HEALING AND HOPE: Shown here is the Great Room, featuring the warm and welcoming atmosphere that greets patients and visitors to The Living Room at Princeton. As described in its literature, “The Living Room at Princeton is a sanctuary for healing, hope, and insight. The space itself invites curiosity and wonder, opening a door both to the mind and heart.”
By Jean Stratton
The living room. A room in your house, a place of welcome, socialization, comfort, a haven, perhaps, for you, your family, and friends.
For most of us, the above description is a good example of how we view this particular space.
There is also another characterization, one that has unique meaning for individuals coping with addiction and mental health concerns.
Opened in 2023, The Living Room at Princeton is a sanctuary for healing, hope, and wisdom, as envisioned by its founder and CEO Dr. August Leming, Ph.D.
Three Ways
“The Living Room at Princeton has meaning in three ways,” he explains. “First, it resembles a comfortable living room. Second, the room is alive (living). Third, the room is for the living.”
Located in Research Park, 239 Wall Street (on Route 206 North), it is a modern treatment facility but even more, as Leming points out, “It is a first-of-its-kind behavioral health care facility, staffed by the industry’s most dedicated professionals. It is an invitation to a life of freedom, compassion, and purpose specifically available to those of us who have known the struggles of addiction and mental health concerns.”
Leming has had his own addiction experiences, and has been sober for 25 years. He has a unique understanding and compassion for others facing such challenges. He points out this can be very helpful in connecting with patients, when they have a shared experience with a therapist.
Among the staff of eight therapists at The Living Room, a number have had such experiences. As its introductory statement explains, “Each of our staff members has a deep and meaningful personal understanding of the difficulties that come with being human. Your experience at The Living Room will include evidenced-based practices and research-proven modalities, for sure, but more importantly, our team individually and collectively is committed to their own journey of personal exploration, acceptance, and celebration. The Living Room is something you feel as much as something you see, touch, and experience.”
Understanding and Compassion
It further continues, “The Living Room at Princeton is first and foremost a team of gifted and highly committed professionals, each dedicated to living in the solution that we invite you to experience. With a focus on individual, group, and family therapy, our team facilitates the heartfelt experience of understanding, compassion, and respect. We have learned to accept and celebrate our own humanity, and as such, we are uniquely capable of introducing you to the same.”
Leming’s journey on the way to opening The Living Room took many years, and included traveling all over the world.
A graduate of Columbia University, with a major in psychology and minor in philosophy, he also embarked on a study of Buddhism, which became a major part of his life.
Over the years, however, alcohol became a problem, and in an effort to face it, and move forward, he entered Seton Hall University, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in counseling psychology. While studying at Seton Hall, he also served as an adjunct professor, teaching child psychology, adolescent psychology, and statistics at both graduate and undergraduate levels. In addition, he did extensive research in adolescent aggression, racial identity, spirituality in counseling, meditation, and personality development.
As part of his doctoral training, he also worked in the New Jersey prison system where he developed a Family Services Program, and worked extensively with those impacted by violence, trauma, and addiction.
Leming’s dissertation “Happy, Joyous and Free: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Affiliation with Alcohol Anonymous and Quality of Life” allowed for comprehensive research into the history, effectiveness, and underlying methodology of 12 Step Recovery programs.
Around the World
Over time, he attended multiple retreats, and taught meditation around the world in his work with nonprofits, corporations, universities, and athletic programs.
“I developed a model which is compassion-based,” he reports. “It’s a first-of-its-kind compassion-based model of high performance, and I have consulted with numerous organizations to help people produce better outcomes.”
He has also been an invited speaker at universities and colleges such as Princeton, Yale, the University of Virginia, Williams, and Bucknell, among others.
While obviously recognizing the importance of education, Leming values the wisdom of experience above all else, and it is emphasized at The Living Room.
“The Living Room is insight-oriented,” he explains. “It is first and foremost a space dedicated to unconditional acceptance of who we are individually and collectively. This space provides the opportunity to cultivate the much-needed compassion to meet these experiences and allow for the wisdom they provide. We see human suffering as a gateway to a freedom and joy specifically available to those of us who intimately know the pain of being human.
“Perhaps more than anything, our intention is to cultivate our individual and collective capacity to connect more meaningfully with our present moment experience. Simultaneously, every element of the care we offer is designed to further develop our innate compassion to meet the here and now with a sense of loving kindness.”
Core Issue
“The core issue is the sense of self,” he continues. “You need to sit still to find that, and take time to know yourself. In order to be authentically present and open to the experience of other people, you must be authentically present in your own life.”
Those seeking help from The Living Room are adults and adolescents (from the age of 12) and come from the Princeton area and beyond. Leming refers to them as “members,” not patients, and they have experienced a range of addictions and at times, co-occurring disorders, such as mental health concerns.
A prospective member will have an initial consultation with a therapist and staff psychiatrist, and receive a recommended level of care.
Treatment programs deal with a wide spectrum of substance use disorders, including alcohol and drugs of all kinds, and they custom-tailor combinations of individual therapy, group therapy, and skill-building that allow for the increased awareness and emotional capacity necessary to deal with the difficulties of living without alcohol or drugs.
Care includes a series of specific programs geared to each individual member, as well as family therapy, and an alumni program, helping members to continue their recovery. Intensive out-patient and additional out-patient programs for adult and adolescents are available, as well as partial hospitalization.
“I believe we are more of a retreat than a treatment center,” remarks Leming. “That’s the way The Living Room has been designed. As a physical space, every element has a purpose, and every detail is curated to invite presence, compassion, and safety. We provide a space designed to allow for individual differences and a shared humanity.”
Long-term Recovery
Leming believes The Living Room has shown significant results in helping its members achieve a better future. “With a dedicated practice of mindfulness and strong network of support, long-term recovery is more than possible.
“We are very encouraged that many of our members leave here with a more loving relationship with themselves. People who have addiction or mental health issues are uniquely able to discover a life of clarity and joy. Their suffering has real purpose.”
Reflecting on his role at The Living Room at Princeton, he observes, “I look forward to knowing that after I am no longer here, just one member will be kinder because of me.”
The Living Room accepts health insurance plans but is an out-of-network facility.
For further information, call (732) 327-1066. Visit the website at livingroomnj.com.