Locating a Drug or Alcohol Rehab Center in Northwest Florida
The oldest and best known center for treating drug and alcohol abuse is The Friary, an ancillary of the Lakeview Center. Lakeview Center is in turn an affiliate of Baptist Health Care and has been the mental health facility voted number one in the country in terms of client satisfaction four years in a row by the non-profit Mental Health Corporations of America, Inc. For over fifty years Lakeview Center has provided counseling for those seeking relief from mental health problems and addiction. The Friary, located in the community of Gulf Breeze, Florida, is the center’s facility for treating substance abuse patients. (Gulf Breeze, by the way, is perhaps most famous for being the center of UFO sightings in the late 80s/early 90s. It has been determined that no member of The Friary was in any way connected with these sightings!)
The Friary, which is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities is located in a placid area on Pensacola Bay, punctuated by palm trees and live oaks, that once housed retired Franciscan friars (hence the name), and was turned into a substance-abuse treatment center in 1975. The Friary offers a comprehensive program for treating substance abuse ranging from short-term partial day treatments (30 days or less) to full-scale detox with twenty-four hour medical attention. Prior to deciding which treatment you or your loved one should undergo, the Friary offers a free and completely confidential assessment.
Family involvement is the cornerstone of The Friary’s approach to rehab. Family members are actively invited and engaged in discussion groups and therapy groups, including the Family Continuing Care Group held for one hour every Thursday night. The openness of this meeting is an invitation for family members and friends who have themselves gone through the stress involved in being associated with someone addicted to drugs or alcohol to open up and express their feelings. Even to vent their feelings in an unedited and uncensored manner. One of the missions of the Friary is to let the patient know that he has hurt lives with his addiction but that treatment can turn the pain around.
Key to this approach is the Continuing Care Program where graduates of the program can return to attend weekly meetings and share the problems and struggles of dealing with beating addiction after the intensive care of being in a facility is no longer a safety net. There is also an Alumni Association meeting each month. In addition, the past two years has seen a three-day alumni retreat.
The Friary offers assistance in determining insurance cover ability and most of the larger insurance plans are accepted, but be prepared. Drug rehab is not inexpensive. The 23 day program costs $10,500 that costs includes physician charges as well.
In addition to The Friary, Lakeview Center also offers its DUI and Driver Education Program, which offers substance abuse courses to both DUI offenders and those who may be court-ordered to attend a DUI program. Classes are offered covering everything from how the law deals with drunk driving to the effects of alcohol on driving examining patterns of social drinking. There are two levels of course: Level I is a 12 hour course and Level II is a 21 hour course. The fees for these courses are, respectively, $205 and $310 and the classes involve lectures, discussions, videos and, yes, homework!
A few miles down the beach you will find Twelve Oaks Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Navarre, Fl. An affiliate of CRC Health Group, Twelve Oaks is also located in a scenic beachfront atmosphere with an 84 bed recovery facility situated on its five-acre “campus.” Twelve Oaks gets its accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is patterned after the 12 Step System of Alcoholics Anonymous. Like The Friary, Twelve Oaks offers both limited and intensive care treatments. They also offer an intervention program for those families dealing with a loved one who has yet to recognize or admit to their addiction.
An interesting program that Twelve Oaks offers is one especially for Native Americans. Counseling services are offered to address the specific problems dealt with by this minority, including the effects of culturally-ingrained behaviors and the problems associated with Native American myths and beliefs that can lead to certain types of substance abuse.
A methamphetamine detox program offers both cognitive therapy, impulse control exercises and support groups to help deal with the often severe reactions associated with withdrawal.
In addition, Twelve Oaks offers a specific treatment programmed patterned toward young adults and juveniles. Like The Friary, Twelve Oaks offers a free and confidential consultation. They also accept most insurance plans.
Nobody wants to himself or a family member to wind up in a drug or alcohol rehab center, but certainly both The Friary and Twelve Oaks are the kinds of facilities you would want should the unthinkable occur.
The Friary: 4400 Hickory Shores Blvd.
Gulf Breeze, Florida 32563
Phone (850) 932-9375
Toll Free (800) 332-2271
Twelve Oaks:
2068 Healthcare Avenue
Navarre, FL 32566
Phone: (850)939-1200 or 1-800-622-1255
