Genesis House, 800 W. Fourth St., celebrated 40 years of helping community members overcome addiction through outpatient counseling. It offers individual sessions and group therapy for people experiencing substance use, gambling and gaming addictions.

“Our primary focus is rooted in developing acceptance, awareness of the addiction process, use of support services and cognitive behavioral changes that support recovery,” according to its website.

Shakeena Lee, executive and regional clinical director, said the agency works with clients of all ages who are in need of its services. At any given point, it has served up to 250 clients at one time.

The nonprofit provides an intensive outpatient program for people experiencing substance use disorder. It is an eight to 12 week program that involves clients attending three-hour group therapy sessions, three times a week. Many also see an individual counselor weekly.

Depending on the person, some will go through the intensive program multiple times, said Alex Morrow, director of training. There can be a range in the group of people who are at the beginning of their recovery journey and those who have been working through it for a while.

The group structure can vary, but typically attendees share what’s been going on since the group last met, then have an educational lesson or an open discussion loosely guided by the counselor, he said.

New clients focus on the basics of understanding addiction and how mental health can influence or be influenced by substance use. For current clients, counselors will expand discussions to topics such as self-esteem and relationships

Self-worth can be a common area clients work through, Morrow said.

“It doesn’t matter what issues or what kind of things somebody has going on in their life,” he said. “We try to be that support that’s always there and provide some of that unconditional love and be there to support and hear clients out.”

Once they graduate from the intensive program, they will attend one to four outpatient groups per week, Lee said. Many counselors will integrate meditation as well as music and art therapies into their sessions.

“Clinicians like to offer activities like journaling, painting and making masks,” she said. “They relate the activities back to what’s going on in their clients’ lives.”

Genesis House also provides support for community members experiencing other forms of addiction.

In recent years, gambling addiction has been on the rise. Smartphone apps and online casinos allow people to bet from the comfort of their homes.

“If you’re on an app playing slots, you can play 60 times in 60 seconds,” said Rick Lloyd, clinical director.

App users can set limits on how much they can spend daily. Once they hit their limit in one app, they move on to the next one.

He had a client who won and lost $100,000 in one day. While another spent all of their life savings on gambling and now live paycheck to paycheck, he said.

For people living with addiction, they try to set parameters but often end up failing. They typically have to accept that they have to give up the activity altogether.

“It can take a year to a lifetime to reach that moment of clarity,” he said. “When they’re ready to give it up, that’s when they’re successful.”

He also emphasized the importance of having positive relationships with the clients as well as clients connecting with others in their group.

“It’s all about relationships,” he said. “It’s about having another person have faith and confidence in you to make changes and develop other relationships in the group.”

Once a client graduates from a program, he hopes that the skills they learned will help them have a happier life and better sense of self.

Some outpatient groups are available virtually. There are also sessions for Spanish-speaking clients.

Along with the focus on addiction management, there are also services for community members who are preparing to be released from prison. There is a close relationship between the non-profit and the local Department of Corrections and Federal Bureau of Prisons.

“We are able to serve the population of people who are reintegrating into the community by bridging the gap between those spaces,” Lee said.

The transition from prison to the community can be challenging for people, especially if they had been incarcerated for years.

“It’s very beneficial to help those folks through life skills group counseling sessions,” she said. “They are able to identify with other people in the group who are going through the same stage in life.”

Staff members also help clients to access community resources like housing, medical assistance and STEP programs. They also can work with individuals on budgeting and other life skills.

This year, the organization received its outpatient mental health license.

“We can now provide mental health services and have a psychiatrist on board to prescribe medication and manage clients’ needs,” she said.

Lloyd said 50 percent of people experiencing addiction have an underlying mental health disorder.

“With this license, we can further develop our mental health component to treat both sides of addiction,” he said.

Genesis House also has offices in Bloomsburg and Harrisburg. To learn more about its services, visit genesishouseoutpatient.squarespace.com.