Are you experiencing successes in your recovery? Would you like to become more involved in encouraging your fellow alumna sisters to participate in alumna support services and events? We are looking for volunteers to serve in this role and see this as a step in recovery that shows continued engagement and the ability to see all the positives involved in giving back as a form of service and healing. Responsibilities for this role are varied and range from offering your success story for posting on the website, to encouraging your fellow alumnae sisters to join on the Monday night aftercare call or join us at the reunion, to helping to organize special events for the alumnae reunion and other special events throughout the year. If you are interested please contact the alumna relations staff to learn more about how you can be more involved.

While we want to be of support to all alumnae we do need to caution that support is only available in the ways described throughout the aftercare and alumna site. We are not able to provide 24/7 crisis response to our alumnae.

There are three ways in which we would advise our alumnae to respond if in immediate crisis. One is to contact your outpatient providers (therapist/psychiatrist) and inform them, as these are the individuals who are responsible for your care and know more about your current needs. They can, therefore, advise you in the best way.

You may also choose to reach out to a 24/7 crisis hotline. One such contact is 1-800-273-8255. This is a national hotline and they can direct you to the nearest hotline in your county or area.

Second, if your safety or the safety of another is at risk, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room as this is truly the only place to get immediate 24/7 support.

Thirdly, if you are at risk and want to seek readmission to Brookhaven Retreat then please contact our 24/7 admissions staff, Pat Hammonds at 1-865-712-5776.

This is a wonderful Fall and/or Winter soup. I use several different varieties of onion myself such as vidalia, leeks, shallot and cipollini, but any good white or yellow onion will do. Also, vegetable broth or stock can be substituted as a vegetarian option. The key to this soup is properly cooking the onions to draw out that natural sugar that makes this soup so delectable. Enjoy!

In Michael Bungay Stanier’s Do More Great Work you’ll find fifteen ‘maps’, practical exercises to help you identify how to find, start and sustain more Great Work.

DISCLAIMER: This Site Does Not Provide Medical Advice.

The contents of the Brookhaven Retreat, LLC (“Brookhaven”) website ( the "Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional psychological psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult with your physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other qualified health provider without delay to gain more information regarding your specific medical and/or psychological condition.

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. Brookhaven does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by Brookhaven, Brookhaven employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of Brookhaven, or other visitors to the Site is solely at your own risk.

Continuity of Care Forms

The following is a list of helpful forms and documents that you can download:

We have set the date for next years annual alumnae reunion. It will take place March 25-27, 2011. We are excited to host this again at the fabulous RT Lodge. We had wonderful responses from last year's reunion and this venue was beautiful. We are hoping to expand this year's event to include a Bazaar where alumna ladies can showcase their talents, arts, and crafts. If you are interested in having a booth at the Bazaar contact the alumna relations staff at Brookhaven.

We are excited to have just launched our new website. Take some time to look around and really tour the full site as well as the alumnae site to see how you can get more involved.  We have had several new additions to our team recently and have expanded our clinical team to include several therapeutic liaisons to provide even more support and excellent care to our ladies.

Here are some useful links for continued support:

• Dual Diagnosis Support (http://draonline.org)
• Smart Recovery (www.smartrecovery.org)
• Celebrate Recovery (www.celebraterecovery.com)
• Alcoholics Anonymous (www.aa.org)
• Narcotics Anonymous (www.na.org)
• Gamblers Anonymous (www.gamblersanonymous.org)
• Emotions Anonymous (www.emotionsanonymous.org)
• Al-Anon & Alateen (www.alanon.org)
• Marijuana Anonymous (www.marijuanaanonymous.org)
• Co-dependent Anonymous (www.codependents.org)
• Adult Children of Alcoholics (www.adultchildren.org)
• Over Spenders Support (www.spenders.org)
• Survivors of Trauma & Victimization (www.giftfromwithin.org)
• Borderline Personality Disorder Support (www.bpdresources.com/index.html)
• Anxiety Disorder Support (www.adaa.org)
• Depression Support (www.familyaware.org)
• Bipolar Support (www.bipolarsupport.org)
• NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness (www.nami.org)
• SAMHSA – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (www.samhsa.org)

Congratulations on your journey into recovery!

We know that returning home can create a multitude of feelings ranging from fear to excitement and everything in between. Keeping in touch with the support system you began in treatment can be extremely beneficial, not to mention a lot of fun. On this site you can sign up to build your profile page, post your thoughts and feelings, or leave messages for alumnae. You may also keep up with what is going on at Brookhaven Retreat. This site offers information on recovery meetings, support groups, reunions... and the list will continue to grow.

We know that staying involved is part of what supports success in recovery and assists in building a life worth living. We encourage our alumnae to stay connected with outpatient providers such as an individual therapist and psychiatrist. Alumnae may also consider joining group therapy and/or support groups. As part of our Monday night aftercare/alumnae group we offer refresher sessions on the skills and concepts our clients first learned about during their stay. These skills include Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Healthy Boundaries, Positive Affirmations, Extreme Self Care, Journaling, Goal Setting, and the list goes on.