Therapeutic Community

Individuals are formed and shaped by the environments they live in. To help break the bonds of addiction, Cornerstone strives to develop community with the clients and staff that model healthy relationships and aid in positive coping skill development. Cornerstone emphasizes helping yourself while helping others through a group based approach utilizing group counseling and healthy social interaction.

Community is not only developed within the group counseling sessions, but through having a day space where clients can spend time, eat lunch, and live life together. Cornerstone also strives to develop community through Sober Experiences twice a month.

Individualized Treatment

Each person is an individual with specific needs. For that reason Cornerstone provides treatment designed around the individual. Each client is assigned to a counselor or therapist whose specialties best match the client’s need. The client is also assigned to the group counseling classes whose topics fit the client’s immediate need.

Harm Reduction

Not everyone can go cold turkey and stop using their substance of choice immediately. In those cases we employ a harm reduction approach that requires the client to slowly lower their usage and keep track of how much they are using. This approach does not always end in complete sobriety, so the goal is ensure that the detrimental effects of the substance on their physical health, mental health, and social life is reduced. This allows the client to participate more fully as a productive member of society.

Dual Diagnosis

Often substance abuse and mental illness go hand in hand. In these cases substances are often used as a form of self-medication that leads to addiction. Other times, substance abuse can cause mental illness. Cornerstone’s therapists work closely with the client and develop a treatment plan that will treat the mental illness and substance abuse. If the client’s need mental health medication, Cornerstone’s case manager helps bridge the gap between Cornerstone’s therapist and the client’s psychiatrist.

Medication Assisted Treatment

At this time Cornerstone does not offer medication assisted treatment. As supporters of MAT programs, the staff will be more than happy to provide a referral to one of the MAT doctors within Kern County.