Teen Alcohol Treatments

According to Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, alcohol is the most abused substance by American teenagers -- with teens accounting for more than 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States. For a variety of reasons, treating a teenager with an addiction to alcohol is quite different from treating an adult.

Teen Alcohol Abuse

• During adolescence, teenage organs such as the brain and liver are still developing, leaving them more susceptible to long-term alcohol damage than those of an adult. A U.S. government publication entitled, "Prevention Alert" details the numerous negative side effects that alcohol can have on teenagers, which include learning impairments and short-term memory problems. In addition, early alcohol use may have long-lasting consequences, as people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence later in life compared with those who have their first drink at age 20 or older.

Differences Between Treating Teens and Aduts

• Due to the fact that the teenage mind and body are still developing, adolescents should not be seen as "little adults" when it comes to treatment for alcohol addiction. Teenagers haven't developed the same level of emotional maturity and social skills as an adult, so treatment of teenagers must focus not only on substance use but also on helping the teen navigate through the process of identity formation, which is the emergence of a clear sense of self. In addition, treatment shouldn't just focus on the addiction, but also on the underlying problems and issues that likely led the teen to alcohol in the first place.

Peer Group Counseling

• Teenagers often lack the level of self-reflection and introspection necessary for effective one-on-one counseling, so peer group counseling is often a more effective option to treat teen alcohol abuse. Although a teen may be reluctant to open up to an adult during individual counseling, teens can generally be convinced to participate in a group discussion by peers, who can also offer encouragement and support to each other. Group sessions can be effective in providing teenagers with the kind of stress-management and problem-solving skills that will help them avoid alcohol in the future.

Wilderness Therapy

• Some therapists recommend a wilderness therapy program for teenagers whose drinking has become out of control. The concept is simple: Licensed therapists accompany troubled teens on a camping or hiking expedition, forcing them to leave behind technological distractions such as cellphones, video games, computers and TVs. This forces the teen into the kind of mental stillness that will allow for introspection at the most basic level. Short-term wilderness therapy has proven highly effective in "jump-starting" long-term changes in teens who have been using drugs or alcohol. This effectiveness is due to these programs' intensity, which involve therapists living and working with teens on a 24-hour-a-day basis, as the wilderness setting itself becomes part of the therapeutic process.