ABOUT SERENITY HOUSE FREDERICKSBURG
Serenity House has treated 30,000 people in its 30-year history. It operates three facilities in Texas and is known for its no-frills, no-nonsense approach to rehabilitation. This Fredericksburg facility is located in the countryside two miles outside of Fredericksburg and offers residential substance abuse treatment for adult men and women. Detox is available from the organization’s facility in Abilene, which is located 170 miles away.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Serenity House offers a traditional 12-step model of treatment while also “addressing other underlying factors contributing to the disease of addiction.” These goals are accomplished through the notoriously strict adherence to daily routine. A typical day begins at 6:30 a.m. with chores and breakfast. Between 8:30 a.m. and noon there are lectures and process groups. After lunch there are group counseling sessions until 2:15, and the remainder of the afternoon is spent exercising (two days a week at a local gym facility), studying (clients journal about “behavioral therapy work”), and participating in individual counseling. Evening 12-step support groups are followed by lights out at 10:30. There’s also a long-term aftercare group that is held weekly and available to graduates indefinitely. This group is said to be “beyond a regular 12-step meeting.”
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Spread across Serenity House’s 3 facilities are 9 master’s-level counselors and 16 chemical dependency counselors. Medical staff are found only at the detox facility in Abilene.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Situated on 20 acres in the Texas hill country outside of historic Fredericksburg, this 32-bed location is the organization’s newest facility. The majority of residents are usually men, and ages range widely between late teens and late fifties. Rooms are shared, since communal living is an integral part of the program. The house offers large common rooms and a relaxed, countryside atmosphere, complete with rocking chairs and stone fireplaces. Downtime can be spent hiking on local trails, playing horseshoe or volleyball, and enjoying the surrounding campus. T.V. is only allowed in the evening, and there is no internet access or cell phone use.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
There are very few alumni reviews for this particular facility, but those on hand are positive—and the organization’s other facilities tend to be well reviewed too. Alum Tabatha wrote in to Best-rehabs.com to say: “I am sober three years, without Serenity House, I would be in active addiction! They helped me to start a new life, showed me God, and inspire me to keep going one day at a time. I am friends with the team that helped me today…it is real, hope is real!” She specifically praised “the way the faculty relate to your addiction,” and marked the facility down only for the range of counseling options available. On Facebook, the facility has dozens of five-star ratings. Only eight reviewers gave lower marks, most of them referencing the strict nature of program. Tiffany R. posted on Facebook: “Really amazing place and staff. Helped me to find myself, tought me to live agian.”
FINANCING
Serenity House receives some state funding, which it supplements through fundraising and payments from clients’ insurance companies. Staff at the center work directly with insurance companies to maximize coverage.
Updated August 2015