Beacon Center

About Beacon Center

Beacon Center in Utica, New York, is a private outpatient provider treating substance use and mental health disorders, and they are licensed by both the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports and the Office of Mental Health. Founded in 1990 by Faith Peterson, they rest on the belief that addiction and mental illness are highly treatable and that people deserve care that protects their dignity and disrupts their lives as little as possible. They serve adolescents and adults across nine outpatient sites in Central and Western New York. Care ranges from standard outpatient counseling and intensive outpatient to an alternative-to-inpatient track, methadone-based opioid treatment, and a community reintegration residence for men in Herkimer.

Treatment begins with a full evaluation covering substance use, family life, medical and mental health history, work, schooling, and legal issues, and monitoring may include urine, blood alcohol, and hair follicle testing. Specialized groups address early and continuing recovery, chronic relapse, trauma, and the needs of women, men, young adults, adolescents, families, and people involved with the criminal justice system. A physician oversees medication-assisted treatment using buprenorphine (Suboxone), monthly Vivitrol injections, and naltrexone for alcohol use, while the Compass Program treats co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions together. Adults can also receive mental health counseling and medication management in person or by telehealth, peer specialists with lived experience offer support at every stage, and loved ones of people in treatment can access their own services.