A Message From Our Founder
As an adolescent I was already in the throes of a very well developed addiction and all of the heartache that comes with it; the deceit, the arguments on the front lawn, the look in the eyes of those who cared about me most, the violence. When I was still early in my career as an addictions professional, I wanted to develop programming that had a devastating effect on substance use disorders. Instead I experienced disappointment, obstruction, and territorial professionals. The disease of addiction has humbled me repeatedly both professionally and personally. But that hasn’t slowed me down.
It is my belief that the treatment industry needs to take a hard look at itself. We have accepted less than mediocre results as a definition for success for too long. We have allowed too many variables such as stigma, finances, and cumbersome policies to dictate the box within which we conceptualize treatment. The result has been treatment that lacks a soul. My promise to you is that Project Courage will continually push to develop programming that has a devastating effect on substance use disorders. For starters, our number one goal is to develop a strong therapeutic alliance with our clients and reverse the trend of treatment drop out. We achieve this by having a staff that specializes in adolescent and young adult substance use disorders, providing treatment that’s developmentally appropriate, and providing meaningful opportunities for our clients to experience real change.
Second, I want my staff to feel appreciated and cared for so they can provide creative and vibrant services for their clients. Staff at Project Courage enjoy caseload sizes that are a fraction the size of industry norms. This in turn allows them to care for themselves, develop professionally and collaborate with other stakeholders in the client’s treatment. We have fun at Project Courage and we work as a team to take on the disease of addiction.
Third, from the first moments our clients pull up to our office they’ll sense the Project Courage difference. Why? Because we’re not tucked away in an industrial park, or in brick and mortar building on a hospital campus. We’re at 130 Elm Street in Old Saybrook surrounded by nature and beautiful views. The aesthetics of our building both inside and out communicate commitment, warmth, and hope.
Finally, we focus on implementation and creativity when delivering our services. The trend in the treatment industry is often to base treatment on meeting stipulations set by regulatory boards and third-party payers and consider client needs second. That’s not how we work at Project Courage. We’ve developed our programming on what research has suggested is effective and the collective wisdom of our staff from our professional and personal experiences. From here, we implement our treatment as it was meant to be, ensuring the fidelity of our modalities while simultaneously embracing the spirit of creativity to energize our services. As a final measure we continually measure our clients’ feedback on our services to make sure we’re on target with meeting their needs.
And we’re not going to stop there. Our plan over the next year is to continue expanding our services, including an indoor low elements adventure therapy course, fitness and nutrition support, brain neurofeeback (EEG) interventions, and holistic offerings such as yoga, Reiki and martial arts.
Addiction better start looking over its shoulder.
Andy Buccaro LCSW & LADC
Founder and Executive Director