The effective treatment of adolescents with substance abuse and behavioral disorders requires an approach that includes attention to every aspect of a young person’s life. We see every individual as a whole being. In addition to fully understanding the emotional, developmental, physical, psychological, familial, social and cultural factors, there must be appropriate resources in place to address these issues. Need help? Contact Us Today! (866) 889-3665
Experts that work in adolescent drug and alcohol rehab say the best way to determine if your children are using drugs or alcohol is to talk to them. There are many resources available to parents for help in talking to your kids about drugs. The problem with that approach is if your children are using drugs or drinking while underage, they are not likely to admit it. Kids usually come into treatment minimizing their drug use. They have been trying to hide their drug use from their parents, teacher, coach, etc... If your child is using drugs or alcohol, it's more than likely they are doing all they can to cover up that activity so that they can continue to participate in their drug use. What you want to do is look for warning signs that your child is using drugs. Some of these are as fallows:
-Change in behavior
-Change in appearance
-Change in friends
-Trouble at school
-Drop in grades
-Tired all the time
-Loss of sleep
-Red eyes
-Dilated pupils
-Glassy eyes
-Slurred or incoherent speach
-Weight loss
-Smoking cigarettes
-Lying
-Stealing
-Will not participate with family
-Loss of passion for hobbies
-Drug paraphernalia
Remember that teens try new things and experiment, but a decline in appearance or behavior, or any combination of the signs listed above, especially if it lasts for a while, is a sign that something is wrong. It’s not always drug use that causes these changes. Their may be mental health problems like depression, too. If you notice a change in your child don’t overreact and accuse him or her of using drugs, but if you do see a combination of the above indications it's time to look for help. Please contact us by clicking here is my child using drugs?
When I went to teen drug treatment , most of my friends thought I either went to hell or went on vacation. I think they either imagined me digging trenches and staring at walls or having a blast riding horses and getting massages at the beach. It wasn’t like either of those things. I did learn how to manage my time though, which has turned out to be an unexpected benefit of going to treatment. I watch a lot of my peers struggling to get everything done, and a lot of them resort to drinking and taking pills like adderall or vyvanse to get through finals week or to finish a bajillion college applications. Some of the things I learned in treatment I learned without realizing. For instance, I learned how to recognize priorities and to set and stick with a game plan. I know that nothing is worth using over, and in order to keep myself from losing my mind, it’s imperative that I create a manageable workload and schedule. I can recognize my boundaries today. I know how much work I am capable of, and what I am able to do without going off the deep end. I also know how to put my head down and work. I know that uncomfortable feelings pass and that sometimes life is just challenging. I thought that teen drug rehab in Malibu was just going to help me get off drugs (which it did) but it also helped me learn valuable life skills that I use daily.
This is a video not for faint of heart about crystal meth and it's damaging affects. Speed is a very common drug of choice among teens entering teen drug rehab this year, Along with Marijuana, alcohol, extasy, prescription pills, etc. If you or a loved one needs help please contact us at adolescent drug treatment.
Columbia University reports that teens who eat dinner with their families less than three times a week are twice as likely to use tobacco or participate in teen marijuana use and are more than one in a half times as likely to drink than teens who eat dinner with their families five or more times per week. Those who have dinner with their families less than three times a week where distractions are present, such as texting and talking on the phone, are more than three times as likely to use marijuana. Those teens who have fewer family dinners are also one and a half times more likely to have friends that use prescription drugs, meth, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. Also, 12-13 year olds who have infrequent family dinners are more than six times more likely to use marijuana.
In today’s times, it is difficult to imagine getting everyone together for dinner, but the study emphasizes the importance of a specific time set aside for talking and being together. My household was extremely busy growing up. With both parents working and my siblings and me in all kinds of after-school activities, it was a wonder we saw each other at all. Also, with my drug use, getting together with the family was a pretty unpleasant time for everyone. Fortunately, in teen drug rehab, my whole family was able to benefit from treatment. I, of course, was in an intensive inpatient program in Malibu, but my family got to get help too through family counseling in Bakersfield. As we rebuilt our family relationships, we planned on ways to reestablish closeness within our family. We try now to set aside time to be with each other. No cell phones. No facebook. We may not be the Cleavers, but we are slowly rebuilding our family closeness. In drug treatment, I got the help I needed to be a better child, and my family got what they needed so that we can all heal and be the best that we can be. Please click here for more info about adolescent drug and alcohol treatment .
I love watching Bear Grylls in Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. He is amazing. He makes snow caves and wrestles wild pigs to death and bites through the spines of live fish to survive. He is constantly informing the viewer about the basic survival tools one would need to get by in any situation. While this may be a stretch, it got me thinking about my own survival tools that I learned in teen rehab.
The first thing I need is a good support group. This can include my Visions treatment team, my peers in recovery, my family, and my sponsor. My sponsor is another survival tool I definitely need. Visions helped me find a sponsor when I entered treatment, who is someone that helps me work the 12 steps and was initially my personal introduction to the 12 step fellowships. I call my sponsor daily to check in, a habit I began in teen rehab which I continue to this day. Another tool I can’t live without is my journal. I use writing as a great way to process feelings or to just check in with myself. When I can’t get a hold of anyone, my journal is always there to listen. Along with meetings and activities with my clean and sober peer group, these survival tools are there to help me make it through every day clean. Each one of them was given to me in teen rehab, and I use them on a daily basis years later. It may be weird to say that knowing how to call my sponsor when I need help is the equivalent of knowing how to trap and kill a bird in the middle of the Swiss Alps, but to an addict just out of teen rehab in Palo Alto, it’s the little things that can end up saving your life. For More information about treatment services please click here teen drug rehab.
It’s my birthday this week! Each (natal) birthday I have clean makes me really grateful for the life I have, and the fact that I managed to survive my teenage years is something to celebrate. When I was using, I had resigned myself to the idea that I probably wouldn’t live very long, and if I did, it was going to be a life full of drugs and misery. A few birthdays ago, my parents figured out that I was using again. I had to show up to my birthday party sick from last nights drug use. Everyone showed up for me and I showed up a disgusting mess. After a few more weeks of promising to stop using on my own and failing, I got a chance to go to teen drug rehab. It was the best belated birthday gift of my life, even though I didn’t think so at the time. After getting clean, celebrating each year I live is a real gift.
I am especially grateful for my mom and dad, who had to watch my painful descent into addiction in La Jolla, San Diego. If it wasn’t for their help in getting me into treatment, I might not be blowing out candles this year. They stuck with me despite how nasty I was, and how difficult I made things. They loved me when I couldn’t love myself, and had hope for me when I had none. They gave me the space I needed in early recovery and did their own work in family therapy sessions so that we could all have a better relationship after the damage my drug use wreaked on the family.
This year, I am just happy to get to spend my birthday with my family and my friends that love me. I won’t be blacking out, or throwing up on myself, or overdosing this birthday. This birthday, I have a chance to really enjoy the quality relationships I have developed since entering teen recovery.
A new study reports that 20% of teens report having shared their prescription medication like Oxycontin with their friends. The study showed that teens traded everything from opiate painkillers to allergy medication, to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Many teens reported that they received medications in the same way.
Trading meds seemed to be the polite thing to do when I was using. I could easily trade my antidepressants for Xanax or Vicodin. Pills are easily hidden and they are easier to take undetected than drugs you have to smoke or snort. They don’t seem as dangerous to teens, either. I never considered that taking someone else’s Adderall or Darvocet could be as dangerous as snorting a line of speed or shooting heroin.
Getting clean at Visions helped me to realize that addiction can wreck lives regardless of the substance or the age. My pill abuse qualified me for help in the same way someone with a heroin problem needed help. No one at Visions ever made me feel like I was too young or “not enough” of an addict. I felt like I was too young, and that it hadn’t gotten bad enough to need help, but once I got out of my using fog, I could clearly see just how bad my life had become. I may not have crashed cars or ended up in jail, but I had completely lost sight of myself. In teen drug treatment, I got a chance to get to know myself again. I remembered that I wanted to do well in life, that I wanted to finish high school in Houston, Texas and get a degree. I wanted to be a good child and a good sibling. I wanted to be me again. Contact us for Prescription medication treatment.
Sometimes being clean is painful. I got clean really young in an adolescent drug treatment program, and have stayed clean since. My life has grown and I have a wonderful existence thanks to being sober. I have all kinds of opportunities that I never had when I was using, like going to college or keeping a job. It gets painful when you stay clean and other people don’t. It gets really painful when some people don’t make it.
My friend died of an overdose this week. When I got sent away to treatment, I had to cut myself off from my using friends. It was really hard, and they didn’t understand why I couldn’t talk to them anymore. I just couldn’t. I couldn’t be around people when they were using. It was too hard for me. After I had been clean awhile, some of my friends checked out some AA or NA meetings with me. I got really excited that we would all be clean together and have fun. A few of my friends stayed clean for a bit, and then would go back to using. I had had such a strong foundation in teen drug treatment that I knew I couldn’t “dabble” in using again. I think that if I use again, I will die.
My friend died this week. She overdosed and died. She was 18. Sometimes I wonder why I stay clean and others don’t. I wonder how I didn’t die when I was using and why others do. I wonder what I could have done to help my friend and I know that I did what I could. I just feel really sad. I feel really angry with drug addiction. I know that I don’t have to use over the feelings I’m having, and that the only thing I can do is to stay clean and try to help other teens see that they can stay clean too. I’m really going to miss my friend. She was an amazing person who really struggled with addiction. I know her death was an accident, and that she didn’t believe she might die from this. I wish addiction didn’t exist, and that this wouldn’t happen to people, but it does. So I just stay clean, and stay close to my support group in Hartford Connecticut like I learned in treatment. I just feel really sad today. Please contact us for teen drug and alcohol rehab if you or a loved one needs help.
A study published by the July 2009 journal, Pediatrics, has determined that teens with a fatalistic attitude are more likely to engage in risky behavior such as adolescent drug use and fighting. It’s not surprising; as an invincible teen, it’s hard to imagine how actions in your youth will affect your life in the future. (For example, sometimes I wish I could go back and punch my teenage self for dropping classes and messing up my GPA because now I actually care about going to college.) “Live fast, die young,” is an enticing motto for teens, and the inability or unwillingness to consider future consequences makes it really hard to even want to get clean. Since I didn’t think I would live past 25, I didn’t care much about how my actions would affect my future.
In adolescent drug rehab, it was still hard to develop a strong desire to get clean, but as I stuck around, that began to change. When I realized that I could be of use to someone else, I started to want to live. After I’d been in drug treatment a few weeks, a new resident arrived and was having a lot of problems adjusting. She was extremely resistant and plotted ways to escape. I knew that I had had similar problems when I first arrived in drug treatment, and seeing how ridiculous and desperate her ideas seemed, I had a bit of clarity. I didn’t want her to go out and use, so why would I want that for myself? That little realization helped me refocus my attitude in treatment. I reached out to her and tried to offer the little bit of experience I had gained in how to stay put. I realized that even though I didn’t have years of wisdom, I knew how to stay in treatment for three weeks, and that was more than she knew. That small spark of a friendship gave me a purpose that week. As time has gone on, I have more and more purpose. There are more and more people that I have connected with. Small “esteemable” acts have helped my self worth grow tremendously. As I learned that I was worthy to others, my life began to have meaning, and a fatalistic attitude seemed pretty impractical and not at all glamorous. The article points out that teens with fatalistic attitudes are like big walking red flags for more and more trouble down the road.
If your teen is engaging in self destructive behaviors like teenage drinking and drug abuse, help exists to help stop it before it’s too late. I’m so glad I got my second chance, and I hope others will too.
Last night I spoke at a 12-step meeting at Visions adolescent treatment center and it really reminded me of how grateful I am for my recovery and how far I’ve actually come. When it was first proposed to me that I go into drug treatment as a teenager, I was extremely angry and fearful. I tried to bargain with my parents and the rehab to either get out early or not go at all. I tried to downplay my using and accused my parents of overreacting to my drug use. The fact of the matter was that I was desperately out of control but was terrified of change. I felt like my parents had betrayed me and I was so mean to them. Thankfully my parents didn’t back down and I was left to figure it out in adolescent drug treatment. Being in treatment didn’t make all of my problems go away, but it did give me tools to help face my problems effectively, rather than let them destroy me. When I came back home after rehab, my parents were still suspicious of me. At first I was deeply offended that no one believed me or trusted me. I was clean! I talked about it with my sponsor and at outpatient treatment program. If I could really get honest with myself and take personal responsibility for the way my actions had affected my family, I had to give them a break. I would have to show them they could trust me. My word wasn’t very reliable after all that I’d put them through.
Even after having a few years clean, we still run into conflict occasionally, but who doesn’t? Sometimes when I am having a hard time, I feel like my parents still worry about me. I have to remember that only I know what is going on in my head, and their worrying about me is only because they care. Ultimately, the trust and open communication that has been reestablished between me and my parents is awesome. It all stemmed from that first gesture of me reluctantly attending treatment. I put in the work to get better, and my parents took advantage of family groups to help on their end. Every year my family and I celebrate my sobriety together. While I can’t take back what happened when I was younger, I can remain clean and give back to them. After all, by making me go into adolescent residential treatment, as hard as that decision was, they ultimately helped save my life, and that’s a reason to celebrate.
If you are from Marin or another northern California area and worried that your teen has a drug or alcohol problem, please don’t hesitate to contact us. As difficult as it is now, the future can be amazing. please click here my parents helped save my life.
Teens with drug problems come from all walks of life; they aren't just the teenage runaways depicted in Lifetime movies as I'd originally thought. Teens develop drug problems for a number of reasons- my daughter's competitive nature seemed to be what initially led her down the path of drug and alcohol abuse. I was the last person to suspect that my daughter was a drug user. On the outside, she was a perfect student. She excelled in school, taking all honors classes, and was the star of the track and volleyball teams. I often wondered how she could get it all done. She never got into trouble and seemed pretty happy at school. I knew my daughter was extremely hard on herself. Her weight began to drop and she seemed increasingly edgy and irritated. I chalked it all up to the stresses of high school and teen angst and tried to talk to her more. Her withdrawing from the family seemed like something teens do- I didn't want to smother her. I tried to be more lenient with her. She was such a good student I never suspected she was up to anything dangerous.
One night I heard a crash in her room. I found her sitting on the floor sobbing. I asked her what was wrong and she just cried and cried. It was a heartbreaking thing, to not be able to fix what was hurting her. I don't know what possessed her to tell me, but finally she just blurted out that she had a problem with pills and couldn't stop. I was floored. It was hard not to get angry with her, because I felt so scared, but at the same time, I didn't want to discourage her from talking to me. I guess she'd put so much pressure on herself to be the best at everything she eventually became a candidate for teen drug treatment turned to stimulants like Adderral to help her preform and downers like Xanax to take the stress away. As she opened up to me that night, I was horrified to learn what she was putting herself through. I promised we would get help, but I had no idea what to do for her. Sitting there on the floor, holding my sobbing daughter, I felt as terrified as she did.
I had heard of Visions through a coworker, but had never thought much of it, since I didn't think I'd ever need that information. They were amazingly helpful and understanding. It was hard leaving her there, but the weekly family sessions helped me work on myself so that I could help my daughter. She just blossomed there. Instead of being the rigid girl I knew who was so incredibly tough on herself, I began to see a girl who took care of herself and could respect her own limitations. As my daughter worked on herself, I learned ways to help support my daughter's new sobriety. She isn't a bad kid because she did drugs. She's a fantastic kid. She always has been. Visions Adolescent Drug Treatment Center just helped her realize that.
A medication aimed at fighting cocaine addiction failed in clinical trials recently. Things like this make me really think about my addiction and recovery. If I was offered a medical “cure” for my addiction, would I take it? Would I stop my involvement in recovery and being of service to other addicts and alcoholics and just take a pill? I don’t think so. When I think of the life I have in recovery, I know that most of the fulfillment in my life comes from the community I have built around myself. Treatment introduced me to a whole new way of life.
When I first went to adolescent Drug Treatment, all I could focus on was figuring out how to not use drugs. I couldn’t think of much else. As time went by, I began to learn that in order to stay clean, I had to change a lot of things about myself; recovery was going to take a lot more than not using drugs. I began to want to be a better person. When I was using, I damaged the relationship I had with my family. I wasn’t trustworthy. I never did what I said I was going to do. I messed up in school and brought a lot of chaos into my home. In rehab, we learned how to become better sons and daughters, siblings, and friends. When I, I got more involved in 12-step fellowships and began to give back what was given to me. I speak on panels at rehabs, sharing my experience, strength, and hope. I work with young people in treatment and in meetings. I try to set an example. One of the coolest things to me about recovery is that we are all trying to be better people. A pill treating the physical side of my addiction wouldn’t give me a reason to try and be better person, or to build the fantastic relationships I have in my life today. Rehab gave me more than a life free of drugs and their consequences; it gave me a new way to live.
Please click here if you would like to contact us for more information regarding adolescent drug treatment
Ecstasy, also referred to as MDMA, is a hallucinogenic amphetamine that is recreationally used and abused by teens. there is a recent trend towards an increase in ecstasy use among teen entering teen drug rehab. “X” is usually taken in pill form and one pill can last between 4-6 hours. “X” is most commonly used by teens at parties, nightclubs and raves, this may be because “X” produces a blend of mellowing effects, heightened arousal and enhanced self and group consciousness. The most common side effect for teens and other users produced from “X” is a rise in body temperature, which usually results in minor dehydration, which is dangerous considering that dancing for hours without very many breaks or water is common while using this drug. Other common side effects include an increase in blood pressure, chills, sweating, blurred vision and nausea. However, heavy use can result in speed-like symptoms of paranoia, liver damage and heart attacks. Studies show that “X” uses serotonin, which is a chemical in the brain that affects the mood. After the initial high, the user might feel depressed, tired and moody. The body eventually does produce more serotonin, but it may take some time to get the serotonin back to normal levels. Although research has not concluded that “X” will produce brain damage in humans, heavy use of the drug has produced neurological damage in rats and monkeys.
These days there are so many teens and young people are being diagnosed with ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Thank goodness that we have a number of various medications with which to treat this disorder in teens. However, many of these medications lead to more problems than not. The two most commonly used medications for ADHD are Ritalin and Adderall and both of these medications are classified as scheduled II drugs in the amphetamine class. Although classified as amphetamines when used as directed by a medical professional these medications help those with ADHD and ADD to focus for longer periods of time and fully complete tasks.
However, these stimulants also have a high percentage of teen misuse, teen abuse and teen dependence. It has been found that many teens and school-aged children have been trading, buying and selling their prescriptions with one another. Many of them also have taken to snorting these medications thinking that because it is a prescription it is a safer alternative to cocaine. The truth is that when snorted or injected the potency of the drugs increase because it enters the bloodstream directly and if not prescribed to the user the risk is equal or more greater than cocaine. Most teens and adolescents that enter drug rehab have at one time or another abused their own or somebodyelse's prescription for Adderall, Ritalin or some other stimulant based medication.
I grew up and spent my teen years in Los Angeles, where drugs were easy to find, and alcohol was around all the time. My parents were big drinkers, so they never noticed any booze missing. In middle school, I got into drugs and alcohol a lot. My friends and I stole alcohol, and bought drugs with stolen money. We were rebellious teenagers with a thirst for terrorizing the city. I know what its like to be a teenage drug addict and alcoholic. I relate to a lot of the kids here at the teen-drug-rehab, and I can understand where they're coming from. I was there once myself. I think its important for the kids here to know that the staff has been through similar circumstances. In my experience, the kids learn to trust and respect the staff and others when they know that they are being understood and heard. Years later, I reconnected with a bunch of my old friends from middle school, and even elementary school. We are all in AA now. Its amazing to see so many faces that I grew up with in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. None of us are alone, and we can all lean on each other.
Will the Malibu Canyon Fire affect drug rehabs in Malibu. Drug treatment centers should have a fire department approved evacuation plan in place. Visions Adolescent Treatment Center meets with the local fire department once a year to discuss fire prevention, brush clearence and evacuation plans.
Celebrity influence on teen drug use and Teen Drug rehab is at an all time high. Adolescents acquire much of thier beliefs about drugs and alcohol from role models. With celebrities like Brittany Spears and her abuse of prescription drugs. Lindsay Lohan's cocaine abuse and eating disorder. Pete Doherty's cocaine use and heroin abuse. Model Kate Moss's addiction and stay in drug rehab. The list could go on as a virtual who's who of hollywood elite's stays in drug treatment centers. If you combine the facts that celebrities are looked up to by adolescents with social pressures and a genetic predisposition it's no wonder so many teens end up struggling with addiction and alcohol abuse today.
Adolescent drug abuse is treatable. There are substance abuse experts who treat adolescents with varying levels of drug and or alcohol use / abuse. It is important when evaluating an adolescent for substance use, addiction, and drug use that the professional is experienced, and credentialed to treat teenagers / adolescents.
Teen Drug Treatment Centers should be staffed by Licensed and accredited Professionals for maximum results. Adolescent Rehabs should have a staff that consists of Physicians, Licensed Therapists, Chemical Dependency Counselors, Registered dietitians, Psychologists, etc. Teen rehabs need to be safe and secure for the teen,family and Staff.
VISIONS ADOLESCENT TREATMENT CENTERS Personalized programs dedicated to helping youth and their families recover from the destructive effects of substance and other behavior related problems. (866) 889-3665
