DAYTOP FAMILY THERAPHY

Family Association | Family Therapy
	Family Association For those whose loved ones are substance abusers, Daytop's Family Association can be a place of refuge where sanity is restored to their lives. Membership is open to anyone whose family member or significant other has abused drugs: those whose loved one is in treatment at Daytop, in treatment at another program, or not yet in treatment at all. The Association is run by family members for family members. They have support groups and informational seminars all designed specifically for those dealing with the effects of someone else's substance use. Through the Family Association you can: Receive on-going emotional support when you need it Regain a perspective on your own life Let go of the pain and suffering Understand why your loved one turned to drugs Learn how to guide your loved one into treatment The Family Association newsletter, DAYTOPICS is published regularly and sent to all members. Family Association meetings are held at many of our sites. For specific locations, days and times, please call In New York, Daytop Headquarters, 212 - 354-6000, extension 329 In New Jersey, our Mendham facility, 973 - 543-5656 Family Therapy Licensed Family Therapists are part of the clinical team which formulates and monitors each client's treatment plan. Family sessions may be scheduled at different points throughout the program, depending on individual need. It is crucial for both client and family members to learn healthy ways of interacting, to heal the family unit and rebuild the communication and trust which were disrupted by one member's substance abuse.

DAYTOP EDUCATION DRUG TREATMENT

Adolescent Education | Daytop Prep | NYC Department of Education Adolescent GED| Adult Education | College
	Adolescent Education Education is a significant aspect of recovery, and is integrated into the client's treatment plan. All adolescents who do not have high school diplomas continue their education at Daytop. Many of our students have gaps in their educational history because of issues related to their treatment needs. All incoming students receive a diagnostic evaluation to determine their present levels and needs. The goal is to prepare students to be on a level with their peers when they return to their local schools. Daytop Preparatory School Daytop Prep is a Registered Nonpublic School for adolescents in New York State who are in treatment for problems related to alcohol and substance abuse. Students work toward a HighSchool Diploma. They can take Regents and standardized tests, and credits can be transferred to the students' home school districts. On average, 92% of our students who participate in Regents exams pass and proceed to their next grade. Our students typically have not experienced success in school prior to coming into Daytop. Our small classes and individual instruction make school a positive experience as they target personal goals specific to each student's academic plan. Daytop Prep has 7 campuses on the Daytop facilities in Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester, and Dutchess Counties. NYC Department Of Education Clients in treatment at our Outreach centers within the boroughs of New York City attend classes staffed by New York City Department of Education teachers. This includes the centers at the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island Outreach centers. Students prepare for and take all standard tests appropriate for their grade levels. New Jersey Small classes and individualized instruction are given to students, on campus, at all our centers. For specifics of education at our New Jersey centers, visit www.DaytopNJ.org. Adolescent GED Classes Students above compulsory education age may work toward a General Equivalency Diploma. Classes are held at all adolescent facilities, and include test preparation. Tests can be taken, as well, at two of our residential sites. Most trade schools and community colleges accept the GED in lieu of a High School Diploma. Due to small classes and individual attention, our Daytop adolescent students pass this rigorous test at a rate of 89%. This is significantly higher than the New York state average. Adult Education For Adults in a residential program who do not have a high school diploma, further education is almost always part of their treatment plan. Daytop offers adult GED (General Equivalency Diploma) and ABE (Adult Basic Education) classes on campus. Preparation for taking the tests for these certificates, and the tests themselves, are administered at a facility. College There are two groups of clients at Daytop who may be in college while in a treatment component. Adolescents at an outreach who complete their high school education may begin college. They are likely to be in the Aftercare phase of treatment by this time. Those in residential components, who have a high school diploma or GED, may take Community College courses on campus upstate. These are integrated into their treatment plans, and their goals are monitored as they proceed to Re-entry or Aftercare.

DAYTOP HISTORY

DAYTOP HISTORY

On July 30, 1957, Father William B. O'Brien, a young parish priest from Tuckahoe, NY on duty at St. Patrick's Cathedral, was fatefully drawn into the seamy world of drug abuse and crime. The mother of a gang member frantically came to the priest for help when her son, along with seven others, was accused of the murder of a rival gang leader. Father O'Brien quickly realized that the common denominator in this, and most other street crime, was drugs. Deeper inquiry revealed an appalling scarcity of programs treating substance abuse with any measure of success.

In the 1950's, the public attitude was "once an addict, always an addict." Neither jail nor hospital stays seemed to make a bit of difference to an addicted person. Father O'Brien started researching other means of treating addiction. One of the places he looked at was Synanon. In 1958, Charles Dederich, himself a recovering alcoholic, started Synanon as a community of recovering people. This system was based on group encounters and addicts confronting each other, demanding self-revelation and responsibility.

Concurrent with Father O'Brien's search, a group of learned men from the Brooklyn Court system was on a similar quest. Dr. Alexander Bassin, Chief Researcher for the Kings County Supreme Court Probation Department, was perturbed by the disheartening results of turnstile sentences given to addicts. Dr. Bassin's strength of purpose spurred his boss, Joseph Shelly; criminologist Herbert A. Block; and Dr. Dan Casriel, a consulting psychiatrist with the Brooklyn Court, to a nationwide search for an effective response to the addicts who showed up in their courtrooms. They also saw possibilities in Synanon.

By a fortuitous turn of fate, Father O'Brien and Dr. Casriel chose the same day to visit the Synanon intake center in Westport, Connecticut. What they saw there convinced them that they were on the right track.

Dr. Bassin's team from the Brooklyn Court, based on their findings, applied for and were granted $390,00 from the National Institute of Mental Health on April 15, 1963. This grant led to the founding of Daytop Lodge at Butler Manor, Staten Island. This first rehabilitation facility was designed for 22 male probationers from the Brooklyn corrections system.

The basics of the treatment program were group therapy sessions, role modeling, job assignments and a hierarchy of peers. As residents progressed, they received more responsible duties, and earned more privileges. Those coming after them could see that others like themselves were gaining respect, and that life without drugs was possible. These basic elements have remained, as the therapeutic community evolved to meet the changing populations and needs of the clients.

The early days of Daytop Lodge were stormy with shifting leadership, which culminated in its absorption into Daytop Village, Inc. in October 1964 at Prince's Bay, Staten Island. The Staten Island community was adamantly against Daytop's presence in their neighborhood, and hundreds of residents picketed, and managed to block funding for the new agency for many months.

By now Daytop Village was a full-fledged therapeutic community, whose residents included men and women, arrestees as well as voluntary referrals. As Daytop's success in drug treatment became known, the need for treatment centers grew. Father O'Brien and his Board of Directors began to look at Sullivan County in the Catskill Mountains of New York State for more space. By moving treatment centers out of the city, they also would remove the residents from the temptations of the city. The first such residential facility was Daytop Swan Lake, which opened in June 1966.

In the next couple of years it became evident that there was a problem with more casual drug users, as well as hard-core addicts. In response, Daytop developed its first outpatient center. This facility (or outreach), located in Mount Vernon in Westchester County, New York, opened in 1968 and served residents of the community.

In the late 1960's conflict over the Vietnam war and drug use as rebellion surged throughout the youth population of the country. There was more and more need for rehabilitation programs. Daytop expanded with more residential facilities, and more outpatient centers throughout the New York Area.

As each center opened, there was initial community opposition, but as Daytop proved to be a good neighbor, this attitude changed. Still political resistance continued, sometimes opposing and delaying funding. In 1972 Daytop was completing negotiations for the building that is now Daytop World Headquarters, and funds weren't available for the down payment. Daytop turned to its Family Association, which is an organization of concerned family members of Daytop clients and graduates. Through an incredible effort, they raised the $100,000 needed for that down payment in less than thirty days!

Community support has come and gone and come again. The profile of our clients has changed over the years. The numbers of adolescents using drugs keeps going up, and their ages keep going down. Parents recognize that early treatment can save much pain and trouble later, and so these adolescents are getting help sooner. Employers recognize that trouble on the job may be a sign of substance abuse, and refer their employees to programs for help. Medical, educational and other services have been added to treatment programs to meet the needs of new populations. But Daytop has kept the basic tools that proved successful so many years ago and adapted them to today's changing population. And Father, now Monsignor, O'Brien, still passionately presides over this miracle of amazing change and growth flourishing at our treatment centers.

Daytop Philosophy - Daytop Mission Statement

Daytop Mission Statement

Daytop Inc. of New York is committed to addressing the substance abuse and life problems of adolescents and adults. Daytop contends that people are the captains of their own destiny and only they can do it, but they cannot do it alone. Positive peer interaction is emphasized in a highly structured familial environment known as a Therapeutic Community. Within this milieu Daytop offers an integrated holistic treatment regime, which is multi-disciplinary in nature. Daytop is committed to returning clients to society as productive, responsible and drug-free citizens. Treatment is provided to all clients without discrimination, including those without adequate financial resources. At all times the dignity, rights and needs of each client are preserved and respected thus reducing the stigma of persons served.

Daytop Philosophy

I am here because there is no refuge.
Finally, from myself.
Until I confront myself in the eyes
and hearts of others, I am running.
Until I suffer them to share my secrets,
I have no safety from them.
Afraid to be known, I can know
neither myself nor any other, I will be alone.
Where else but in our common ground,
can I find such a mirror?
Here, together, I can at last appear
clearly to myself not as the giant
of my dreams nor the dwarf of my fears,
but as a person, part of a whole,
with my share in its purpose.
In this ground, I can take root and grow,
Not alone anymore as in death,
But alive to myself and to others.

DAYTOP - What is a Therapeutic Community?

What is a Therapeutic Community?

The therapeutic community is a drug-free self help program whose primary goals are the cessation of substance abuse behaviors and the fostering of personal growth. The TC model incorporates nine essential elements. These elements are based on the social learning theory that utilizes the community to foster behavioral and attitudinal change. The elements are: active participation, membership feedback, role modeling, collective formats for guiding individual change, shared norms and values, structure and systems, open communication, individual and group relationships and a unique terminology.

The TC includes both professional and para-professional staff. Graduates of the TC program who have completed classroom and internship training in counseling are an essential part of the program's effectiveness, as is the inclusion of professionals from the fields of medicine, mental health, education, and law.

Community activities help members explore and learn about themselves in the following four distinct yet overlapping areas of personal development: behavior management, emotional/psychological, intellectual and spiritual and vocation/education and survival skills. The TC believes that people can change and that learning occurs through challenge and action, understanding and sharing common human experiences.

Treatment in the TC begins with entry into the community. Here the member learns the values and norms of the community, which are a reflection of those held by society. In the middle phase of treatment, members explore individual histories and experiences, practice new behaviors and begin to gain increased self-esteem and knowledge of themselves. As new attitudes and behaviors are developed so too are individual goals and possibilities for the future, including vocational and educational training. The next phase of treatment involves the important task of re-entry into the larger community. New ways of relating to others are practiced and members gain valuable experience in working or going to school outside the TC while receiving support from the community. Ultimately, the member will be ready to live independently and continue to gain support from an aftercare program.

The TC model is adaptable to different client populations and settings. Adolescent programs include a full educational curriculum and greater family involvement. The model can be adapted to an outpatient setting, long or shorter-term treatment and include specialized groups such as those involving medical regimes or other lifestyle changes. The TC engages the whole person in the recovery process and challenges the individual to have a full, positive life with healthy supportive relationships and satisfying work.

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