Adolescent Addiction Treatment

Table of Contents
Facts about Addiction
Inpatient vs Outpatient
Tips for Success
Parent Involvement
Paying for Treatment

The challenge with teenage drug use it that sometimes it is part of a rebellious teenage stage. What that means is that the people best able to look out for them would not have a large effect as teens do not necessarily care for the advice that comes from their parents. With this in mind, parents who suspect teenage drug use cannot help them all on their own, though as parents they may feel like they need to take control and help their kids overcome it as they have been there for the rest of their children’s lives. But, this is not often the most effective form of help. If teens think parents are “nagging” they may go further into a downward spiral and continue to rebel.

Drug abuse within the teenage demographic is more widespread than most parents and adults would like to think, but the reality is that it happens. Teens uses marijuana, and sometimes stronger drugs like cocaine or even in extreme cases, heroin. Others abuse prescription pills. Most teen drug use starts recreationally and then it branches out to a real addiction. Any drug use is of course a problem, and there’s a continuous decline as teens become unable to stop using drugs; regardless of what it is that they are abusing.

Drug use really needs to be addressed with adolescence since teens are still developing physically, and emotionally as well as setting the ground work for the rest of their lives. There are various treatment options available, and the right one can depend on the addiction a teen has and the true depth of it.

Facts About Adolescent Addiction and Treatment

Facts…
  • More Than 50% Percent of Adolescents in Addiction Treatment Have Co-occurring Disorders. Some of the most common co-occurring disorders among teen girls in treatment are eating disorders; some of the most common issues among teen boys are Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Other common co-occurring disorders among teens in drug rehab are depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
  • According to government surveys, about 10.4 percent of those who enrolled in drug and alcohol rehab in a given year are between the ages of 15 and 19. Another 1.3 percent are younger than 15. It’s a common problem for teens and not one that teens or parents should be embarrassed about.
  • Marijuana abuse among teens was declining during the mid-1990s but has leveled out over the last five years. Almost 12 percent of eighth graders, about 27 percent of tenth graders and 33 percent of twelfth graders report using marijuana in the past year. Marijuana addiction is the most common reason parents and teens cite for enrolling in adolescent addiction treatment.
  • The second most common reason for choosing adolescent addiction treatment is teen prescription drug addiction. Vicodin addiction and OxyContin addiction especially are on the rise among teenagers. About one in 10 high school seniors report using Vicodin non-medically in the past year and one in 20 used OxyContin without a prescription.
  • Regular use is increasing at such an alarming rate in part because teenagers have no problem getting the drug. More than half of all high school seniors who report non-medical use of prescription drugs say they got the pills from a friend or family member, another 30 percent had a prescription of their own but abused it, and a small number reported getting the drugs through online pharmacies.
  • Newport Academy provides two separate residential adolescent addiction treatment programs, one for six girls and the other for six boys. There are more than 50 staff members to attend to the needs of these 12 children. Contact us today if you would like to learn how you can enroll your child.

Inpatient versus Outpatient Addiction Treatment

Teen drug rehab can include treatment in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Inpatient or residential drug rehab involves living onsite. Teens receive detox help, support and counseling all in one place, where they remain away from regular temptations that can occur. When your child goes into adolescent addiction training, she will be asked to leave cell phones, PDAs and laptops at home. If she doesn’t comply, these items will be held for her at the front desk until it’s time to leave. The idea is to separate your teen from the influences of friends and negative interactions from family members to give them the space they need to focus on participating in therapy each day.

With outpatient treatment teens can live in their own homes and attend their treatment sessions. They can remain in their regular lives, so those who have a structured, positive environment can keep up with their school work and extra curricular activities without any problem at all. Either option can work for adolescents depending upon the level of their addiction and specifically what it is that they’ve been using.

What to look for in Residential Treatment

A residential adolescent addiction treatment should provide you with the best possible care and treatment for your child. Here are some characteristics of high-quality teen addiction treatment:

  • Low patient-to-staff member ratio
  • Inclusion of family members in therapy on an ongoing basis
  • Open communication between staff members and parents or guardians
  • Medical care and treatment
  • A wide range of psychological and experiential therapies
  • The ability to treat co-occurring disorders as well as addiction (e.g., eating disorders, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc.)
  • Continuing care and aftercare services

What to avoid

There are a few red flags to look out for when you are trying to decide which residential adolescent addiction treatment center is right for you or your family. These include:

  • A reluctance or refusal to communicate openly or regularly
  • Short-term inpatient treatment (e.g., 30 days or less)
  • Mixed gender treatment facilities and/or mixed gender residential facilities
  • Inability to provide an educational program
  • Staff members with little to no experience working with teens
  • Adult programs that are not designed to meet the needs of developing teens

Inpatient Treatment at Newport

Many parents struggle with whether residential teen drug rehab or outpatient adolescent addiction treatment is more appropriate for their child. One of the biggest concerns is school; parents don’t want to see their children fall further behind in their education due to their addiction issues. At our inpatient treatment program, Newport Academy staff members work with your child’s school to develop a personalized education plan based on the progress of their classmates and work to help your child keep up with their education during treatment.

Inpatient treatment also offers the benefit of round-the-clock care and support from our 50+ staff members. Parents can relax knowing that their teen is cared for and safe while still taking part in family therapy with their child and getting regular progress reports from our treatment staff.

At Newport Academy, we offer residential treatment with a minimum 45-day stay and 12+ month outpatient adolescent rehab.

Tips for Success

  • Enroll your teen in a teen-specific care center. Teens are in a different stage of brain and body development than adults. Even though both adults and teens may be going through drug abuse and addiction issues, the same drugs will affect each group differently. Treatment must address those differences and make room for the teen-specific issues (e.g., education, peer expectations, parental expectations) that affect teen addiction and recovery, and only teen drug rehabs can do that effectively.
  • Choose a gender-specific adolescent addiction treatment center. Teens dealing with drug addiction, education, and parental and peer issues do not need the added pressure that comes from being in a mixed-gender setting. Studies show that teens do best when boys and girls are kept separate. Make sure the teen rehab you choose provides for gender-specific facilities.
  • Find an adolescent addiction treatment center with a low number of patients. The more patients there are in a program, the fewer staff members there are to go around. At Newport Academy, we enroll no more than 12 patients at a time in our inpatient program: six boys and six girls. Each gender has their own residential facilities and maintain separate treatment and therapeutic locations as well.
  • Education should be included in your teen’s adolescent addiction treatment program. Education is a big part of every teen’s life and those who require adolescent addiction treatment are no different. An outpatient treatment program allows your teen to attend their own high school and is a good choice as long as their friends who use and those who supply them with drugs do not attend school with them. An inpatient treatment program will work with your child’s teachers to create an Individualized Education Plan that allows them to stay on track academically during treatment.
  • Get treatment for co-occurring disorders at your teen’s adolescent addiction treatment. If your child has ADHD, is depressed, suffers from anxiety or has another behavioral, social or psychological disorder, make sure that the teen drug rehab you choose has the resources and staff to effectively treat your child for that issue as well as addiction.

Parents Need to Get Involved

Parents will not benefit a teen’s treatment process by nagging. They simply need to be supportive throughout the process and be there to provide guidance. Helping find a treatment facility and encourage a child to get treatment is perhaps the best role they can play. But during it, they should only participate where appropriate and allow their teen to feel things out for themselves.

Parents are expected to be actively involved in their adolescent’s addiction n. Through family therapy sessions with your teen, parental workshops and parent support groups, you can learn about your teen’s addiction, meet other parents going through the same thing and learn how to help your child avoid relapse when they return home. In this way, parents can be involved with their teen as they go through the process of treatment and also work to repair the damage done to their relationship during active addiction.

Guide to Paying for an Adolescent Addiction Treatment Program

The cost of adolescent addiction treatment programs can be daunting to parents, but there are a number of resources available to help you cover the cost. Some of these include:

  • Health insurance. If your teen is covered on your health insurance policy, then a large part of the costs should be covered. Each insurance policy is different, however, so make sure to talk to your provider and get the details of what you can expect in terms of payment and claim coverage.
  • Savings. If you have money saved, this can be a good place to invest it. Depending upon your financial circumstances, you may want to keep a portion set aside for emergencies, but using a part of your savings can cut the cost of treatment.
  • Financing. If savings and insurance still doesn’t cover the cost of the bill, financing options may be available. Low- and no-interest rate loans over as long a repayment period as you need can help you absorb the costs for teen rehab into your budget.
  • Borrowing from family. If you have credit issues and you don’t like the interest rates associated with loans, ask for a loan from family members who can afford it. It’s possible to outline a repayment plan that allows you to pay back the loan interest-free while also giving them legal protection for repayment.