Treating the Whole Family for Adolescent Substance Abuse

Today on Parent Choices for Struggling Teens, Lon interviewed Mary Flora, Primary Therapist, and Jason McKeown, Family Therapist and Parent Educator, both at Trails Carolina.

"Why do teens abuse or use drugs?" he asked. Mary began the conversation with three primary explanations: acceptance, to "fit in" with their peer group; a cry for help, perhaps even leaving a trail (liquor bottles or drug paraphernalia) in order to get caught, or as an attention seeking mechanism. Jason added, "another reason teens will use drugs is to 'self medicate', to numb themselves from the intense emotions and feelings they are having." And thus the topic of Treating the Whole Family for Adolescent Substance Abuse began on Lon Woodbury's Internet Talk Radio Show: Parent Choices for Struggling Teens on LATalkRadio.

When asked the significance of treating the whole family, both Mary and Jason agreed that family support is necessary to make the child's treatment more successful. The family needs to know what to do to support the child in treatment. In addition, the family has probably been suffering as well and needs to participate in the therapy to learn how to deal with their own feelings. Through parent support groups parents get to know that they are not alone and that there is hope. Parent workshops allow the parents to work on healthy communication skills and to learn how to set limits and create structure so that when their child returns home they are all on the same page. When the treatment involves the whole family, parents and teens work on "parallel programs", each working on their own issues, with the goal of reuniting as a family. Once each family member sees the changes that have occurred in the others, they feel hopeful and open to doing the work. "There is a direct correlation between the success of the student and the participation of the family in the process," explained Mary, "and so there will be a better outcome all the way around if the whole family is invested in a successful outcome."

The discussion turned briefly to technology available today and how overwhelming it can be on kids. Jason stated his concerns, "With easy access to thousands of people, it becomes almost impossible to moderate and teach our kids the lessons they need to make that transition to healthy adulthood."

"The wilderness has a unique way of helping families," he continued. Mary added, "By slowing down and becoming aware of what is going on internally, students go through a "digital detox", which is quite difficult for them. They have to sit with their own thoughts and feelings, to take stock in the enormity of their consequences and the losses in their lives due to their addictions. They learn to live on life's terms in the wilderness, reconnect with nature and find that they are in a peer culture that is invested in being sober."

To listen to the full interview go to: Treating the Family for Adolescent Substance Abuse on LATalkRadio.
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Lon Woodbury is the owner/founder of Woodbury Reports Inc. and www.strugglingteens.com. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984 and is the host of Parent choices for Struggling Teens on LATalkRadio Mondays at 12:00pm, Pacific Time, Channel One.

Mary Flora is a primary therapist at Trails Carolina and has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, dual licensure in Professional Counseling and Clinical Addictions in the State of North Carolina, has trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy with an emphasis in Dually Diagnosed mental health issues co-occurring with substance misuse, abuse and dependency.

Jason McKeown is the Family Therapist and Parent Educator at Trails Carolina. Specializing in co-parenting divorced and blended family issues and family history of addiction codependency, Jason also is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist and has been with Trails Carolina since 2009.

This Segment is sponsored by Grand River Academy, www.grandriver.org, a transition boarding school for boys in Northeast Ohio.