Organization Helps Others With Substance Use, Mental Health Issues
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If a close friend or relative needs assistance in their struggles with substance abuse or mental health issues, there’s a new option to consider in Westchester.
This winter Release Recovery Centers opened its first clinic in the county at Purchase Professional Park offering outpatient programs including individual, family and group therapy, sober coaching, intervention services, medication management and medication-assisted treatment.
After having been established in 2016 in New York City by its founder and CEO Zac Clark, on Mar. 20, he and his staff and local and county officials cut the ribbon on its 7,698-square-foot facility at 3020 Westchester Ave.
“The name of the game is if you know someone who is suffering, if you know someone who needs help, if you need a warm voice on the front line, when we pick up that call, I promise we will talk to you,” Clark said.
Licensed through the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), Release Recovery has four full-time professionals at it Purchase office – a therapist, a certified alcoholism and substance abuse counselor (CASAC) and a certified recovery peer advocate (CRPA). The organization also has its own board certified chief medical officer, Dr. Michael McCormick.
Release Recovery receives patients from doctors and other healthcare providers as well as walk-ins and people who inquire about or seek out its services on their own, said Laura Sorte, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of its Purchase location. It accepts many private insurance providers for those with out-of-network benefits, she said.
“So we’re really meeting the needs of our clients in a peer recovery aspect, a medical aspect, a clinical aspect and a substance abuse aspect,” Sorte said.
“We have a good relationship with therapeutic and educational counselors and doctors in the area, they know what we’re doing and they give us a call, and then there’s Google,” Sorte added. “People just Google us.”
The intensive outpatient program runs for 12 weeks with a different focus each week in areas such as emotional regulation, self-awareness, relapse prevention, guilt and shame and interpersonal connections and relationships, among other issues that are addressed, according to material from Release Recovery.
Once the intensive program is completed, the client is transitioned into a 12-week “step-down” outpatient program, which includes weekly individual therapy, a weekly group therapy session, medication management and family therapy.
In addition to reporting with OASAS, Clark said Release Recovery is also working with Westchester County’s Department of Community Mental Health.
For County Legislator Nancy Barr (D-Rye Brook), whose district is now the home for Release Recovery, said it’s exciting that a respected organization wanted to open a clinic in Westchester, especially because of the importance to find help for countless individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues.
“We’re finally hearing people coming forward and feeling comfortable enough to say, ‘Hey, I need some help,’” Barr said. “We need places like this where people can go and get the help that they need. We’re very focused on that in Westchester County, and I am just really excited to see your space and welcome you here.”
Since its founding, Release Recovery has also operated transitional housing throughout the metropolitan area, including in Yorktown, and operates a nonprofit foundation where it is able to offer services through scholarships from money that the foundation raises.
For more information, about Release Recover Centers, call 914-588-6564 or visit www.releaserecovery.com.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
