Licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADC) Michael Yerema is celebrating his 25th year at Aroostook Mental Health Centerās co-ed Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) in Limestone, commonly called āThe Farm.ā
āIāve seen hope,ā Michael says. āThereās a need for this kind of care. There arenāt a lot of voluntary 28-day programs around anymore. Itās something in between IOP [individual out-patient] and long-term care or hospitalization. It reminds me of a mini college, but theyāre learning life skills, recovery concepts and relapse prevention. When else do you get an opportunity to take a month to really reflect on your life?ā
Whether you go as the bird flies or by car, The Farm is less than five minutes from Canada. Mainers come here from detox, from jails, from emergency rooms andāmost importantlyāof their own free will. This is how it has been for 45 years. Most residents spend 28 days at this level 3 treatment facility, where the intense program is built around seven hours a day of group therapeutic sessions.
āIf we can get them to accept that they have a problem and inspire hope that things can be different for them, thatās the biggest battle,ā says Site Coordinator Rebecca Fournier, who commutes over the international border.
The Farm is Maineās oldest and longest-running co-ed Residential Treatment Facility.
āThe group is much more dynamic with both genders and you get to hear a lot of perspectives,ā says Shawn Morin, adding that being co-ed gives staff an opportunity to coach residents āthrough the challenges of forming boundaries.ā
Other taboos here include outside electronics and caffeine. Payphone use is limited, and the only television viewing is of content related to recovery. In addition to group sessions, residents spend time in bibliotherapyādiving into books about recovery and wellnessāas well as using the weight set, going for walks, enjoying meals together in the dining room, doing chores with partners and journaling daily.
āAt first we really structure the journal with an emphasis on feelings,ā Rebecca says. āWeāre hoping journaling is a tool that they can use at once to gain insight for themselves, because, when they leave here they wonāt have a person who is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.ā
But, while at āThe Farm,ā they do. Usually a 12-bed facility, The Farm is limited to six due to COVID-19 precautions. There are 8 full-time and two part-time staff members.
āItās a big farmhouse, not a clinical setting, so it feels like a home away from home,ā says Henry Ward, a Clinical Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC). āPeople let their guard down rather quickly, which allows the opportunity to dig into why addiction has stayed in their lives as long as it has. You see the most hardened, traumatized people relax and be able to process and talk openly. Thatās what this place affords. Itās a safe harbor, and the people here make it so.ā
Henry, a member of the Miākmaq tribe, leads Wellbriety groups, a 12-step program reframed in a Native American context. āMost Native people look at life in circles rather than a list,ā he says. āWe see 12 steps and we see a big āto doā list. But when we break it down in our medicine wheel, weāre continuously moving forward.ā
One of The Farmās longtime program featuresāfamily visits on Sundaysāhas been scaled back to letter writing due to COVID-19. Family members send letters responding to questions like, āHow have I enabled my loved oneās use?ā and āWhat are my expectations for my loved one while they are in treatment, and when they return home?ā
Meanwhile, residents send letters reflecting on how their addiction has affected the people they love. Some clients have written letters saying goodbye to their addiction.
āSome have divorced their addiction, fired them or broke up with them,ā Rebecca says. āWhen Sunday comes, itās time to process that experience. It brings the outside world inside here. There tends to be a lot of tears.ā
The emotions surrounding addiction are universal enough that the residents learn not only from each other but from each otherās family members.
āEven people who didnāt have a visitor would get to see these interactions and learn from them,ā Shawn says. āThey see their mother in that individual and they see healing happening and think āmaybe that can happen for me too.āā
If youāre seeking treatment, call 207-325-4727 or the AMCH access center at 800-244-6481.