Adult and Teen Addiction Medicine Services at UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Twin Lakes (formerly Twin Lakes Center)

Withdrawal management

Our staff can help you safely detox from a wide range of chemical addictions. We also treat the various medical and mental health issues that come with the disease.

The withdrawal management unit accepts admissions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Residential treatment

Our men's and women's units provide personalized, gender-focused treatment. Both units offer a daily structure that promotes a lifestyle free from substance use.

Throughout your stay, you'll have a range of treatment experiences, including:

• Evidence-based treatment sessions.
• Gender-specific treatment activities.
• Gender-integrated care.
• Group sessions.
• One-on-one therapy sessions to focus on goals set by you and a counselor.
• Access to aftercare resources, including outpatient treatment options.
• Psychoeducational group sessions to help you understand the disease of addiction and treatment options.

We can also prescribe medicine to help you manage withdrawal, dependence, and cravings. Medicine can be a vital part of your individual treatment plan, providing support during your recovery.

Your doctor will work with you to find what works best for you.

How to get ready for your residential stay

At Twin Lakes, we want you to feel comfortable during your stay.

Please bring clothes and unopened personal care items.

We will provide:

• Pillows and blankets.
• Hygiene products.
• A washer and dryer you can use at no cost.

For a full list of items we provide, email Twinlakes@UPMC.edu.

We do not allow personal vehicles at Twin Lakes. Please have someone drop you off or contact us about arranging transportation.

Once you arrive, staff will check your belongings. Any items that aren’t permitted will be held for safekeeping until your discharge.

During your stay

Twin Lakes provides a peaceful place that supports you in forming a daily recovery plan, including:

• Large common rooms that promote healthy social interaction.
• Separate group rooms for men and women to take part in gender-focused groups and lectures.
• A recreation area to promote physical wellness.
• Reading materials to promote mental wellness.
• 24-hour nursing staff.
• Transportation to and from our residential program.

Planning for life after Twin Lakes

Your care team will encourage you to start thinking about your aftercare plan as soon as you enter treatment.

Twin Lakes offers you many aftercare options, including:

• Partial hospital programs.
• Outpatient programs.
• Halfway and three-quarter way sober living houses.
• Mental health and medical care.

To make sure you have the most options, you should start planning early on in your treatment.

Outpatient care programs offer services according to the intensity of treatment needed.

Partial hospitalization programs

This program provides 20 or more hours of treatment per week, based on your needs.

Offered at various Twin Lakes locations, this highly structured non-residential treatment program is for people who:

• Are coming out of residential treatment.
• Are new to the recovery process.
• Have struggled to stay sober.
• Will benefit from intense daily support.

Intensive outpatient addiction treatment programs

Our intensive outpatient programs provide you with 10 to 19 hours of treatment per week.

These programs are suggested for those who benefit from a range of group, one-on-one, and family sessions.

Outpatient drug and alcohol treatment programs

Our outpatient programs provide you with up to 9 hours of group, one-on-one, and family treatment per week.

All outpatient services offer:

• An initial assessment so we can learn your clinical needs. Then we'll work with you to tailor a treatment plan that meets those needs.
• One-on-one sessions with your counselor. Most sessions are weekly and last about an hour. You'll work on forming your recovery goals and personalized treatment plan.
• Group therapy sessions.
  • Recovery group sessions are 2 to 8 hours per week based on your needs. Clients often attend group therapy in addition to weekly one-on-one sessions.
  • Legal group is for those actively or recently involved with the legal system, have charges pending, or are on probation or parole.
  • Specialty groups. At any time, Twin Lakes counselors can create new groups to meet the changing needs of our clients.
• Family therapy can help heal the wounds of addiction and support you in your recovery journey. You and your loved ones can make joint recovery goals for the entire family. We also provide you and your family with resources for housing, mental health, jobs, recreation, and medication management.

Our expert staff at Twin Lakes will provide you with a wide range of treatment options.

All staff have training in evidence-based care, mental health, and in prescribing medicines to assist in the treatment of addiction.

The following treatment interventions are options, but not guaranteed at every stage of treatment.

Motivational enhancement therapy (MET) and engagement

MET and engagement strategies are designed to:

• Help you get past your ambivalence and engage in treatment to stop your drug or alcohol use.
• Evoke fast and internal change to achieve your recovery goals.
• Help you play a more active and engaged role in your treatment.

Motivational interviewing (MI)

MI is a counseling approach designed to empower you to take responsibility for your recovery.

During MI, your counselor will:

• Help you strengthen your desire and commitment for change.
• Explore the reasons why you want to change and encourage you that you have the strength to change.
• Use change theory to guide treatment and assertive engagement techniques to help you with continued treatment.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT is a solutions-based form of talk therapy.

It focuses on changing the feelings that have held you back from achieving your goals, including:

• Emotions.
• Thoughts.
• Actions.

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)

DBT is an interactive type of therapy that teaches you:

• Healthy ways to cope with stress.
• Skills to manage emotions.
• Techniques to improve relationships with others.

Trauma-informed care (TIC)

TIC works to recognize symptoms of trauma and how it impacts your life. TIC promotes healing and recovery rather than re-traumatizing the individual.

Twin Lakes provides a full range of driving under the influence (DUI) programs.

Court reporting network (CRN)

CRN assesses and provides a summary of drug and alcohol highway safety history for those convicted of DUI.

Pennsylvania state law requires CRN for every DUI.

Alcohol highway safety school (AHSS)

All people convicted of DUI in Pennsylvania must attend AHSS.

The 12.5 hour course aims to:

• Highlight the relationship between drug and alcohol use and traffic safety.
• Educate you about the state's DUI laws.
• Stress the dangers of impaired driving.

Twin Lakes offers AHSS classes throughout the year in 2-week or 4-week sessions.

Victim impact panel (VIP)

VIP is an educational program offered on select Saturdays throughout the year for people charged with DUI. The panel invites people who have felt the impact of impaired driving to speak.

The goals of VIP are to:

• Change people's attitudes about impaired driving.
• Promote healing by providing the opportunity for people who have been found guilty of DUI to hear from victims about the personal impact on their lives.

Twin Lakes provides thorough, evidence-based substance use disorder prevention programs and services:

• In the community.
• At schools.
• With families.
• At the one-on-one level.

Our goal is to help prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug use by promoting healthy lifestyles and neighborhoods.

Prevention and education services are either self-pay or funded through grants and government sources.

Our evidence-based prevention and education programs

Botvin LifeSkills® Training

Botvin LifeSkills Training is a program geared toward preventing substance use and violence. It targets students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

There are 8 elementary sessions, each lasting 45-minutes. The middle and high school program has up to 18 sessions, each lasting 45-minutes.

Botvin LifeSkills Training:

• Improves knowledge of life skills, self-esteem, and healthy life choices.
• Promotes positive outcomes by teaching social skills, ways to deal with stress, communication, and decision-making.
• Includes talks on smoking, drug use, and alcohol.
• Teaches skills to help students handle peer pressure and make healthy, lasting lifestyle choices.

Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones (HALO)

HALO is an age-appropriate program for children ages 3 to 6.

There are 12 HALO sessions, each lasting 30 minutes. HALO uses songs, games, and demonstrations to teach children how to tell the difference between healthy and harmful choices.

This program encourages kids to:

• Learn about their emotions.
• Form social skills.
• Build awareness of how the body works and how drugs and alcohol can harm it.

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (PTND)

PTND is a 12-unit, 45-minute drug prevention program for high school students to help them:

• Become better decision-makers.
• Learn refusal and communication skills.
• Inspire them to not use drugs.

EVERFI Programs

EVERFI offers self-paced online modules where students can learn:

• Prescription Drug Safety Basics. Topics include safe use, storage, and disposal of prescription medicine. It also covers the science of addiction, refusal skills, and how to support friends in need.
• Mental Wellness Basics. Topics include mental health disorders, healthy coping skills, and how to get help for themselves or a friend.
• Drinking Decisions and Basics. AlcoholEDU® explores influences involved in deciding to drink. Other topics include how alcohol affects the brain and body and how to make smart decisions in the future.

The Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)

Somerset County school students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 take the survey every 2 years.

This anonymous survey explores student behavior, attitudes, and knowledge about alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and violence.

PAYS uses the data to:

• Update schools, state agency directors, legislators, and others on changes in harmful substance use and behaviors.
• Assess risk factors for harmful behaviors and the protective factors that help guard against them. Community leaders can use this data to direct prevention resources where they will have the greatest impact.

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week happens the last full week in October to honor Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena. Kiki was an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency who was murdered by a drug cartel.

During Red Ribbon Week, students in Somerset County:

• Get a red ribbon to wear.
• Participate in contests.
• Are challenged to be mindful of drug use and provide positive messages in their school and neighborhoods.

Twin Lakes partners with the Drug-Free Communities Coalition and other groups in the county to spread the drug-free message. They give the red ribbons at no cost to schools and share ideas on drug-free activities.

The week also includes a Red Ribbon Rally at the Somerset County Courthouse to award contest winners. Community members join in with displays of red bows and posters at local businesses.

Project Sticker Shock

Each spring, you'll see stickers on cases of alcohol at Somerset County beer distributors to increase awareness of state underage drinking laws.

The goal is to educate the public and change attitudes about selling and serving alcohol to anyone under the age of 21.

Twin Lakes works with local Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapters and beer distributors on this campaign.

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)

This program provides liaison support to school-based SADD chapters.

It also offers students the chance to work on their skills at regional and local conferences and training.