What Are the Treatments for Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 23.6 million persons age 12 and older needed substance abuse treatment in 2006. If a teenager suffers from a substance abuse disorder and does not get treatment, it can lead to problems in all areas of her life such as those related to school, social issues and family. There are numerous treatment options for adolescent substance abusers. Teens and their families should see a professional for treatment recommendations.

Individual Counseling

• One option for treating adolescents with substance abuse disorders is individual counseling, which could consist of cognitive-behavioral counseling or motivational interviewing. Teenagers are a good fit for cognitive-behavioral counseling, because it helps them learn about their thoughts and the people, places and things that contribute to their drug use. Motivational interviewing is a technique used with substance abusers to get them motivated for treatment.

Family Counseling

• A major component of treating adolescents with any mental health disorder is family counseling, because the teenager's parents are the ones who can reinforce skills learned in counseling at home. One hour of individual counseling per week usually does not help a person unless the techniques are used during hours outside of counseling. In family counseling, the family members discuss their role in the substance abuse, how they can help the teenager and how they have been affected by the substance use. Also, as the adolescent deals with substance use, the family counselor can assist the family members with healthy communication.

Group Counseling

• Adolescents seem to respond more to their peers than to their parents and other adults due to their developmental stage, so group counseling can be an effective treatment for substance-abusing teenagers. In group counseling, the group members offer support to each other and confront each other when needed. It's helpful for adolescents to feel understood by their peers, which occurs in many group counseling environments.

Intensive Outpatient Programs

• Some intensive outpatient programs exist to help adolescents who abuse drugs. These programs require the teenager to attend group, individual and family counseling. For example, an intensive outpatient program may require the adolescent to attend up to 20 hours a week of group counseling as well as weekly individual and family counseling. This type of program is the step before rehabilitation or inpatient programs and is a good fit for teenagers who are using on a regular basis and require more intensive services than weekly counseling.

Rehabilitation

• If a teenager is using a dangerous amount of drugs and putting his life at risk, he qualifies for inpatient rehabilitation. This may be short term, lasting from one week to one month, or long term, which can last more than a year. If a teenager attends counseling sessions or an intensive outpatient program and can't quit using with the help of that program, he is also a candidate for rehabilitation. Sometimes it takes the teenager getting away from his peers to quit using drugs.

Medication and Detox

• Some drugs such as heroine and alcohol are dangerous to quit without medical assistance in a detoxification program. Teens that have been drinking alcohol every day over a long period of time would need the assistance of a doctor to stop drinking without endangering their health. Also, some teenagers use drugs to self-medicate themselves from depression and anxiety. If the teenager stops using, the depression or the anxiety can increase. Therefore, a psychiatrist may recommend an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication to help with those symptoms.