Peace River Center

About Peace River Center

Peace River Center is a nonprofit behavioral health organization in Lakeland, Florida, offering mental health, victim, and substance use services across Polk, Highlands, and Hardee counties. Their state-licensed substance use program treats adolescents and adults struggling with alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription medication misuse, and they also support the families and partners affected by a loved one’s use. Care follows an abstinence-based model and ranges from standard outpatient to intensive outpatient and aftercare, with housing support for clients who need more structure. No one is turned away for inability to pay, and fees are discounted based on household size and income.

Everyone starts with a comprehensive assessment, and the results shape a written treatment plan built with a counselor. The clinical approach is cognitive behavioral, with a focus on relapse prevention, education, and social support, combined with individual counseling, group counseling, and testing. Specialized groups address relapse prevention, anger management, trauma, and codependency, and classes cover topics like life skills, parenting, meditation, spirituality, and smoking cessation. Licensed therapists treat co-occurring mental health conditions, and a referral-based Family Intensive Treatment team offers in-home support for parents involved with child welfare, pairing clinicians with mentors who have at least three years of their own recovery.