Is the NorthStar Program Right for You or Your Child?

Daddy graduated from Harvard. Before that, Granddaddy graduated from Harvard, and before that, Great Grandpappy graduated from Harvard.

Jason made it to Harvard, but today he sits alone in his room. He is drinking himself to oblivion because he is flunking all his classes. He feels as if he has let his family down. He is afraid to tell his parents, but he knows they will find out at the end of the semester when his college asks him to leave.

Sometimes a family's expectations can be very high, and yet the family is unaware just how high they have been set. After all, other generations and siblings made it through to graduation at the family's big-name university. When a child fails at a high achievement that is nevertheless the norm for his family, he is devastated. His family feels a tremendous loss - not only of their child's chances of completing college whatsoever, but at his failure to uphold the family values and legacy.

At that point, it may be time to consider the NorthStar Center in scenic Bend, Oregon. This program is perfect for students who have gotten off track in college, and whose parents may be frustrated by their failures and unsure what to do next. Many students enter NorthStar after undergoing a short-term inpatient stay for substance abuse recovery.

The NorthStar Center is a small, substance-free therapeutic community of counselors and teachers working with students ages 17.5 to 24 years old. Their average stay is six to nine months. During that period, most students continue taking college courses for credit at Oregon Central Community College, which is within walking distance of NorthStar. The NorthStar staff allows students to take only a part-time load of classes as they learn to balance sobriety, emotions and academics.

NorthStar Center gives students the help they need not only to recover from substance abuse, but also to set realistic goals based on their individual strengths and interests. Often a NorthStar student has never planned for his future on his own because he has been concentrating on his family's expectations. NorthStar offers a course called "Smart Goals," that teaches students to pinpoint their career interests, set goals within timetables, and plan strategies for foreseeable obstacles. Many times a student's "Smart Goal" is to go back and complete a four-year university degree.

Many NorthStar students have lost confidence after their first try at college. Some have undiagnosed learning disabilities and may require special help to compensate for them. However, what most students need are NorthStar's courses in time management and organization, and refresher work in English, math and computer technology. Students apply these new skills to their studies at community college. Achieving success there helps restore their confidence in their academic abilities.

The NorthStar program has two six-month phases. The emphasis is in four areas: academics, addiction recovery, emotional regulation, and life skills.

In the first phase, students live twenty-four hours a day with counselors in a campus dormitory. Their days have an hour-by-hour schedule with certain times for meals, classes, therapy sessions, and sleep. However, there are also hours set aside for relaxation, fun and friendships. NorthStar students participate in the incredible outdoor activities available in the beautiful mountainous countryside of scenic Oregon. Among the sports they enjoy are horseback riding, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain climbing, camping, golfing, and fishing. Students form deep, supportive friendships as they enjoy museums, movies, plays, concerts, and shopping together.

During both phases of the program, NorthStar therapists help students learn to regulate their emotions so that they do not respond to stress by using chemicals. College-aged students often feel stress because they have left home for the first time and no longer have the everyday support of their families. They also have to deal with the pressures of advanced college work. Sometimes an incident in their lives, such as parental divorce, death or serious illness of a parent or sibling, breaking up with a lover, failing academically, or being unable to make friends, can become a "tipping point." NorthStar counselors work with them with guidelines from "Dialectical Behavior Therapy." To understand DBT, think of two intersecting circles: one is emotion and one is logic. Where the two circles intersect is "wise mind." By not ignoring your emotions and by employing logic to everyday upsets, students learn to think in their "wise minds."

While NorthStar counselors are helping students with emotional regulation and substance recovery, NorthStar educators teach them life skills to enable them to make the transition into adulthood. These skills can be as practical as cooking a meal from scratch, housecleaning, doing laundry, maintaining a budget, and balancing a checkbook.

During Phase 2, students apply their new life skills as independent adults in apartments near the center. They handle their own chores and money while they continue with therapy and 12-Step meetings. Some take courses at the community college, others hold jobs, and still others work a combination of the two. Therapists continue to counsel both students and parents as students decide where they want to go after they leave NorthStar Center.

NorthStar Center is not for everyone. Its design is especially effective for students in transition. NorthStar students are of legal age and can leave the program any time they want. Therefore, the admissions staff enrolls only motivated people who want help in making the transition to self-supporting adulthood or a return to college. For this reason, potential students undergo a long screening process that involves lengthy questionnaires, testing and a four-hour personal interview.