Support & Structure
Provide students with a structured and supportive program to promote sustained recovery.
On This Page
Collegiate Recovery Program
Support. Sobriety. Personal Accountability. Friendship.
The Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP) at Fairfield University offers a nurturing, affirming, and substance-free environment for students in recovery. Together, students learn how to balance their education with their recovery and pursue their academic, personal, and professional goals. The program includes a Collegiate Recovery House where men live and work to achieve these goals. Components of the program include recreational opportunities, spiritual advising, random drug testing, and group therapy.
The program is offered through the Department of Counseling & Psychological Services and overseen by an Advisory Board that promotes healthier choices and substance-free living.
For more information, please contact recovery@fairfield.edu or call (203) 254-4000 ext. 2146.
Goals & Services
Our Goals.
Recovery & Wellness-Based Programming
Attend a variety of self-help groups regularly, including 12 Step meetings, smart recovery, refuge recovery, and engage in wellness-based programming (e.g., yoga, meditation, acupuncture).
Academic Success
Meet academic goals through individualized academic advising and support.
Be of Service
Be of service to others at the campus and local levels.
"Cura personalis"-Focused
Engage in Ignatian spirituality, based in an understanding of the “whole person”—body, mind, and spirit.
Role Model
Model for others a full University experience without the use of alcohol or drugs.
Our Services.
Recovery Housing
Group Counseling
Career Counseling
Community Resources
Recreational Activities
(golf, rock climbing, movies, athletic events, bowling)
Sober Wellness Programming
focused on mind, body, and spirit
Community Service Opportunities
Academic Success Support
Family Orientation (Support Services)
Intramural Basketball Team
Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) Meetings
AA 12-Step Meetings
on campus and transportation to meetings off campus
Testimonials
This house is so much more than a house for me to lay my head at night. It has become my home, not just for me but for others as well. This is a safe and sober environment for college students to maneuver through the tough road of being in recovery while receiving a college education. It has given me an opportunity to achieve the degree I want to pursue, at an unbelievable university. I am truly blessed. Fairfield has given me the opportunity to restore integrity and credibility back into my life. For it to be over two and half years since my last drink, it is nothing short of a miracle - for what Fairfield has done for me, is nothing short of a miracle.
As a newly recovering alcoholic I was worried about returning to life on campus, and how I would adjust to a sober life amongst my typical college-student peers. The CRP has relieved my anxieties by providing a close-knit support network which focuses on a sober lifestyle, and brings forth a great group of students who are more than willing to offer help and get involved in activities. The CRP has made a sober college life manageable!
[The] Collegiate Recovery Program has allowed me to live the life I've always dreamed of at college, yet clean and sober. It is a safe house when necessary with guys working toward the same goal. CRP has made the tough task of going to college sober, that much easier. I don't think I'd be where I am today without CRP.
I was waiting to be expelled or thrown in jail. I only knew how to live a life with drugs and alcohol. Fairfield University's collegiate recovery program and the members of the CRP community showed me how to live a life I could be proud of and that could be positive. The CRP has helped me become a person, a student, a brother, a son, and an uncle for the first time in my life. I couldn't do it alone, I needed all the help CRP gave me.
Fairfield University's collegiate recovery program helped me get back into school after being suspended twice. It gave me a sober environment to live in and provided a clean college experience. I can't be thankful enough – this program will revolutionize the future of collegiate recovery.
Before learning about Fairfield University’s collegiate recovery program, I couldn't imagine staying sober at college. With the constant peer pressure staying sober seemed to daunting of a task. CRP has given me a home and an opportunity. It's helped make college a fun, sober, and enriching experience.
Collegiate Recovery Staff
Lisa Arnold
Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Clinical Director, Collegiate Recovery Program
Lisa Arnold graduated from the University of Connecticut earning her BA in psychology in 1994 and attended graduate school at Fairfield University, earning her MA in 1997. In 2002, she became a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor through the State of Connecticut and currently has 25 years experience working with addiction and recovery in a variety of treatment settings including detox, rehabilitation, extended care, drug court, private practice, and higher education. Lisa chairs the CRP Advisory Board and is a member of the AOD Advisory board committee on campus. Lisa has worked at Fairfield University since 2002. In addition to her clinical director role, she is a psychotherapist in Counseling & Psychological Services and works closely with the Dean of Students’ Office with students who are documented for substance use on campus to help them find healthy alternatives and improve their college experience.
Brian Dolan
Collegiate Recovery House Manager
Prior to coming to Fairfield University in August of 2018, Brian Dolan helped manage and build Selah Recovery in Lake Worth, Florida a sober living residence for individuals in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. In his short time at Fairfield University, Brian has set up the program's first immersion trip that happened in March 2020 where students helped Habitat for Humanity and be part of the collegiate challenge. Brian has also implemented CRP basketball that allows local people in recovery who are not Fairfield University students to come play basketball with the students in the house. Brian has a bachelors degree from Sacred Heart University and is currently enrolled in the masters of counseling program here at Fairfield University.
Dawn DeBiase
Program Director
Social Work
Dawn is the director of the masters in social work program through Fairfield's Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions. She is an assistant professor of the practice, teaching courses in social work for the program. Prior to her current role, she served as an assistant dean in three different academic offices (Dean of Freshmen, College of Arts and Sciences, and Charles F. Dolan School of Business) for 15 years. A licensed independent clinical social worker, Dawn utilizes her counseling skills (particularly her expertise in Motivational Interviewing, a counseling style with demonstrated effectiveness in eliciting and strengthening motivation for change, and her area of research) with students. Dawn has a small private practice in Milford, CT where she primarily works with adolescent, young adult, and adult females experiencing normative (i.e. "stage of life") issues along with depression, anxiety, and relationship problems.