J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield Was In Need of Teen Rehab!

As a formerly challenging and challenged teen, it seems important for me to note the passing of J.D. Salinger this week. Best known for his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger chronicles the angst-ridden teen Holden Caulfield’s adventures in New York following his expulsion from private school. Caulfield basically wanders around in a semi-drunken stupor for a few days, visiting his sister and an old English teacher, and ruminating about all of the “phonies” and his dissociation with society and his family.
Sounds like someone needs to go to rehab. Getting kicked out of school? Check. Engaging in dangerous behaviors (ie: getting beat up by a prostitute’s pimp)? Check. Wandering around alone in a big city drunk for three days? Check. Drinking alone for three days? Check. Feeling alienated, disconnected, depressed, and hopeless? Check. I’m just saying.
It’s nice to find identification in literature. I know that without certain characters, my teen years would have felt a lot more empty and hopeless. I often envied the authors for their ability to put those strange hollow feelings into words. I wished I could describe that hole inside me, and J.D. Salinger had a way of honoring and explaining that feeling without making it cheesy or insignificant. I think that is part of the reason The Catcher in the Rye has resonated with so many readers for so long.

Teen Alcohol Rehab

The LA Times reports that it has been proven that alcoholics have more difficulty interpreting facial cues indicating emotion that non-alcoholics. It has yet to be determined whether this social deficiency is a result of heavy drinking or one of the root causes of heavy drinking. Either way, it may be one of the reasons alcoholics have such a hard time perceiving the emotions of those around them.
Regardless of the causes, alcoholism can destroy families. Relationship troubles are frequently one of the first indicators that a teen has a problem. Secrecy, lying, and intense self-centeredness are all early indicators of a teen drinking problem. Teen alcohol rehab helps to repair the broken relationships that alcohol destroys. Family sessions with clinical staff aim to rebuild and strengthen familial bonds and closeness. Individual and group therapy sessions with struggling teens helps to strengthen their own interpersonal communication skills. Alcohol can destroy teens and families, but early intervention and treatment can help repair the damage done, and set troubled teens on the path to a better, more satisfying life. If you have questions regarding adolescent alcohol treatment for your teen, please contact us today.

Troubled Teen Introduced On "The Closer"

The Closer, starring Emmy-nominated Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda, has introduced a new character this season- a troubled teen niece. Charlie (the niece)is the troubled teen who has been flown out to Los Angeles to stay with her Aunt Brenda because her parents are at their wits’ end. She has been acting out and has already gotten into trouble with drug use. Last week’s episode had Charlie receiving drugs in the mail from her friend back home. Brenda’s husband, Fritz, freaks out because a) he is an FBI agent and b) he is sober in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and having drugs in his home is not something he will tolerate.
I am curious to see how the show will handle Charlie’s issues. As of right now, none of the characters on the show feel like they can help Charlie, which is how many parents of teen drug addicts feel. She is irritable and secretive and clearly struggling with drug abuse. Of course I’m thinking, “I know that game…send her to Visions!” It will be interesting to see if they address the issue of addiction head-on. I think it would be a great venue to promote the idea of teenage recovery and treatment. There are plenty of shows that depict troubled teens, but none that show treatment and recovery for teens. I would love to see Charlie get a chance at recovery, so that the average American might see that teen recovery is entirely plausible. If your teen is struggling with adolescent substance abuse and you feel at your wits’ end, there is help available. No one has to deal with teen addiction alone.

Teen Drug Use: Fitting In

I started to use drugs because I thought that it would help me fit in with my peers. I felt so uncomfortable with myself and drugs and alcohol initially helped to numb those uncomfortable feelings. As my using progressed, the numbing effects were less pronounced and the unmanageability of my life created a need to use more and more. When I went to Visions adolescent drug rehab, I felt like I was the only person on earth who felt the way I felt. Using drugs and alcohol had created this cosmic loneliness where it felt impossible to connect with people on anything but a superficial level. As I listened to my peers in treatment, I began to hear the same things over and over: We all felt alone, disconnected, and misunderstood. It was no longer possible for me to claim that no one understood what I was going through, because I was surrounded by a house full of other teens struggling with the same feelings.

As I began to identify with my peers and with other recovering addicts and alcoholics that I heard in AA and NA meetings and panels of recovering addicts that visited us, I began to feel safe enough to let others into my life. No longer was I a lonely, misunderstood teen addict. My peers and my treatment team heard me, and suddenly my feelings were valid. When I was using I wanted to be heard. I didn’t want someone to fix me, I just wanted them to hear me. As I began to share my life with others, I began to let them love me. They believed in me and wanted to see me get clean. To them, I wasn’t a lost cause. The treatment staff absolutely believed that I could stay clean, and for that I began to believe it myself. The love and support I found in teen drug and alcohol treatment spilled over into my life when I left. Because they believed in me and gave me the tools I needed to be successful on “the outside,” I continue to be vigilant about my recovery. I know that what I have is a gift, and I will do everything in my power to cherish it. It helps to have people on your side.

If your teen is struggling with drugs and alcohol, contact Visions today. No one has to do this alone.

Tips for Parents with Troubled Teens

Many teens exhibit rebellious behavior, or even occasionally make bad choices, but some engage in destructive behaviors that have seriously negative effects on their lives, their families, and their futures. Working with a troubled teen can be a very discouraging experience as a parent; the closer you try to get the more they pull away. Troubled teens may struggle with drug abuse, alcohol abuse, poor academics, behavioral problems, self injury, or adolescent and eating disordered behavior. It may feel like you are watching your teen self destruct without any way of stopping the nightmare. Fortunately, you don’t have to deal with it alone.

The most important solution is to seek professional help for your child. An intensive, therapeutic environment helps teens to restructure their lives, giving them new tools to deal with old behaviors. Professionals help guide teens through the breakthroughs necessary to help them craft a new healthy life for themselves. Equine therapy, art therapy, and specialized education programs provide gentle avenues to change. Individual counseling and group therapy in teen drug treatment addresses the root causes of self destructive behaviors head-on, and establishes a path to sobriety and healthy living. Family therapy and counseling can help to reestablish deteriorated lines of communication, helping families learn how to recover themselves, and to how to be as helpful as they can be to their changing teen. Sometimes teens need more help than parents alone can give them.

Visions adolescent drug treatment Center located outside of Scottsdale can be that extra help. Some parents feel like they are helpless in helping their teen. We are here to help. Contact us today for a consultation for your troubled teen. You and your teen are not alone.