Finding effective drug treatment for your teen can be the most complicated and stressful challenge to come with raising a child.<\/p>\n
Of course, we never imagined that we’d need to seek out such help for our children.<\/p>\n
But more and more we’re seeing teens enmeshed in a culture that’s become increasingly infused with drug use. And, sadly, many of us have seen this phenomenon develop in our own homes.<\/p>\n
Not only is the emotional toll high when dealing with drug addiction in the family – there’s also difficult logistical challenges to deal with.<\/p>\n
We need to exercise caution when making choices about when and where we should seek treatment for our teen.<\/p>\n
While available therapies for standard medical conditions provided by well established medical providers, this can’t always be said for the drug rehabilitation industry.<\/p>\n
If your son or daughter had cancer it would be relatively straightforward when it comes to treatment.<\/p>\n
But when assessing treatment options for teen drug use we’re faced with having far less insight into the merit of the treatment centers.<\/p>\n
This is because there are very few governmental regulations that govern teen drug recovery programs and very little research evidence available for their effectiveness.<\/p>\n
But there ARE?good teen drug programs out there. You’ll just need to learn how to spot them.<\/p>\n
Understanding the signs and symptoms can help you assess the level of drug dependency your teen is exhibiting.<\/p>\n
Having good discernment is very important here because we as parents sometimes have a hard time telling whether our child is showing normal or unhealthy signs of behavior.\u00a0<\/strong>Occasionally what can appear to be a sign of drug abuse isn’t actually related. Understanding the signs and symptoms can help you assess the level of drug dependency your teen is exhibiting.<\/p>\n Teens are known to be very secretive and hard to figure out. But we must try. If we misunderstand a child’s cry for help we might apply the wrong treatment.<\/p>\n For example, some teens with minor drug problems get sent off to rehab?centers that cater mostly to teens with more severe drug addictions. In this scenario it’s not uncommon to see the teens with very few tendencies towards drug use suddenly develop heavier habits because they are influenced by the more at risk teens around them.<\/p>\n Please remember this when reading the symptoms below.<\/p>\n Now let’s explore some treatment protocols that we highly recommend avoiding.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n (Later on, we’ll discuss treatment protocols that we recommend you look for\u00a0when seeking out rehabilitation centers for your teen.)<\/p>\n This relatively abrasive technique is meant to combat?the patients denial about their addiction.<\/p>\n Clinically it has been shown counterproductive for both adults and teens. It can be especially traumatizing for teens.<\/p>\n The main problem is that it uses a patients denials as proof of their addiction.<\/p>\n Obviously, there are some definite logical fallacies in this method…<\/p>\n This can be a very bad recipe.<\/p>\n For one, teens are at a very different developmental level than adults. Discussions around adult experiences like sexuality and trauma can be counterproductive for your teens recovery.<\/p>\n Additionally, many groups which add teens to adult recovery programs are lead by staff that is untrained for dealing with teens and their own development needs. Because of this many therapeutic techniques that are applied are inappropriate for teenagers.<\/p>\n For this reason, it is best that you focus on finding a specialized adolescent program when\u00a0looking for teen drug rehabs.<\/p>\n The Government Accountability Office has warned the public<\/a> about these programs numerous times.<\/p>\n Thousands of reports of abuse and neglect have been filed and the programs are still running, albeit some have changed their marketing strategies.<\/p>\nPhysical appearances<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Health Symptoms<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Emotional Disturbances<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Behavioral issues<\/span><\/h3>\n
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2.) Ineffective Treatment Protocols that Do Not Work Well for Teens in Recovery<\/span><\/h2>\n
Treatment methods that emphasize “confronting” the Teen<\/span><\/h3>\n
Mixing Adults with Teens in Treatment Discussion Groups<\/span><\/h3>\n
Be Wary of “Boot Camps” and “Wilderness Recovery Programs” for Teens<\/span><\/h3>\n