Substance Abuse Treatment for Teens
Drug and alcohol treatment for teens is not the same as treatment for adults. The focus on family is different. Academics play a larger role. But it goes further than that.
Consider these typical issues that treatment programs dealing with teens need to address:
- relationships with parents and increasing independence
- expectation of harm reduction v. abstinence
- likelihood that adolescent use may not yet have progressed into full addiction
- school issues (including undiagnosed learning disabilities)
- understanding of developmental issues (older v. younger teens)
- primary focus on and preference for peers
- family issues
- emotional extremes
- maturational delays caused by alcohol and drug use
- puberty and hormonal changes
- sexuality, sexual orientation, and relationships
- increasing sense of identity, including ethnicity and culture
- mental health co-morbidity
- habilitation, not rehabilitation
But even though primary treatment itself is special, teens still need the same continuum of services as adults need: early intervention, treatment, aftercare, and long-term recovery management services.
To find treatment options specifically for teens, click here. (Make sure to click the box for adolescents under Special Programs/Groups on the second page.)
