other's differences. The group is interactive and introspective which allows for both supportive and confrontational feedback.

• Relapse Prevention Group

  The purpose of the relapse prevention group is to study and discuss the progression of addiction of drug and alcohol as well as the medical aspects of drugs and alcohol. We also discuss the effects of drugs and alcohol on the central nervous system. Another topic that is discussed is the theory that abstinence alone does not constitute sobriety, but abstinence plus change equals sobriety.

• STOP DWI Program – Chemical Dependency Education Series (Driving While Intoxicated)

  The DWI Chemical Dependency Education Group is offered as part of a program licensed by New York State. The program consists of individual counseling, random urine tests and breathalyzer tests. Group meetings include HIV/AIDS education, and the medical consequences of alcohol and chemical abuse; also lectures or films and sometimes guest speakers followed by a group discussion. Another requirement for the DWI program is the attendance at AA meetings. A Spanish language DWI program is also available.

• Spanish Stop DWI Program – Chemical Dependency Education Series (Driving While Intoxicated)

  The Spanish Chemical Dependency Educational Series is a component of the Spanish Stop DWI Program. The educational series provides information and a forum for discussion concerning such topics as the psychology of addiction, defenses, physical aspects of alcohol use, relapse and co-dependency. All sessions are conducted in Spanish. All sessions highlight culture and it's implications concerning specific topics covered. Videos and hand out materials are used.

• Self-Help Meetings (A.A)

  There are two(2) Alcoholics Anonymous (12 Step) meetings held at Port Counseling Center. The meetings are open to the public for persons in recovery. Call for schedule or go to "Get Involved:Events Calendar" on this site for schedule.

• Anger Management

  The anger management course we offer is taken from a nation wide and highly successful format and facilitated by a counselor certified by the designers of the course. It is open to any client of the agency. The course runs for 14 weeks. The format stresses a set of tools designed to help people from all walks of life identify and manage anger in an ever changing world.