“Healing Through Community” – Danielle Roeske, Psy. D
All experiences, be they positive, negative, or some variant in-between, are shaped, at least to some degree, by the environments in which they are had. As such, when thinking about creating an optimal patient experience, we at Serenity Knolls hold in mind the importance of creating an optimal community. The community here means more than just a social model of treatment, rather it is something that begins at the facility level, specifically with the staff. Since opening its doors in 1990, Serenity Knolls has had and continues to have a remarkably low staff turnover rate, with many of our staff have been part of the team for 10, 15, or even 20 plus years. This speaks to the passion, commitment, and unity embodied by the staff at Serenity Knolls and is immediately felt by our patients when they walk through the doors. Our patients rely upon the comfort, safety, and continuity of care established at the facility level.
This, we have found, enables those same qualities to unfold in the patient community and the greater community thereafter including that of our alumni. We want our patients to have the best experience possible while in treatment so that they can go on to live meaningful, fulfilling, sober lives after treatment. A key part of this, we believe, is having a sense of community in place to challenge the pulls of shame and isolation inherent in the disease of addiction. For this reason, we feel it is important to create a sound bridge of hope between our patient community at the residential level of care and that of our robust alumni community. Serenity Knolls boasts a long history of passionate alumni involvement with many of the staff themselves being alumni who have returned to give back some of what they were given. While surveys and metrics are a great way to learn more about the patient experience, it is this group of individuals, our alumni, whose insights we have found so invaluable. For what they reflect time and time again is that it is not the treatment assignment, group exercise, or breakthrough session that leaves the imprint, but rather the healing that lies in the connection.
