Positive Directions is a non-profit behavioral health organization providing prevention, counseling, medication management, and support groups to adolescents and adults struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. Games We’re on a mission to help kids, teens, and families learn more about substance use and how to stay safe through fun and interactive games! Pick the ones that match your age and see how much you already know. You’ll discover cool facts, test your smarts, and explore smart ways to make healthy choices. Let’s level up your knowledge and power up your future! Click below to play some games! Kids Substance Misuse Prevention Coping with Stress Youth Take care of your body Coping with Stress Teens National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge Coping with Stress This curriculum, material, and/or resource was developed by the Stanford REACH Lab, a Stanford research lab focused on promoting adolescent and young adult health through collaborative research, education, and advocacy. Questions Kids Ask! Check out these videos of kids talking to experts at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) What is Addiction? Why are drugs so hard to quit? What is the worst drug? Parents, if you want to find out about more resources that can support your kids, check these out: Talk. They Hear You (free app from SAMHSA) OperationParent.org DrugFree.org

Positive Directions is a non-profit behavioral health organization providing prevention, counseling, medication management, and support groups to adolescents and adults struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. Positive Directions The Center for Prevention & Counseling Transforming Perspectives, Embracing Mental Wellbeing for All Founded over 50 years ago by people in recovery from alcohol use disorder, Positive Directions today is a non-profit behavioral health organization providing a continuum of prevention, counseling, and peer supports to individuals and families struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. We believe strongly that "prevention works, treatment is effective, and recovery is possible." Our staff is the best: talented, warm, caring, and effective. We recognize that our clients and communities put their trust in us, and we honor your trust by giving you our very best, from individual counseling to peer support to prevention education to community-wide initiatives that foster wellbeing. We work to remove financial barriers and to provide supports beyond clinical treatment to ensure that individuals can lead healthy, successful lives in supportive communities. Meet Our Team Home: Welcome What We Do Community Prevention: As innovative community leaders, we build coalitions and guide our local and regional partners in creating healthier environments that support mental wellbeing and prevent risky behaviors. Our work includes conducting surveys to identify challenges and at-risk populations, providing prevention education, developing community-wide initiatives that respond to the needs, creating supports and alternatives, improving policies, and much more. Our focal communities are in the mid-Fairfield County area. Outpatient Treatment: Our clinical team provides in-person and virtual counseling to children, teens, adults, and families struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. Our clinicians help clients to develop coping skills and build resilience, while also providing additional connections to peer support and prevention education. We accept HUSKY and commercial insurances, and we never turn anyone away for inability to pay. Clients can be seen in-person at our Westport location or through virtual appointments. We also have counselors located at two local high schools. We have clinicians licensed to practice in Connecticut, New York and New Hampshire. Peer & Recovery Support: Recognizing the importance of peer-to-peer support, we offer several free online support groups, all of which are led by trained facilitators with lived experience: SMART Recovery, SMART Recovery Family & Friends, Alternatives to Suicide, and Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support. Our CT Support Group project is an online platform where youth and young adults can find connections, build community, learn about peer supports and groups around the state, and even access direct one-on-one peer support, either online or live, from our Recovery Support Specialist. Teletherapy Login Community Prevention Outpatient Counseling Peer/Recovery Support Coalition Work & Trainings Therapeutic Options Peer Support & Free Groups Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Contact Us Positive Directions 90 Post Road West Westport, CT 06880 info@positivedirections.org Tel: 203-227-7644 Fax: 203-227-0037 Name Full Address Email Phone Best way to reach you Phone Email Best time to reach you Morning (9AM-1PM) Afternoon (1PM-5PM) Subject Message Submit Thanks for submitting!

Positive Directions is a non-profit behavioral health organization providing prevention, counseling, medication management, and support groups to adolescents and adults struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. Our Free Support Groups Support Groups: Service Our current support groups are listed below. We add new ones from time to time so check back! And check out The Hub's regional list of peer support groups here . There are groups for individuals who are struggling and separate groups for their family & friends who are also affected. Alternatives to Suicide Support Group Every Tuesday at 7pm A free, non-judgmental, non-clinical, peer-led, and confidential drop-in space where people can share difficult thoughts and feelings around suicidal ideation / experience or self harm without being assumed to have an illness and without fear of involuntary intervention. Our group meets virtually via Zoom, every Tuesday night. Click below to get the link. For other peer-led suicide prevention meetings and supports, see our Suicide Prevention resources. Click Here for the Zoom Link Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Group Every Other Thursday at 10 am via zoom Our Alzheimer caregivers’ support group is a lifeline for families. It is a place to turn to for advice and encouragement to help feel connected and give caregivers a sense of belonging and purpose. The group helps put our own experiences living with dementia in perspective and provides support and encouragement to move beyond a diagnosis. We share feelings confidentially, make friends, get help navigating the health care and legal systems, and learn from one another. To learn more, call or text Tom at 203-216-1800. RSVP SMART Friends & Family Group Thursdays from 6pm-7pm on Zoom SMART Recovery Family & Friends is a free weekly support group to provide people with the tools they need to effectively support their loved one, without supporting that person's addictive or harmful behaviors. SMART F&F is based on the CRAFT model , which is effective at helping someone acknowledge they need treatment. This weekly group will help you develop the coping skills you need and allow you to regain your peace of mind. Click for Zoom link 1:1 Peer Support for Teens and Young Adults By Appointment Our CT Support Group project manager, Quinn, is offering free individual peer support to teens and young adults in Connecticut. Quinn is a young adult Recovery Support Specialist trained in Intentional Peer Support. They draw from their own experiences to connect with participants and support them in moving towards their goals. To meet with Quinn, email qjannetty@positivedirections.org or text (475) 999-2605. Get in Touch SMART Recovery (Adult Group) Tuesdays from 6pm-7pm on Zoom Looking to break free of negative self-talk or harmful habits, or to cope with anxiety or addiction? SMART Recovery can help. SMART Recovery is a free facilitated weekly support group where you will learn practical psychology-based tools and gain social supports to help you create successful, long-term, changes in your life. SMART Recovery teaches you how to: build and maintain the motivation to change; cope with urges; manage your thoughts, feelings and behaviors; and ultimately live a balanced life. RSVP on our Events page to be on the email list, or get the link below: Click here for the Zoom link

Timothy Cohen < Back Timothy Cohen Intern, The Norwalk Partnership Timothy Cohen is a dedicated junior at P-Tech High School who strives for excellence both inside and outside the classroom. As a prevention intern at Positive Directions, he is gaining valuable experience in community support and leadership. He previously played varsity basketball. This experience strengthened his discipline, teamwork, and resilience. He has since shifted his focus to new passions and goals. Outside of school, Timothy is developing his skills as an aspiring barber, channeling his creativity and work ethic into a hands-on craft. With a deep interest in athletic performance and helping others, he plans to study sports medicine in college, aiming for a career where he can empower athletes to stay healthy, strong, and perform at their best.

Rylie Peterson < Back Rylie Peterson Intern, The Norwalk Partnership Rylie Peterson is a junior at P-TECH Norwalk. She works as a Prevention Intern for Positive Directions, and runs the TNP Teens club at Norwalk High. As an avid volunteer for many mental health, cancer, and community organizations for the last 4 years, she is devoted to raising awareness for mental health and being a young advocate for the teens in Norwalk. She enjoys participating in many forms of the arts such as painting, writing, and acting, as well as staying active by walking and working out. Rylie feels strongly that she can positively contribute to her community and teens who are struggling through not only the work she is doing but what she learned when she was struggling as well.

Quinn Jannetty < Back Quinn Jannetty Manager, CT Support Group Project Quinn Jannetty (they/them) is a queer, trans non-binary researcher with a background in psychological science and criminology. Before coming to the CT Support Group project, Quinn worked as a direct care provider in the mental health and addiction field during which they earned their certification in Crisis Prevention and Intervention. Quinn also spent two semesters interning for CT’s Judicial Branch in CSSD’s Multicultural Affairs Division. It was in these roles that they deepened their desire to educate folks about mental health, addiction, trauma stewardship, cultural responsiveness, identity, and marginalization. In 2020, Quinn began serving as the Advocacy Director for The Reflection Zone in Watertown, CT. They wrote and facilitated workshops about LGBTQ+ identities and collaborated with the team to plan family friendly events for their community to enjoy. Quinn is passionate about creating and holding space for the narratives of marginalized people and facilitating conversations with folks about identity, bias, power, and community care. They are an ardent believer in challenging systems rooted in oppression through education, sharing resources, and creating environments conducive to social change. In their spare time, Quinn enjoys furthering their studies of astrology (they’re a Leo sun, Gemini moon, and Scorpio rising) and doing card readings for friends and family. Most weekends, you can find Quinn out hiking and searching for new plants and fungi with their partner. When they’re not on the trails, Quinn is usually improvising on the piano, curled up with a book, or in the kitchen measuring spices with their heart and, of course, waiting on the potatoes.

Jen Lord < Back Jen Lord Recovery Coach & Alt2Su Facilitator Jen ( she/they) has facilitated PD's Alternatives to Suicide support group since 2022. As of 2025, Jen is also serving as our school-based provider at BMHS and CGS high schools in Norwalk, providing substance misuse and recovery support to students on campus. Jen is a dedicated advocate for mental health and substance use recovery. Driven by a profound passion for helping individuals reclaim their lives and live happy productive lives, they are currently pursuing a drug and alcohol counseling license at Gateway Community College while also working with Mental Health CT and Recovery Network of Programs. Born and raised in Stamford, Jen brings a trauma-informed, person-centered approach to their work, ensuring that every individual feels seen, heard, and supported. As a certified recovery coach for the state of Connecticut, they are committed to fostering an environment rooted in compassion, accountability, love, and reflection. Through her leadership of two Alternative to Suicide support groups and as a Life Coach, Jen provides a safe space for those in crisis to find connection, hope, and healing. Jen’s own journey with mental health and substance use recovery serves as a field guide for others, showing that change is possible with the right support and determination. Outside of her professional endeavors, Jen cherishes the opportunity to spend time outdoors, bond with friends and family, and care for her beloved cats, Mango and Bam. Jen finds joy and balance in creating art, listening to music, working out at the gym, and practicing self-care, all of which fuel their passion for helping others.

Francesca Guerrier, MPH < Back Francesca Guerrier, MPH Manager, Mid-Fairfield Cannabis Project Francesca Guerrier joins us as Project Manager for our regional Cannabis Prevention project, working with 5 towns. She is a Public Health professional who has been working in the field of prevention for over 10 years. Most recently, Francesca worked in health prevention at Sacred Heart University (SHU). She provided educational awareness in harm reduction and risk reduction to students, faculty and staff across the SHU community. Prior to that, Francesca worked at the Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program (GBAPP) Inc., for seven years. She worked on a number of community-based grants that focused on prevention and education, including overdose prevention, alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) misuse prevention , and other harm reduction services. Francesca also sat on the Bridgeport United Coalition (BUC) , a program funded by Drug Free Communities to reduce drug use among youth. Francesca earned her BS with a concentration in Public Health from Southern Connecticut State University and went on to receive her Masters of Public Health (MPH) from her alma mater. Francesca is inspired daily by her husband and three wonderful children.

Therell Mayes < Back Therell Mayes Social Media Lead, CT Support Group Therell joined TurningPointCT as their Social Media Assistant in September 2021. He is a young adult who wants to help other young adults who are struggling with mental health like he has. Therell is a student at Norwalk Community College, majoring in Liberal Arts & Science. His experience with social media began as a hobby in middle school. Since then, he has learned how to use various social media platforms to promote his photography, music, and YouTube videos. Therell loves to write screenplays, poetry, and lyrics as well as record music, photograph nature, and exercise.

Marsha Elbourne < Back Marsha Elbourne The Norwalk Partnership Coalition Coordinator Marsha came to Positive Directions from a career in marketing, where she spent over two decades working as a copywriter and creative director at agencies in Fairfield County and New York City, crafting strategies, ideas, and content for well-known brands. After pivoting to a strategic role and taking on new responsibilities that included business development, research, event strategy, PR, and more, it would be her volunteer work leading DEI communications that would have the greatest impact on Marsha. It rekindled a longtime desire to do what she calls "heart-work," encouraging her to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. Marsha lives in Norwalk and shares a home with her teenage daughter and three shelter animals, Bailey, a sweet-natured dog, as well as Simon and Kitty Purry, two sassy tuxedo cats. Marsha holds a BA from Harvard University and is conversational in French. She can be reached via email at melbourne@positivedirections.org or by phone at 203-227-7644.

Vivian Balazs < Back Vivian Balazs Intern, The Norwalk Partnership My name is Vivian Balazs, and I am honored to serve as one of the Prevention Interns for Positive Directions. I am a junior at the Center for Global Studies in Norwalk and the President of the TNP Teens Club at Brien McMahon and CGS. Beyond my academic pursuits, I lead a writing club, participate in musicals and plays, tutor, and work at a children's theater. I also enjoy spending time with friends, reading books, and baking. I have a passion for helping others, ensuring that resources are accessible to everyone, and educating others about mental health and drug abuse. I am so happy I have found a place where I can be creative, express these passions, and leave a lasting mark on my community. You can reach Vivian Balazs at vbalazs@positivedirections.org

Teraya Broaden < Back Teraya Broaden SMART Recovery Groups Facilitator Teraya Broaden has been in the Human Services field for over 14 years. She has provided peer support and case management to promote recovery from substance use disorders. She has also worked with clients with severe mental health issues that include conducting active outreach and in home engagement with providers/community agencies on a daily to weekly basis. She is currently engaging in upcoming trainings to educate herself and others on how to better service our community in the future as we evolve.