Recovery Brands, LLC
📍 302 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
📞 5183464436 Full profile & reviews Claim this listing
<p><strong>ABOUT NEW CHOICES RECOVERY CENTER</strong></p> <p>Founded in 1968 as the Alcoholism Council of Schenectady County, New Choices Recovery Center today provides several services, including one of New York's <a href="https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/state_data/NY16.pdf" target="_blank">247 (26.8 percent)</a> <strong>residential programs</strong> and one of the <a href="https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/state_data/NY16.pdf" target="_blank">258 (28 percent)</a> <strong>intensive outpatient programs (IOP)</strong>. No detoxification services are available on-site at the center's four residential or two outpatient facilities.</p> <p>The center also provides <strong><a href="https://www.recovery.org/pro/articles/why-do-people-drink-and-drive-the-answers-are-pretty-jarring/" target="_blank">DUI programming,</a></strong> placing it amongst the just <a href="https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/state_data/NY16.pdf" target="_blank">23.4 percent of</a> treatment centers in the state to do so. The nonprofit agency <a href="https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/06/04/everybody-s-being-affected-by-this-opioid-epidemic-takes-its-toll-on-schenectady" target="_blank">is the largest provider</a> of substance abuse and mental health services in Schenectady, N.Y., according to a January 2017 local Daily Gazette story. </p> <p><strong>TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT</strong></p> <p>Comprehensive evaluation and diagnosis services are provided at New Choices Recovery Center's main location. Drug testing is also available. The center's main <strong>Impaired Driver Program follows a 16-hour curriculum</strong>.</p> <p>The facility's website does not designate the length of or the therapeutic modality practiced in most other addiction treatment programs. However, the website does emphasize an overarching <strong>nonjudgmental, forward-looking approach to recovery</strong>. </p> <p>Clients can access this non-confrontational treatment through enrolling in a <strong>gender-specific residential rehab</strong> or in partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), or standard outpatient therapy. Some outpatient treatment is combined with longterm housing support.</p> <p>Among the many therapies and support services offered are <strong>individual counseling</strong>, gender-specific groups, <strong>life skills and wellness education</strong>, expressive arts therapy, <strong>conflict resolution training</strong>, and relapse prevention planning. Clients who have received a <a href="http://www.recovery.org/topics/dual-diagnosis-recovery/" target="_blank">dual diagnosis</a> participate in co-occurring or MICA (mentally ill and chemically addicted) services, which include <strong>medication management</strong>. </p> <p>Additionally, New Choices offers assistance with vocational and educational preparation, <strong>smoking cessation, and counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS</strong>. Clients with legal obligations can work with the facility to <strong>coordinate with the criminal justice system</strong>. Graduates of full residential or outpatient programs have access to <a href="http://www.recovery.org/topics/extended-recovery-programs/" target="_blank">ongoing aftercare</a>.</p> <p><strong>STAFF CREDENTIALS</strong></p> <p>Treatment team leader profiles on the New Choices Recovery Center website feature master's-level social workers, a licensed psychologist, and certified addiction and substance abuse counselors. Several job descriptions listed <strong>require master's degrees</strong>, and additional staff members include a creative arts therapist, nurses, and a psychiatrist. CiteHealth notes that some staff are <a href="http://citehealth.com/rehab-centers/new-york/cities/schenectady/bridge-center-of-schenectady-inc" target="_blank">bilingual in Spanish and English</a>.</p> <p><strong>ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES</strong></p> <p>The center's headquarters are located in downtown Schenectady, with <strong>one women's and three men's residential facilities set in local neighborhoods</strong>. Most of the houses began operating as rehab centers in the 1980s and 1990s. New Choices also operates <strong>subsidized housing for clients</strong> struggling with homelessness along with addiction and mental illness. No further details are available on the agency's website regarding living arrangements or related offerings.</p> <p>However, a 2017 state licensing document <a href="https://www.oasas.ny.gov/legal/CertApp/directory/documents/Rpt_CertifiedProviderRegister4_yellow.pdf" target="_blank">lists a total of 53 short-term beds</a> at Perrin, Purcell, and Smith Houses, and 22 at the long-term Bridge Center facility.</p> <p><strong>WHAT ALUMNI SAY</strong></p> <p>Very little feedback on this agency was available at the time of this writing; though, Rehabs.com has received survey responses from a sole former client, who offered mixed opinions. "To many people are there in the middle of winter," this former client, R.M., wrote. Despite this, R.M. reported that the program was good "For people on Medicaid." They rated the effectiveness of treatment three stars and but gave just two stars for the level of staff training and experience, options in counseling approaches to fit the client's preferences, and quality of treatment for co-occurring disorders.</p> <p>By contrast, two reviewers gave the organization perfect five-star ratings on Google. However, neither rating included written comments identifying particular strengths.<small class="footnote"><a target="_blank" href="#footnote-1"><sup>[1]</sup></a></small></p> <p><strong>WHAT STAFF SAY</strong></p> <p>Third party review sites Indeed and Glassdoor have 15 reviews between them of New Choices submitted by current or former employees. On Indeed, 12 users produced a 3.6 out of five-star average rating with overwhelmingly positive perspectives, highlighting the <strong>positive work environment, rewarding work, and supportive staff</strong>.<small class="footnote"><a target="_blank" href="#footnote-2"><sup>[2]</sup></a></small> </p> <p>One reviewer emphasized the "team atmosphere" and "family style" staff interactions, while another wrote, "The atmosphere at New Choices is condusive to learning and caring (for) clients." A third described the facility as a "Challenging yet rewarding place to work." On the other hand, one reviewer was very critical of under-staffing.</p> <p><strong>FINANCING</strong></p> <p>There is currently no information provided on the facility's website regarding costs or payment. New Choices does receive state grants, and the one individual polled by Rehabs.com to date indicated that treatment was affordable.</p> <p><strong>CONCLUSION</strong></p> <p>The Daily Gazette article referenced elsewhere in this review reported that state funding had been designated to allow the agency to <a href="https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/01/13/200k-in-funding-announced-for-schenectady-treatment-clinic" target="_blank">begin offering methadone treatment</a>.</p> <p><small class="footnote"><a target="_blank" href="#footnote-1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> <a href="https://goo.gl/8Lghhp" target="_blank">GoogleReviews</a></small><br /> <small class="footnote"><a target="_blank" href="#footnote-2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> <a href="https://www.indeed.com/cmp/New-Choices-Recovery-Center/reviews?fcountry=US&floc=Schenectady%2C+NY" target="_blank">https://www.indeed.com/cmp/New-Choices-Recovery-Center/reviews?fcountry=US&floc=Schenectady%2C+NY</a></small></p>
— Samantha Harper · 2018-10-07 07:53:40 PDT
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