Waverley Place

Community support for individuals in recovery from mental health challenges. Contact us today to learn more.

Waverley Place is a community-based support program that provides a recovery-oriented environment for adults facing mental health challenges.

Our program supports adults who may experience changes in thinking and concentration, have difficulties with hearing, seeing, or sensing things that others don’t, or struggle with mood and anxiety disorders.

Located a half-mile from McLean’s Belmont campus, Waverley Place offers a unique, non-clinical model of recovery in a warm and welcoming environment.

Here, members can build connections and supports, as well as independence and self-reliance. We emphasize empowerment and self-determination, helping members to decide for themselves how they want to use the program.

For more information about joining Waverley Place, please call 617.484.0193.

Support and Services

Waverley Place provides community-based support ranging from group sessions on crucial topics to a comfortable and safe space to engage with other individuals in recovery.

Community members determine which services they engage in and how often they participate. Daily activities include open discussion, groups, workshops, classes, and the opportunity for members to facilitate or co-facilitate groups.

The weekly schedule includes group sessions focused on topics such as interpersonal skills, independent living, spirituality, finding meaningful work, and living a full life as defined by each individual.

Shared activities include board games, art, writing, music, gardening, cooking, and cognitive games. Waverley Place also offers fitness groups, including yoga, meditation, stretching, group walks, and trips to the gym.

At Waverley Place, we understand that support and access to resources are crucial to sustained recovery. With this in mind, our staff helps members establish and carry out personal goals.

Mutual peer support from community members helps individuals engage in meaningful activities and roles. We provide many opportunities to have conversations about stigma, discrimination, self-stigma, advocacy, and empowerment.

Waverley Place

Waverley Place is a community-based support program that provides a recovery-oriented environment for adults struggling with mental health challenges

We support members in their vocational pursuits by facilitating trips to job fairs, career centers, and local businesses.

In addition, we offer guidance, referrals, and tools to connect members with outside services to assist with meeting vocational, educational, housing, financial, wellness, and personal needs, including access to trained benefits specialists.

Planned and impromptu social activities take place both within the program and in the larger community.

Outings include visits to local coffee shops, stores, farms, museums, art stores, and restaurants. Seasonal outings may bring members to beaches, parks, amusement parks, and orchards. Special events include open mic nights, cookouts, holiday parties, and organizational walks, such as the annual National Alliance on Mental Illness walk.

Members also have access to computers, art supplies, a garden, meditation space, and a local athletic club.

Sharing Lived Experience

Waverley Place offers members the ability to work one-on-one with a certified peer specialist.

Peer specialists share their diverse lived experiences of mental health recovery and carry the message that recovery is possible. In sharing their wisdom, strength, and hope, certified peer specialists significantly impact people’s beliefs about their own capacity to recover.

Peer specialists inspire healing through modeling and commonality. They meet people where they are at in their recovery and inspire them with the courage to act. Certified peer specialists work with members to identify and combat self-stigma, to advocate for themselves, and to treat themselves with kindness and compassion.

Our certified peer specialists receive rigorous training and are certified by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.

Join Waverley Place

Admission

Individuals interested in becoming members of Waverley Place can be self-referred, referred by McLean providers, or referred by programs and providers in the greater community. For further information, please contact:

Phone: 617.484.0193

Cost

There is a monthly membership fee of $300; however, for members who qualify, the fee is reduced on a sliding scale.

Program Leadership

Staff and Associates

Our multidisciplinary staff includes a vocational specialist and five certified peer specialists. Peer specialists are individuals living in mental health recovery who are state certified to share their lived experiences and work with others struggling with similar issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Waverley Place located?

The program is located near the Belmont campus on Pleasant Street in Belmont. For more information on directions, parking, and local accommodations, please visit our Maps & Directions page.

Who benefits most from Waverley Place?

Our community program supports adults who are undergoing changes in thinking and concentration, having difficulties with mood and anxiety, and experiencing hearing, seeing, or sensing things that others don’t, and who want to be a part of a therapeutic community.

Is family involved in treatment?

Family members are welcome to participate in an individual’s treatment at Waverley Place, but their level of involvement is determined by the member.

Is smoking permitted?

Smoking is allowed in designated outdoor areas only. No smoking is allowed inside any of our buildings.

Are cell phones allowed?

Cell phone use is allowed, with some guidelines to prevent disruption of the program and others. Cell phone users are asked to be courteous during groups and group activities.

Are support groups offered?

To complement our programs’ services and encourage individuals’ initiatives in their own treatment course, many self-help groups are hosted by McLean.