A Note from Lorie Obernauer, Ph.D.
The idea for Treatment Professionals in Alumni Services was conceived in the Spring of 2010 when I was asked to start an Alumni program at CeDAR, a treatment program in Colorado. I was excited by the challenge, but not sure how to begin. A small group of passionate professionals from across the country began to network and we all shared what we were trying to do to support our treatment center alumni in long term recovery. As representatives of addiction treatment organizations of all sizes, both public and private, we found these discussions to be so helpful that we began to discuss the possibility of forming a formal organization.
The organization was then formalized based on the belief that we can all be more successful if we have the opportunity to collaborate, learn together, and save time, expense and effort associated with learning through trial and error.
In addition to treatment center alumni programs, we recognized that many creative recovery support services programs were being offered across the country. These include monitoring and follow-up programs, peer support programs, workshop and educational programs, sober living programs and more. So we invited those organizations to also become part of the TPAS family.
Today, TPAS is supported by addiction treatment centers and a variety of other professional organizations including continuing care centers, sober living facilities, and recovery community organizations. We are all striving to improve long term recovery outcomes for our clients. By putting our heads together we can all offer more innovative and effective solutions to support our clients long term recovery efforts.
TPAS’s vision is to foster dynamic collaboration between addiction treatment professionals seeking to improve outcomes for alumni and all others in recovery. Because we know that this is a lofty commitment, we are dedicated to supporting our members in several ways: through collaborative educational efforts AND through honoring the need for personal health and wellness as we engage in our passion to help others.
I hope that you’ll join our growing numbers as we continue to advocate for exemplary Alumni and Recovery Support Services programs for all of our clients who we’ve served.