Our Mission

Flexibility and choice are the hallmarks of the Retreat at Princeton. We help patients address their addictive behaviors, begin to work through the core issues underlying the addiction, and develop better coping skills. This program is designed to facilitate the return to family and work life in a healthy, positive way. 

Overview

This adult addiction treatment program involves individualized care delivered by highly skilled staff in a comfortable, respectful environment. Treatment includes a flexible length of stay based on the patient’s need. This usually ranges from 2-4 weeks. The program is offered in a dedicated wing of the main campus of Princeton House Behavioral Health in Princeton. This setting is within a convenient distance of both New York and Philadelphia. 

History

Princeton House Behavioral Health (PHBH), a unit of Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), has a long history of providing a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services for adults struggling with mental illness, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders. With the inception of the Retreat at Princeton, PHBH is the first to offer a program of this kind in the state of New Jersey.

“The history and development of the Retreat at Princeton had an interesting evolution,” explains Richard Wohl, Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health, PHCS. “It began with a discussion, about 10 years ago, that I had with Arnold Washton, PhD, after I had heard him speak at a large addictions conference. We realized there was a real need in New Jersey for sophisticated treatment at the inpatient level for chemically dependent adults who otherwise would be functioning in their daily lives. At that time, there was no such program in the state with specialized expertise in treating executives and professionals as a part of the service. When we first discussed this, Princeton House didn’t have the appropriate space in our existing inpatient setting to launch such a program, but this recognition started a longer term strategic planning process. With the major expansion and renovation project we have completed at our main campus in 2006, this program has been able to become an important addition to our continuum and in our community.”

The Retreat is located on a dedicated 14-bed inpatient wing at PHBH’s main campus in Princeton, within a convenient distance from both New York and Philadelphia. There is length of stay flexibility when clinically appropriate, with an estimated range of two to four weeks.

The Retreat provides our patients with an individualized, flexible approach to recovery. Engaging patients in a life changing process, the Retreat uses a combination of various treatment strategies to help patients avoid relapses. These include motivational, cognitive-behavioral, 12-step, interpersonal, emotion-focused and insight-oriented techniques. Confidentiality is also one of the program’s high priorities.

“Flexibility is the hallmark of the Retreat,” explains Arnold Washton, PhD, Clinical Director of the program. “Treatment is tailored to each patient’s unique needs – including the length of stay. We start where each patient is and cooperatively, respectfully and gently move them forward through a process of change. Our goal is to help individuals to address their addictive behaviors and to recognize their addiction as a form a self-medication. We work with our patients to begin to address the issues that drive their addictions and encourage them to develop positive coping skills to replace the addiction and related behaviors that are no longer working for the patient.”