A general description of the Portage Quebec substance abuse treatment program for adolescents in Beaconsfield. www.portage.ca

1. Portage Beaconsfield, QC

2. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
"For me, Portage is not just a place, a name...it’s a chance
to save yourself. It’s the beginning of the end...the end of
our suffering, the start of a new life. Portage gives us
another chance at life, to express ourselves openly and
honestly, another chance to be happy. Portage gives us
hope for our future and takes away the pain of what we
have lost in the past. You just need to believe to get
there. As the slogan says, only you can do it, but you can’t
do it alone." - Audrey, 15 years old

3. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Drug addiction in Québec
• Portage rehabilitation programs
• Therapeutic Community Approach
• Video – Portage in Québec
• Adolescent Program

4. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Average age adolescents start doing drugs on a
regular basis: 13.91
• Illegal drug abuse related costs in 2002: $1.6
billion2
• 95% believe that that youth today have easy
access to drugs3
[1] L’Enquête québécoise sur le tabac, l’alcool, la drogue et le jeu chez les élèves du secondaire, Institut de la statistique du
Québec, 2008
[2] Cross-Canada Report on Student Alcohol and Drug use, CCSA, October 2011
[3] Quebecers and Substance Abuse, November 2010

5. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Québec (since 1973)
• Adolescent Programs
• Adult Programs
• Mother and Child Program
• Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers Program (MICA)
• Employment Reintegration Programs
• Ontario (since 1985)
• Adolescent Program
• Atlantic (since 1996)
• Adolescent Program
• British Columbia (since 2009)
• Adolescent Program

6. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Treatment approach based on
• self-help
• mutual support
• peer role-modelling
• reality therapy
• motivational interviewing
• cognitive behaviour
• The community is the therapist
• Residents are taught to shape their own values,
develop a realistic perception of their lives, and build
self-respect and self-confidence.

7. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Voluntary admission
• Highly structured and safe residential environment
• Residents acquire competencies through
• Participation in groups and activities
• Taking on various roles and responsibilities
• Interacting with their peers, who serve as role models

8. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel

9. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• A participant often demonstrates the
following characteristics:
• Started using drugs as young as 10 or 11 years of age
• Lost interest in school and usually not attending regularly
• Has been abusing drugs and/or alcohol for approximately
4 years – primarily marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine and
opiates
• Alienated from family, and may no longer live at home
• Often involved in criminal activities

10. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Residential drug rehabilitation centre
• Residential program – up to 6 months
• Aftercare follow-up – 2 years
• For youth (14-18 years) from Western Québec
• Gender-specific programming
• Portage Academy
• On-site school programming through the Lester B. Pearson
School Board
• Family-type setting within the therapeutic community
• Structured and safe residential
environment

11. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Eliminate abusive consumption of drugs/alcohol
• Develop skills and acquire social aptitudes
• Improve interpersonal skills and family
relationships for better social support system
• Social reintegration: back to school, work, or
volunteer work

12. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Youth learn that trust and honesty is the key to
coming to terms with the difficulties they have
experienced.
• By sharing with their peers, they discover they
are not alone and that many have experienced
similar situations.

13. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Step1: Welcome and integration into therapeutic
community
• Step 2: Competency acquisition
• Step 3: Introspection and application
• Step 4: Taking on responsibilities
• Step 5: Validation of acquired therapeutic skills
and plan for social reintegration (family, school,
work, activities)
• Step 6: Social reintegration

14. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Created with the resident upon admission and
revised monthly
• Objectives and plans for drug issues, physical
health, mental health, personal development,
social skills, family, education, etc.
• Competency development phases
• Length of stay based on individual need
• Monthly case conferences

15. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• On-site school programming, adapted to residents’ needs
• Sports and recreational activities
• Career counselling service
• Community involvement
• Weekend outings
• Parent/resident groups

16. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• From 6:30 am to 9:00 pm
• Morning meeting
• Therapy groups
• Activities and workshops
• Lunch
• On-site school programming at Portage Academy
• Dinner
• Night meeting

17. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Preparation for social reintegration
• Reintegration visits with family
• Support seeking appropriate school environment
• Support seeking counselling; individual, group counselling
services
• Support seeking housing
• Career planning and company visits

18. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Follow-up for 2 years to support youth in transition
• Relapse prevention
• Follow-up phone calls
• Support groups
• Individual counselling, if necessary
• Back in touch visits
• Employment counsellor and job search strategies
• Guidance counsellor services
• Continuum of Care

19. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• For those who, for whatever reason, do not
complete residential treatment
• 2 years
• Periodic telephone calls, tailored to individual needs
• Individual meetings, where necessary
• Eventually, participants can return to residential therapy at
Portage or elsewhere, if necessary

20. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• Family reunification groups
• Support groups
• Family Days
• Transition planning to create a strong support network
• When reintegrating back into the family, establishing
expectations in the home and providing support to both
youth and their families

21. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• A dynamic and multidisciplinary team
• Drug addiction counsellors, psycho-educators, nurses,
teachers, employment and guidance counsellors, and
other resources
• Responsibilities
• Ensure the physical and psychological safety of residents
• Supervise, support, counsel, and assist with learning and
new competency acquisition
• Monthly treatment planning sessions, weekly follow-up
• Parent/guardian/agency contacts via telephone and/or
email

22. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
• A research study on Portage’s services (2003 to 2008)
concluded that:
• 66% of the adolescents who spent more than six months at our
centres were still abstinent more than a year after leaving the
residential program.
• After treatment, the majority of graduates go back to
school or back to work
• The majority enjoy improved relationships with their
family members and develop a positive social network

23. I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding . I have the right to be safe . I have the right to say what I feel
"I like to compare the beginning my recovery to being in a dark,
hollow, damp hole with a tiny opening shining one microscopic
beam of light down into it. The speck of light was almost invisible
and insignificant but it represented hope. Humans can survive
days without water, months without food, but not a second
without hope. As I progress in my recovery and begin to
accomplish what I once thought was impossible, the speck is
widening and the hole is drying out and becoming brighter. Pretty
soon I'll be able to hoist myself up, climb out of it once and for all
and emerge into my newfound reality."
- Ema, 17 years old

24. Portage Beaconsfield
514.694.9894
www.portage.ca