For Immediate Release

Friday, Oct. 23, 2015

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

The Psychological Center’s Pegasus House and Women’s View Partners with P.A.A.R.I. to Offer Recovery Services for Women

GLOUCESTER — Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and John Rosenthal, co-founders of The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.), along with Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon are pleased to announce that the The Psychological Center (TPC) has partnered with P.A.A.R.I. to offer addiction recovery services for women.

“The Psychological Center will be able to provide much-needed treatment resources to those who come to us looking for help fighting their addictions,” Chief Campanello said. “There is a great need for women’s recovery resources, and The Psychological Center will be an invaluable asset to us moving forward.”

The Psychological Center in Lawrence, which is funded by the Department of Public Health, offers a long-term therapeutic residential substance abuse treatment program to women ages 18-24 for an average of six months. They will be offering services from Pegasus House for women ages 18-24 and Women’s View for women ages 25 and above.

“Along with so many other communities, we have seen the devastating effects of substance abuse far too often,” Chief Solomon said. “We are extremely grateful to be partnering with a treatment center like The Psychological Center so close to home, so we can get help to those who need it as quickly as possible.”

Chief Campanello and businessman John Rosenthal recently launched P.A.A.R.I. — a new nonprofit organization created in response to Gloucester’s revolutionary drug addiction program and the immediate positive feedback from local, state and national organizations. Rather than arrest their way out of the problem of drug addiction, partnering police departments place those who come to them for help into treatment programs.

“This vital partnership was fostered by the current opioid crisis and our mission to save lives,” said Carina Pappalardo, CEO of The Psychological Center. “We are so excited to be able to work hand-in-hand with police departments to fast-track individuals into treatment and send a message of hope to those that are suffering.”

The Pegasus House has an in-house clinician and offers individual, group and family counseling. They also give clients in treatment the ability to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, in addition to employment, educational and community service opportunities.

The Women’s View program aims to teach women ages 25 and older about self-sufficiency and accountability by providing a stable and nurturing environment for women to learn how to balance life issues with the added stress of maintaining sobriety. The program offers 24/7 awake support staff, individual case management, therapy and psychiatric referrals, in-house psycho-educational groups, a peer-led Women for Sobriety Group, legal counseling and referral, and nurturing support 24 hours a day.

“We are so pleased to be partnering with yet another treatment center like The Psychological Center, who are equally as excited to come on board,” Rosenthal said. “Their commitment to providing treatment to those in need will go far in furthering the success of P.A.A.R.I. and the fight against substance abuse.”

About The Psychological Center:

Since 1985, The Psychological Center has been providing a culture of recovery for women. The all-female treatment facility, funded by the Department of Public Health, has 15 beds and is designed to treat substance abuse for women ages 18 to 24. Clients are at high risk due to their substance abuse and as a result they are in need of a multi-dimensional evidenced-based treatment approach. The treatment components have been designed to focus on physical, psychological, social and familial aspects of the clients life. The Psychological Center’s vision is to offer an environment that reinforces a drug and alcohol free lifestyle. Through individual, group and family counseling, clients learn the skills and responsibilities needed to care for themselves and develop positive relationships within the community.

For more information on The Psychological Center, please visit their website.

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