Riverbend Community Based Services provides outpatient and community-based addiction care in Lowell, Massachusetts. Part of Riverbend, a nonprofit formerly known as Lowell House that has served the Greater Lowell area since 1971, these services offer flexible support for people at many points in their recovery, delivered by experienced, licensed clinicians. The offerings range from evaluations and outpatient therapy to a structured day program, court-connected education, and specialized services for adolescents and young adults.
Evaluations and Outpatient Treatment
Riverbend’s evaluation services use clinical interviews, screenings, and evidence-based assessment tools to understand each person’s substance use and shape a personalized plan for recovery, and they include court-ordered 24Q evaluations under Massachusetts law that assess the severity of addiction and provide recommendations to the court. Evaluations can be completed virtually, with written summaries provided promptly. The organization’s outpatient clinic, licensed by the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services as a substance use health clinic, offers therapy in both one-on-one and group settings for individuals seeking additional support, including those who are dually diagnosed with co-occurring disorders. Its clinicians are trained in a range of approaches, such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, and family and couples counseling.
Structured Outpatient Addiction Program
The Structured Outpatient Addiction Program, or SOAP, is a clinically intensive, highly structured day program for individuals in the early stages of recovery, including those managing co-occurring disorders. It runs Monday through Friday mornings over roughly eight to ten weeks, adjusted to each person’s needs and progress. The program combines weekly case management, one-on-one clinical support, group therapy, and psychoeducation with vocational training and life-skills development, giving clients an intensive yet flexible framework for building a stable foundation in recovery.
OUI Education and Adolescent Services
Riverbend also operates court-connected OUI education through two programs: a first-offender program, a court-mandated sixteen-week group psychoeducation course offered virtually in English and Spanish, and a second-offender aftercare program, a year-long individualized track combining individual and group sessions with ongoing coordination with the courts, probation, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. For younger clients, the organization’s adolescent services address the developmental needs of adolescents and young adults through evidence-based care that includes the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, assessments and evaluations, a diversion alternative program, prevention services, case management, and individual and family counseling.
