Athens Area Commencement Center

About Athens Area Commencement Center

Athens Area Commencement Center is a family-owned, CARF-accredited outpatient addiction treatment program in Athens, Georgia, serving North Georgia since 1978. They treat alcohol, drug, and opioid use along with co-occurring mental health conditions, approaching addiction as a medical condition rather than a personal failing and emphasizing education, accountability, and family involvement. Care includes medically monitored outpatient detox, day treatment and partial hospitalization, evening intensive outpatient treatment, and aftercare. Each client starts with an assessment to decide whether outpatient care is safe and appropriate.

For detox, eligible adults who are medically stable are checked and reassessed daily, receive supervised medication only when clinically needed, and can join counseling and group sessions without a 24-hour stay. The intensive outpatient program combines individual counseling, group therapy, family therapy, and addiction education, drawing on CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and integrated dual diagnosis care. Adults can choose a daytime or evening schedule, teens ages 14 to 18 meet separately on weekday afternoons, and a weekly Family Night brings loved ones into the process. Specialized groups include a professionals group for nurses, pharmacists, physicians, teachers, and first responders, along with trauma, grief, and relapse prevention groups, an aftercare group, and Al-Anon and Nar-Anon meetings for families.