1:1 Substance Use Support Sessions
SUPER offers free, private, short-term support to members of the Stanford student community, providing a range of educational resources on substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, and other substances. We are committed to helping you make informed choices, whether you're seeking to learn more about substance use, explore harm reduction strategies, or address your own substance-related concerns.
Note
SUPER does not offer clinical substance use treatment services, or ongoing long-term therapy support, but can refer students to those services if appropriate.
Here's How We Can Help
Alcohol Use
Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) is an evidence-based program aimed at helping students reflect on their alcohol use and understand its impact on their health, academics, and social life. Through a one-on-one consultation, students receive personalized feedback and guidance on how to make informed decisions about drinking. BASICS helps students explore patterns of behavior and offers strategies for reducing harm or changing drinking habits in a non-judgmental, supportive environment.
Nicotine Use/Cessation
We offer tailored nicotine use and cessation visits to assist students who wish to quit using tobacco or vaping products. Nicotine addiction can be challenging to overcome without the right support, and our program provides guidance, motivation, and accountability throughout the quitting process. Students will learn coping strategies, receive personalized quit plans, and have access to ongoing support for nicotine dependence.
Cannabis Use
Our goal is to help students assess the impact of cannabis use on their physical and mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being. We use harm reduction strategies to help students make informed choices, develop healthier habits, and set personal goals, depending on their needs and desires.
Other Substance Use
Whether you're concerned about prescription medication misuse, stimulants, opioids, or other substances, our team is here to help. We provide educational resources, harm reduction tools, and personalized strategies to promote safer use or facilitate the decision to stop using substances that may be affecting your health, relationships, or academic success.
What Can You Expect When You Meet With SUPER?
SUPER provides alcohol safety education and non-clinical counseling to students, focusing on risk reduction and overall well-being. We meet with students typically twice:
- First Meeting: The goal is to understand the student’s concerns, their relationship with substance use, and assess their support needs. They create a risk reduction plan together, setting goals related to substance use and health, and discuss strategies to try out over the next few weeks.
- Second Meeting: They reflect on how the risk reduction plan worked, adjust it as needed, and explore additional supports or referrals if necessary.
What Are the Different Reasons Students Come to SUPER for a 1:1 Meeting?
Students come to SUPER for one-on-one meetings for various reasons, including concerns about their own use or a friend’s substance use, or a desire to learn more about the effects of alcohol and drugs. Students may self-refer to explore their relationship with substances, or they are referred after an alcohol or drug-related policy violation.
Self-Referrals
Our approach includes one-on-one Substance Use Support Sessions tailored to your needs, where you can schedule either an educational meeting or a recovery-focused session. We use a harm reduction framework to support safer drinking and substance use practices, along with a brief intervention model that encourages open, non-judgmental conversations and practical strategies for reducing risk. Whether you're looking for guidance or need support navigating recovery, we're here to help. Student’s can self-refer to SUPER by simply signing up for a time with us using the one-on-one scheduling link or by emailing us here.
Mandatory Referrals
Students will meet with both their Residence Director (RD) and SUPER following a serious alcohol or other drug-related policy violation. On the SUPER side, students can expect the same process as outlined above. SUPER takes an educational, non-disciplinary approach, focusing on meeting the student where they are and identifying the student’s goals for change.
Student Organization Referrals
We also work with student organization leaders and consult around various issues they may be observing with their organization's behaviors and attitudes around substance use. Sometimes these consults happen after a group has gone through the Stanford Group Accountability Process (SGAP) process and other times, a group reaches out proactively on their own to learn how to assess/create a healthier, safer, culture around substance use.
1:1 Educational Meetings
In our educational one-on-one meetings, you’ll meet with one of our Substance Use Educators who can help you develop a plan for safer drinking, learn tools to modify substance use, give you personalized feedback, develop substance use cessation planning (including nicotine), and/or assist in referring you to additional resources.
Recovery 1:1s
Sober curious or wanting to learn more about addiction recovery at Stanford? What does recovery even mean? In our recovery one-on-one meetings, you’ll meet with our Collegiate Recovery Coordinator who can answer your questions, get you connected with peer support group meetings on or off-campus, and familiarize you with Cardinal Recovery’s program offerings such as no-cost substance-free alternatives to having fun.
