““The owner, her staff, and fellow clients at ACM have been monumental in helping me understand my disease.””
“ACM is the most innovative and effective recovery program available in Southern California today. Like many other facilities in California, ACM uses the court approved S.C.R.A.M. system to monitor client alcohol intake/contact, along with a patch to monitor any drug interaction. Both screen the clients twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. But this is where the similarities to other state programs end…
In addition to the requirements set by the state, ACM sets and maintains high expectations for their clients. Clients are treated respectfully like human beings, and not just a case-number with dollar signs attached. A family-style environment was established from the very beginning, which spawned a soothing and reassuring mood within the building. ACM infuses intense and interactive (group & individual) counseling sessions that are conducted in a variety of ways. Counselor-driven discussions are effective, informative, and lead to great learning. Something innovative the counselors at ACM often do to diversify learning, is they step back and allow client-driven discussions. It’s during these times I have been involved in some of the most profound and mind-blowing life lessons. ACM understands and encourages impactful interaction between clients to be openly honest during meetings, and doesn’t see it as “side talk” or “getting off topic,” but as teachable moments to benefit the clients.
I have witnessed these wonderful moments at ACM because I was a client for many months, and have voluntarily remained for two years as an active alumni member. I was in the very first group of clients (three of us) that helped set the standard that has made ACM the most effective program in southern California. After my second DUI, I recognized that I didn’t just have bad luck, but a serious problem with alcohol. The owner, her staff, and fellow clients at ACM have been monumental in helping me understand my disease. The family atmosphere and devotion of ACM has helped me realize that whatever I was doing before wasn’t working, and they’ve guided me down a path of knowledge and understanding of how my life needed to change. ACM introduced me to the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Chart and this became the cornerstone to my improvement, along with the hundreds of other clients that followed in my footsteps.
ACM made a life-long impression on me, and what’s written above doesn’t scratch the surface of my gratitude and admiration for ultimately saving my life!”