PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A County organization recently began providing a program for individuals and loved ones who have been affected by substance use disorder and hopes to help them combat the many barriers that could challenge the recovery process.
For years, Northern Lighthouse, Inc., has offered mental and behavioral health therapy, counseling, case management and other services to children and adults throughout Aroostook County. But until October 2018, it had not operated a substance use treatment program. Now it is offering such services from its offices in Caribou, Presque Isle and Houlton.
With the opioid epidemic growing more deadly across the country and state of Maine, Aroostook County has not been immune to the crisis, according to officials.
“We do not have specific numbers on substance use disorder in Aroostook County but we know that opioid and methamphetamine addiction has become more prevalent,” said Lacey Sawyer, a licensed clinical social worker and certified clinical supervisor for Northern Lighthouse’s substance use disorder program.
The program currently serves 15 local clients and works with both individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorder and any family members or loved ones who are emotionally impacted by the ordeal. Services include individual and group counseling, support groups for both adults and children, intensive outpatient therapy and co-occurring treatment, which combines mental health and substance use disorder treatments.
Northern Lighthouse also offers a psycho-education course to teach loved ones about substance use disorder as a brain disease and is a local site for Department of Transportation certified drug screenings for motorists who have violated a drug or alcohol mandate. They also offer meeting space for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups who wish to start a 12-step program for individuals.
Sawyer noted that focusing on not just individuals in treatment for substance use but also their “affected others” helps therapists and counselors create a greater support system for clients and better educate the community about the disorder.
“It’s been proven that individuals who have a support system in the community are 62 percent more likely to enter into treatment,” she said. “The community needs to understand addiction as a disease, not a choice.”
In rural Aroostook County, some barriers that might prevent individuals from seeking or continuing treatment can be the cost of health insurance, lack of transportation, social stigma associated with substance use disorder and lack of access to medical providers who are licensed to prescribe medications used to assist in the recovery process.
Some of the goals for Northern Lighthouse’s new program, Sawyer said, are to use telemedicine services for individuals who are unable to travel to therapy and counseling sessions and to work with medical providers who might be licensed to prescribe addiction assistance medications but are not actively doing so. By providing the substance use disorder treatment program, the organization staffers also hope to increase individuals’ support systems locally.
“Many times individuals in treatment have sought services downstate and felt like they could not return home to Aroostook County because of the more limited amount of services available here,” Sawyer said. “Some have relapsed because they weren’t in an environment where they were comfortable or close to their families.”
Northern Lighthouse, Inc. offers the substance use disorder program through its offices in Caribou, Presque Isle and Houlton. Anyone seeking more information about the program can call toll free at 1-844-659-2629 or the Presque Isle office at (207) 540-1522.
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- Northern Lighthouse, Inc. has begun providing substance use disorder services for individuals in Aroostook County from its offices in Caribou, Presque Isle (shown here) and Houlton. (Melissa Lizotte)
