About Soar Learning Center – Counseling and Support
In Saint Albans Bay, Vermont, near the shore of Saint Albans Bay itself, you’ll find Soar Learning Center — Counseling and Support. It’s a combination private school and treatment center for kids and teens with severe mental difficulties and other conditions, including substance use disorder. This is a day treatment program that accepts many insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Programs like this strive to address all of a child’s developmental needs at once so they can be healthy members of their communities and thrive at school, home, and work. This makes them uniquely situated to help kids and families experience multiple difficulties.
Legal System Adjacency
In their quest to help clients and their families get on the right path, this facility works with those who have had encounters with the justice system. They’ve modeled an approach on acceptance, accountability, and respectful behavior that aids in significantly changing dangerous behaviors that could lead to further trouble.
One on One Care
Whether it’s working in counseling or a classroom assignment, clients can get individual care as needed to support their growth in the program. Staff get to know the kids, too, building a bond with them that encourages participation in treatment. Past students have commented on how nice the staff and their involvement were.
I think it’s also worth noting that they help participating families in a number of ways. One of these is providing transportation for clients to and from the program, something many parents would consider a huge help. They also make some services available in the home.
Find Your Way in the Bay
Should you and yours choose to join a recovery program in Saint Albans Bay, you can use the opportunity to develop new, healthier coping strategies using the bay itself. Saint Albans Bay Park is a calm spot that plays host to all sorts of activities year round. It’s a great spot to include in your sobriety. Simply being outdoors can do lots to boost your mood and fight stress (and relapse).
Rehab Score
Other Forms of Payment
Medicaid is a state based program that helps lower-income individuals and families pay for healthcare. Medicaid covers addiction treatment so those enrolled can use their coverage to pay for rehab. When a program accepts Medicaid the client often pays very little or nothing out of their own pocket.
Private insurance refers to any kind of healthcare coverage that isn't from the state or federal government. This includes individual and family plans offered by an employer or purchased from the Insurance Marketplace. Every plan will have different requirements and out of pocket costs so be sure to get the full details before you start treatment.
Self-pay involves paying for treatment out of your own pocket. You can use savings or credit, get a personal loan, or receive help from family and friends to fund your treatment. If you don't have insurance or your insurance plan doesn't cover a specific program, self-pay can help ensure you still get the care you need.
Medicare is a federal program that provides health insurance for those 65 and older. It also serves people under 65 with chronic and disabling health challenges. To use Medicare for addiction treatment you need to find a program that accepts Medicare and is in network with your plan. Out of pocket costs and preauthorization requirements vary, so always check with your provider.
Military members, veterans, and eligible dependents have access to specific insurance programs that help them get the care they need. TRICARE and VA insurance can help you access low cost or no cost addiction and mental health treatment. Programs that accept military insurance often have targeted treatment focused on the unique challenges military members, veterans, and their families face.
Addiction Treatments
Treatments
Many of those suffering from addiction also suffer from mental or emotional illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety disorders. Rehab and other substance abuse facilities treating those with a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder administer psychiatric treatment to address the person's mental health issue in addition to drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Mental health rehabs focus on helping individuals recover from mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and more. Mental health professionals at these facilities are trained to understand and treat mental health issues, both in individual and group settings.
Programs

LGBTQ Program
Clinical Services
Eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and dysfunctional eating patterns. Many psychologists and other mental health professionals consider eating disorders to be food addictions, meaning food is being used in an addictive way (similar to drug or alcohol addiction). Certain substance abuse treatment programs will have treatment for eating disorders as one of the services offered. An eating disorder may also present as a co-occuring disorder or dual diagnosis alongside drug and alcohol addiction.
Research clearly demonstrates that recovery is far more successful and sustainable when loved ones like family members participate in rehab and substance abuse treatment. Genetic factors may be at play when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health issues. Family dynamics often play a critical role in addiction triggers, and if properly educated, family members can be a strong source of support when it comes to rehabilitation.
Group therapy is any therapeutic work that happens in a group (not one-on-one). There are a number of different group therapy modalities, including support groups, experiential therapy, psycho-education, and more. Group therapy involves treatment as well as processing interaction between group members.
In individual therapy, a patient meets one-on-one with a trained psychologist or counselor. Therapy is a pivotal part of effective substance abuse treatment, as it often covers root causes of addiction, including challenges faced by the patient in their social, family, and work/school life.
Trauma therapy addresses traumatic incidents from a client's past that are likely affecting their present-day experience. Trauma is often one of the primary triggers and potential causes of addiction, and can stem from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, having a parent with a mental illness, losing one or both parents at a young age, teenage or adult sexual assault, or any number of other factors. The purpose of trauma therapy is to allow a patient to process trauma and move through and past it, with the help of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.
Staff

Todd Bauman
Executive Director

Derek Hoy
Director of Finance

Stacey Remillard
Director of Human Resources

Danielle Roberts
Director of Community Relations

Matthew Habedank
Director of Early Childhood & School Based Services Division

Belinda Bessette
Director of Community Mental Health Services Division

Samantha Thomas
Director of Developmental Services

April Mathieu
Director of Nursing
Contact Information
178 Mcginn Drive
Saint Albans Bay, VT 05481