New recovery dorms help student addicts

University Business, July, 2005

A handful of IHEs are addressing the needs of their students with alcohol or drug addictions through the development of "recovery dorms."

Offering group therapy sessions and a sober environment, these recovery dorms are safe havens for students who would otherwise seek off-campus treatment for their substance abuse, or worse, not get treatment at all. They are not to be confused with the alcohol-free dorms, which unlike recovery dorms are prevalent across campuses nationwide. While there is a growing number of college student addicts--they make up about 10 to 12 percent of the college student population, according to several studies--only a few IHEs, including Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), Rutgers University (N.J.), and Augsburg College (Minn.) offer this kind of sobriety-supporting living environment.

Case Western opened its recovery dorm to seven students last August. "It's a place where students can live together and participate in the collective experience of recovery," says Jes Sellers, a psychologist and director of University Counseling Services and Collegiate Behavioral Health at Case Western. Typically, the kinds of students living in the recovery dorm would be placed in an outpatient facility, hospital or community treatment center, for a semester, Sellers says. "The problem with this scenario is after receiving off-campus intensive treatment they get thrown back into the same drinking/drug environment they were in before." As a result, they often relapse, he says.

Staying on campus to receive treatment can actually benefit these students, Sellers says. "While we cannot protect students from external threats or real life events, we can try to help them understand the threats that face them," he says. "In terms of whether to go to a flat party we might advise them to seek an alternative way to have fun."

Every student in the house is assigned an individual treatment plan and, at the minimum, must have regular contact with a therapist or counselor and attend weekly group therapy. It should be noted that students cannot be forced to live in the recovery dorm. At the same time, Sellers says that only a small percentage of students actually express a desire to live there. "The need for more students to participate in this is greater than the interest."

But that's not to say the students are unhappy with this living situation. Because the program is so new, there is little concrete evidence of the students' recovery rate. But Sellers says he is very pleased with students' progress so far. "Anecdotally we are getting a lot of positive comments like, 'This is really a great experience. I'm glad I'm here," he says.