The Basics
Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS) was founded in Nashville in 1984 as a community service to help young people avoid bullying and substance abuse. It offers numerous evidence-based anti-violence and prevention programs throughout Middle Tennessee. In 2011, STARS created Youth Overcoming Drug Addiction (YODA), an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) that offers gender-specific treatment to adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 with substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders.
Treatment and Staff
Self-referred and court-ordered teens may come to STARS for an assessment on weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm. Assessments are also available on-site in local schools with parental consent.
The Male and Female IOPs meet separately on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:30 to 6:30 pm. During these meetings clients participate in both group and individual therapy (scheduled as-needed). The duration of treatment is progress-based and therapists work with clients to create an aftercare plan as they approach the end of treatment. Attending 12-step meetings is recommended though not required and 12-step or other peer support meetings are usually included in a client’s aftercare plan.
Groups are led by Master’s-level therapists including MSWs and many of the clinicians at STARS are also Masters of Education. The treatment team is highly trained in addressing co-occurring disorders and refers clients to psychiatrists for medication for mental health diagnoses. Groups have 12 or fewer participants.
Extras
Group therapy for families of clients in the YODA IOP is available and many clients continue one-on-one counseling sessions with their primary clinicians after they’ve completed the IOP.
In 2007, STARS founded The Youth Opportunity Center which houses eight organizations that assist children and teens with social services including psychiatric care, crisis intervention and job training. STARS also offers Move2Stand, a one-day youth summit where students examine their attitudes about bullying.
STARS also offers the specialty group Services for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, a nationally-recognized prevention program for children and adolescents that teaches self-esteem, addiction education and anger-management skills in American Sign Language.
Another unique feature of STARS is its strategic partnership with Hazelden Publishing. STARS implements Hazelden’s evidence-based youth curricula on preventing bullying, substance abuse and suicide and extends the programs to schools and communities throughout Middle Tennessee.
In Summary
STARS offers a wide range of affordable programs that benefit young people in crisis. Its Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse IOP provides extensive group and one-on-one support in a gender-specific environment to make clients feel safe and seen. With its numerous partnerships with other youth service organizations in its Youth Opportunity Center, the treatment team at STARS points its young clients to additional resources to enhance their health and security.
STARS
1704 Charlotte Ave. Ste 200
Nashville, TN 37203
STARS Youth Overcoming Drug Addiction Cost: Accepts insurance. No charge for the uninsured or those whose insurance won’t cover treatment. Reach STARS at (615) 279-0058. Find STARS on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube
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Photo courtesy of Thomas R Machnitzki (thomasmachnitzki.com) (Own work) [GFDL (https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons (resized and cropped)
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