Why River Oak Center?

Early recovery is difficult for anyone but can be especially so for teens.  For teens, it can be especially difficult to see any light at the end of tunnel when dealing with a substance use disorder. One the reasons it can be challenging is because most of them come from an environment where their peers, school system, and even family members are continuing to use mood and mind-altering substances. Feeling alone and alienated from their peers, and the need for some vital change in early recovery, can lead back to trying to find a connection with anything.  That, most commonly, will come from the use of returning to substance abuse. Without the change, this mental illness can easily take them back to what they feel worked in the past to rid one of these feelings; the use of alcohol and drugs. Early recovery is something new and scary, and without a guide on this journey it can often lead to a re occurrence of use.
To walk with them and their families on this path is not merely to motivate them to want something more, but also to show them that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, as well as being invested in their personal journey of long term recovery.  At River Oak Center, that is the privilege the counselors and staff get to experience. Counselors, be they academic or substance abuse, provide our students with insight into short and long terms goals, and help them develop of a plan on how to achieve these goals. Trade school certifications, the Military, and multiple levels of college education, River Oak Center specializes in supporting the academic experience for teens suffering from substance use disorders.

​Our counselors meet with the students on an as needed basis helping them to keep traction towards their dream goals.  Every student that is admitted to the military, college, university, or trade school is a potential life saved from the current substance use epidemic we are facing. The counselors at River Oak Center invest their time and talent into finding that light in our student. The light that will not only illuminate the lives of the students, but the families, communities, and potential future employers.
River Oak Center provides various forms of guidance throughout to assist the student in their journey through early recovery. Counselors at ROC work closely as a team to create the best plan for each student, based on their specific needs and goals. With the use of differing approaches and modalities of clinical support, traditional substance abuse treatment (group therapy and individual therapy), academic goals, twelve step meetings, and outdoor adventure therapy, students are given a diverse foundation from which to build a healthy foundation in their recovery.
We believe that becoming clean and sober can be accomplished while being supplemented with academic goals, even in early recovery.  We are proud to assist students in exploring a new chapter in their lives involving self-exploration, inspiration, renewal, and learning. As students step down to each level of care, the student is encouraged to follow a natural succession of growth, resulting in interdependence with their new sober community rather than complete dependence on others.   At the different phases of care, students typically have clear, achievable academic goals, are attending twelve step meetings, potentially working a part-time job and moving forward in their new journey.
Our intimate community is filled with people excited to be changing their lives. Our staff is supportive of each student and provides a tightly-knit community that fosters a healthy environment from which to grow.  Working at River Oak Center in this department affords us the valuable opportunity to humbly inspire people in their lives at a time that may be filled with pain and possibly desperation.  The opportunity to work with students and their families through this difficult time is something that River Oak Center and Florida Recovery Schools as a whole feel very fortunate to be a part of.  We have seen that each individual is unique and has their own path to follow. We are here to meet you there and gently guide you towards a road to freedom, firmly rooted in personal and academic accomplishment.
We look forward to assisting you in your journey through early recovery,

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