Rick Jones is the Clinical Director and Operations Director of Choices Counseling Center. With over 170 clients to oversee and the need to ensure funding for Choices, this very busy man often feels he is going “more ways than a Greyhound Bus” at any given moment. He became interested in this type of work during his own recovery, and is now state and nationally certified as a substance abuse counselor. When the Grants Pass Clinic put out an ad in 1995 for a substance abuse professional, he jumped at the chance to be involved in a position that blended substance abuse treatment with the medical arena, and as a result of that outpatient program for alcohol and drug treatment, Choices Counseling Center was formed. Their goal is to provide quality treatment for addicts and their families. They provide assessments, screening, and both individual and group counseling. While half of those who come into treatment are there as the result of court orders, the rest are self referred.

For the past ten years, Choices has remained the sole provider of services for the Josephine County Drug Court. Rick Jones is proud of that achievement, and more than happy with the ability to work with the court and the mutual support provided by this arrangement for the benefit of those in need of help. He is pleased with the ongoing relationship between medical and rehabilitation professionals, as it helps secure the best of care for people facing the trials drug abuse brings.

Staying up-to-date with current treatments and medical advances is very important to any counseling center, and Choices isn’t an exception. The Matrix Model, an evidence based treatment program, is something Rick has involved Choices in. This model utilizes a number of outpatient tools such as family education, social support, and twelve step methods. After nearly twenty years of research, development, and modification, it is now federally recognized by a number of national research groups. While the program is, for the most part, a ready made model that lasts approximately 16 weeks, it can be arranged to work over a longer period of time, although the 16 week approach is still considered gradual in the realm of addiction treatment. The structure of the program is very clear, leaving clients with no question of what will happen with their treatment or what the expectations are.

There are some controversial issues concerning addiction treatment that Rick doesn’t necessarily agree with all of the time. For example, there is a push right now to include pharmaceuticals to help ease withdrawal symptoms or block some of the pleasurable effects of certain drugs. One of these medications, Methadone, has been shown to help opiate addicts by suppressing withdrawal symptoms. (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/methadone/index.html) While such approaches can help in many situations, Rick still is cautious when implementing new or controversial treatments, spending much time looking over the research and studying all options in order to provide clients with the most progressive, effective ways of drug counseling while keeping them safe, using time proven methods, and keeping all referral choices open. He hopes to continue providing this quality service to every client who comes through the doors of Choices Counseling Center.

While Choices has a diverse funding stream, they have recently faced budget cuts which forced them to downsize since their rapid growth in the late nineties. Mr. Jones hopes to see people and businesses in the community help by working with clients. Of their 170 people going through recovery, nearly half are looking for jobs that can help them afford drug free housing. While many employers might shy away from helping a drug addict, Rick reminds people that Choices does regular drug testing, so the risk of someone actually using while in the program is minimal.

Other ways of helping include supporting someone in recovery, becoming a sponsor or a mentor, donating services, or donating equipment to the counseling center. Helping may even be as simple as teaching a person in recovery how you operate day to day and sharing your job skills with them.

If you’d like to give Choices Counseling and Rick Jones a helping hand or if you need more information on the center and what it offers, please contact them using the information below:

Choices Counseling Center

125 NE Manzanita Ave

Grants Pass, OR 97526

(541) 479-8847