The Best Drug Treatment Programs for Teens

Adolescent drug and alcohol abuse is a serious issue. According to the Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base, "Among youth aged 12 to 17 in 2000, 9.7 percent had used an illicit drug within the 30 days prior to interview." Treatment programs are available for substance abuse and come in a variety of formats.

Efficacy of Programs

• According to The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an article published in the Journal of Primary Prevention concluded, "Interactive programs---which foster interpersonal skills and active engagement between students and teachers are more effective than non-interactive programs---which are lecture oriented and stress drug knowledge." This quote refers to prevention programs, but the result is the same for treatment programs as well.

  An article in The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, published in 2002, indicated that multidimensional Family Therapy--one example of an interactive therapy--is best in substance abuse treatment programs.

How to Choose a Program

• According to a news story aired by ABC, Mathea Falco, president of Drug Strategies, stated, "A good program should use a nationally recognized assessment interview to determine a teen's drug use, their psychiatric history, their family and school situation. More than half the teens in drug-treatment programs have psychiatric problems that also need to be addressed. And these should be found in a screening."

  Inpatient treatment for Drug Abuse runs around $15,000 a month, while outpatient therapy, meeting on average two to three times per week, may run about $800 a month. Some health care companies may cover part or all of the cost of inpatient or outpatient care.

Rehabilitation Centers in the USA

• Twelve Oak Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center located in the Florida Panhandle, is a 5-acre campus that provides multidisciplinary care, meaning they use a variety of methods to counsel their patients.

  Azure Acres Recovery Center, in Sonoma County, California, is surrounded by redwoods. It is small program geared toward discovering a "new way to live."

  Keystone Treatment Center---Premier South Dakota drug rehabilitation. Their program specializes in factoring in more than merely the patient, but includes the family as part of the comprehensive treatment plan.

  Passages to Recovery---located in Utah, Passages to Recovery is an intensive 35 to 50 day outdoor program. Extended length stays are an option if therapeutic intervention is still necessary at the end of the 50 day program.

  Sierra Tucson---Internationally known, Sierra Tucson is a multidimensional treatment program that assess a multitude of diagnoses in addition to addiction counseling and recovery. Other programs treated include; Eating Disorders Program, Sexual and Trauma Recovery Program, Mood and Anxiety Program and more.