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Teen Drug Abuse Treatment Programs

Effectively treating teens who abuse drugs requires an approach that takes into consideration the child's personality, their surrounding support system and their environment. Depending on each teen's specific circumstances, there are a number of drug treatment options out there to help the teen overcome drug habits. The goal of each is to teach teens to cope effectively and make good decisions upon completion of a drug-treatment program.

  1. Wilderness Programs

    • Most wilderness programs operate with the goal of promoting personal growth through survival challenges inherent in an outdoor setting. Trained counselors work to help teens apply lessons learned in the wilderness to their real-life substance-abuse problems and to oversee individualized treatment plans. Group and individual therapy in this setting has proved successful reaching students for whom traditional treatment programs may have failed, and wilderness programs are often an ideal interim step for teens transitioning to long-term therapeutic placements.

    Residential Treatment Programs

    • Present in a variety of settings, residential treatment programs work by taking teens out of their home settings and placing them in a structured, supervised and therapeutic locale to teach them new ways to cope and behave. Residential treatment programs usually provide individual and group counseling together with physical activity and 12-step substance abuse programs. Residential treatment settings are well-suited to teens who have been unable up to this point to drop their drug use on their own, despite family support.

    Outpatient Treatment

    • Outpatient therapy provides therapeutic intervention to individuals with substance-abuse needs, but who do not require hospitalization and are safe continuing to live at home. Individual and group therapy is a part of outpatient treatment, as is a 12-step substance abuse program. This is not a preferred option for teens who abuse drugs in addition to having severe emotional and/or psychiatric issues.

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