Teens can become addicted to any number of substances including alcohol, household chemicals, such as inhalants, or prescription drugs, such as pain killers. Teens with substance use disorders (or "abuse") will have a hard time hiding their addiction from people close to them; they will have an overwhelming need to get the substance and then use it. Other signs, as reported at Kid's Health.org, include anxiety, mood swings, secretive behaviors, theft, poor school performance, reduced engagement in previously enjoyed activities and changes in peer groups. There are ways to get help.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is a major form of treatment for substance abuse among teenagers. This type of therapy takes into account dynamics within the family that could be leading to emotional turmoil within you teen or an inability to properly cope with stressors--problems leading to substance abuse, according to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Family therapy includes all of the members of your immediate family and possibly even some of your teen's closest friends because adolescents are likely to be highly influenced by both these groups, suggests NCADI. Your therapy sessions will focus on helping the family deal with underlying conflict, developing skills to deal with conflict in the future, showing appreciation for differences, improving communication techniques, such as using "I" statements, and education about normal and expected teenage behaviors, reports NCADI. The successful use of family therapy with adolescents suffering from substance abuse has been documented repeatedly and especially with teens from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Withdrawal Therapy
The focus of this treatment is detoxification. According to the Mayo Clinic, under this treatment plan, your teen will be taken off the substance as quickly and safely as possible. As detoxification begins, further treatment will depend on the specific substance the teen is addicted to. Each substance can produce a variety of specific side effects that can either be handled through a more gradual reduction in the substance or a substitution of another drug that has milder adverse effects. For some drugs, detoxification can be done safely on an outpatient basis, but many times teens will have to be admitted as an inpatient. The detoxification process should be discussed with the treatment facility so they can develop the plan that best fits with the needs of your teenager and your teenager's substance addiction.
Self-Help Groups
Self-help or support groups can help a teen to maintain sobriety. The Mayo Clinic says these groups focus on the idea that addiction to a substance is a chronic condition needing regular life-long attention because the possibility of relapse is huge. Therefore, continued participation in the self-help group is essential to this type of treatment. Self-help is usually used in conjunction with another treatment program or therapy. Kids Health.org suggests that one of the benefits of self-help groups is the positive feelings your teen can gain from helping others overcome their addiction because your teen knows what recovery is like and can provide support.
