The Collegiate Addict
by Amanda Baker

Both popular media and academic publications consistently feature information about the growing number of substance abusing or dependent student on America’s college campuses.  With 1 in 4 American college students having a diagnosable substance abuse problem, the collegiate addict/alcoholic population is becoming increasingly prevalent in treatment centers, halfway houses, and other recovery support programs.

Working with the collegiate population can be challenging as traditional treatment programs addressing either adolescent or adult populations generally do not meet the needs of this group.  Though several treatment facilities have developed collegiate tracks, they are still too few.  In addition, outpatient programs, which are often a good fit for this population, can be inaccessible due to lack of transportation or inconvenient program times.

One of the most challenging aspects of working with college students is setting them up with post-treatment recovery support systems that are effective and that mesh with the collegiate client’s post-treatment goals.  College students (and their parents) often place a higher value on re-enrolling in coursework than on taking the time to form a solid foundation in early recovery.  This attitude can often be a recipe for relapse given the elevated rates of alcohol and drug consumption on college campuses and the probability of the client returning to the same people, places, and things.  As a result, it is important for treatment centers, halfway houses, and institutions of higher education to work together to form seamless continuums of care for the recovering student.

One example of a collaborative effort that is proving to be successful involves the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery (CSAR) at Texas Tech University, Lubbock-based treatment center the Ranch at Dove Tree, and Stages of Recovery transitional living facility.  Together, these three organizations are working together to create a system of recovery support for the collegiate addict that begins at day one of treatment and continues until college graduation.

Established in 1986, the CSAR has been recognized as a pioneer in recovery support for college students.  Its Collegiate Recovery Community, formerly know as Academic Aftercare for Recovering Students, has provided recovery support, scholarship dollars, and academic advising to hundreds of recovering students. With a relapse rate of less than 10%, the program continues to assist an average of 70 students annually with their pursuit of higher education. The program received federal support in 2005 to export its model of recovery support to other institutions of higher education across the country. Since that time, the CSAR has helped to double the number of recovery support programs on college and university campuses around the United States.

In 2006, the CSAR entered into a partnership with the Ranch at Dove Tree. One immediate goal of the partnership was to develop more effective methods for treating the collegiate population and to increase the length and availability of services for this population in Lubbock and the surrounding rural areas.  The first step toward this goal was the creation of an Intensive Outpatient Program that met on the campus of Texas Tech University.  Though it is not accessed exclusively by college students, the Ranch IOP addressed the goals of the partnership in two ways:1) It moved treatment services to a location that was easily accessible to Texas Tech students who could not drop out of the university to receive treatment, and 2) It introduced collegiate clients stepping down from the Ranch residential program (who may have taken a leave from their education) to the Collegiate Recovery Community and to the potential for on-campus recovery support while they completed their education.

Stages of Recovery, a transitional living center for young men, opened in Lubbock in February of 2008.  This six-month residential recovery support program, which is designed to assist young men in early recovery with reestablishing educational and career goals, provides an important bridge between primary treatment programs and Collegiate Recovery Communities which generally require applicants to have a minimum of six-months in recovery prior to enrollment.  The Stages opening strengthened the existing network of services offered for college students in the Lubbock and Texas Tech communities.

The number of collegiate addicts has the potential to increase substantially over the next decade.  As the treatment community prepares to address the needs of this population, aftercare planning must be at the forefront of the effort.  Collaborative efforts between treatment centers, halfway houses, and institutions of higher education have enormous potential to assist young men and women in their attempts to achieve life-long recovery.