Drug Interruption Group: Jail-Based Substance Use Treatment

Recovery can begin before release. Integrative Recovery Therapies’ Drug Interruption Group (DIG) brings structured, voluntary substance use treatment to adults at Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in St. Charles Parish. The program is built for people whose substance use and justice involvement have become connected, and who want practical support for making a different choice. DIG is not a lecture or a punishment. It is a clinical program grounded in dignity, accountability, and the belief that people can change. Participants work with trained behavioral health professionals to understand patterns, strengthen coping skills, repair relationships, and prepare for life after incarceration.

Substance Use Treatment During Incarceration

Time in custody can interrupt access to substances, but it does not automatically treat addiction, trauma, grief, or the pressures that contribute to repeated use. DIG creates space to do that deeper work in a structured setting. Treatment addresses substance use alongside emotional health, relationships, decision-making, and the realities of returning to the community. The program uses evidence-based and trauma-informed approaches, including Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, psychoeducation, and relapse prevention. The goal is not simply to tell participants what to avoid. It is to help each person build the insight and skills needed to protect recovery in real life.

Who the Drug Interruption Group Serves

DIG is designed for adults who are currently or recently involved in the criminal justice system and who have a diagnosed or suspected substance use disorder. Participation is voluntary, and a willingness to engage honestly in structured treatment matters more than having everything figured out at the beginning. The program may be appropriate for someone who:

• Has experienced repeated consequences related to alcohol or drug use
• Wants to understand the connection between substance use, behavior, and justice involvement
• Needs practical tools for cravings, stress, conflict, and high-risk situations
• Is preparing for release and wants a stronger re-entry plan
• Would benefit from treatment for co-occurring trauma, anxiety, depression, or relationship strain

Eligibility and participation are coordinated with Nelson Coleman Correctional Center and the appropriate justice-system partners.

What Participants Can Expect

DIG combines consistent group work with individualized clinical support. Participants attend two 90-minute group sessions each week. Individual and family sessions are provided as clinically appropriate, with individual contact occurring at least monthly. Treatment begins with an assessment so the clinical team can understand each person’s history, needs, strengths, risks, and goals. Group sessions are active and practical. Participants learn, reflect, practice skills, and give and receive appropriate peer feedback. Individual sessions create room to address personal concerns, treatment barriers, family needs, and re-entry planning that may not be appropriate for the group setting.

A Three-Phase Path Toward Recovery and Re-Entry

Phase One: Orientation and Engagement

Participants learn what to expect, review group agreements, complete assessment work, and begin identifying personal goals. This phase emphasizes safety, trust, motivation, and an honest understanding of how substance use has affected daily life.

Phase Two: Therapeutic Intervention

The middle phase focuses on the patterns beneath substance use. Participants practice emotional regulation, communication, problem-solving, cognitive restructuring, and coping with triggers. The work also explores trauma, relationships, criminal thinking patterns, and the consequences that matter most to each individual.

Phase Three: Relapse Prevention and Transition

As release or program completion approaches, treatment turns toward protecting progress outside the facility. Participants identify high-risk people, places, emotions, and situations; build a realistic relapse prevention plan; and connect with community treatment and recovery resources whenever possible.

Core Skills and Clinical Approaches

DIG is designed to meet people where they are while still asking for meaningful participation. Depending on clinical need, the program may include:

• Motivational Interviewing: strengthening a person’s own reasons for change
• CBT: recognizing and changing thought and behavior patterns that increase risk
• DBT skills: managing intense emotions, tolerating distress, and communicating more effectively
• Trauma-informed care: understanding behavior in context without excusing harm
• Relapse prevention: preparing for cravings, triggers, setbacks, and recovery support
• Psychoeducation and life skills: building knowledge and routines that support stability

Accountability Without Shame

Real recovery includes responsibility. It also requires enough safety to tell the truth. IRT’s approach is respectfully direct: we name patterns, address harmful choices, and help participants make a plan for change without reducing anyone to a diagnosis, a charge, or their worst day. This balance supports better conflict resolution, fewer institutional problems, stronger recovery motivation, and a clearer understanding of how substance use and criminal behavior can reinforce one another. Progress is measured through participation, skill development, treatment-plan goals, and readiness for the next stage of care.

Continuity of Care After Release

Recovery becomes especially vulnerable during transition. Housing, employment, transportation, family conflict, court requirements, and access to treatment can all arrive at once. DIG includes re-entry and discharge planning so participants are not expected to start from zero after release. When appropriate, IRT can connect participants with ongoing Re-Entry Counseling, Intensive Outpatient Treatment, Addiction Counseling, and Care Coordination. The goal is a warm transition into community support, not a list of phone numbers handed over at the last minute.

Questions About the Drug Interruption Group?

Participation in the jail-based Drug Interruption Group is coordinated through Nelson Coleman Correctional Center and justice-system partners. Families, referral sources, and community partners can contact Integrative Recovery Therapies for general program information and continuity-of-care questions. If you or someone you care about needs help after release, our team can also explain the community-based services available through IRT. Change is possible, and it can begin with one honest conversation.