Teen drug addiction does not only occur with drugs like heroin and methamphetamines.  Prescription opiate and benzodiazepine abuse can quickly lead to addiction, and we should not forget about marijuana and alcohol which are still drugs.  Parents need to be aware of these facts so they can easily spot the signs of impending drug addiction with their youth.

Don’t be fooled by the idea that if you don’t catch your adolescent using strong drugs, then it is not a big deal.  Granted, finding evidence of heroin or methamphetamine use can scare any parent into contacting the closest drug treatment center.  Too many parents, though, do not take the same drastic action with other drugs, and may simply resort to grounding or other minor punishments.

Alcohol and marijuana are the best examples.  Many parents still believe it is okay to allow teen alcohol use in the home, in hopes that they will not drink outside the home.  In most cases they will and put themselves at risk of injury and death.  Adolescents, in most cases, simply don’t drink responsibly like adults.  Getting a buzz is the purpose as opposed to having a social moment with friends.

The 21st Century has seen an equalizing with alcohol of the social acceptance of marijuana.  The drug has become normalized with such a high percentage of the population having smoked pot in younger days.  If marijuana use caused them no major problems, parents may allow their teens to use it or just wave it off as typical youth behavior.   What they don’t know is that marijuana is now much more potent and addictive, and can also lead to injury or death if they drive under the influence of pot.

Now prescription drugs like Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Oxycodone (Oxycontin), and benzodiazepines (Xanax and Valium) have become popular with adolescents.  Adolescent prescription drug abuse is largely driven by a low perception of risk.  Teens believe there is no danger that comes with the high, as long as they take the drugs in controlled situations.  But drug addiction can take hold quickly with these drugs, which can lead them to try heroin addiction since it is cheaper and more potent.

Drug addiction treatment usually begins with drug detox or alcohol detox.  Drug withdrawal symptoms include flu-like aches and intestinal problems among others, and alcohol withdrawal can be fatal in serious cases.  It is best to avoid the need for medical detoxification before teen drug treatment.  The way to do this is to treat all teen drug abuse equally, and seek treatment at the earliest signs of use.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides youth alcohol and drug treatment, as well as prevention education.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

It’s no secret that a certain percentage of teens will recreationally use alcohol or drugs before they finish high school.  We would all like to wave a magic wand and put a stop to it, but that is just a dream.  We can only do our best to teach adolescents the damage that alcohol abuse and drug abuse will cause in their lives.

Sometimes it seems like a futile effort.  Some of our youth will engage in substance use no matter what they are taught, or even if they face legal and academic consequences.  Many of them begin using out of curiosity or peer pressure, and others do so in order to escape negative feelings.  Some are even undiagnosed with mental health disorders, and find comfort in self-medicating.

The consequences of teen alcohol and drug abuse are evident to anyone whose primary work is in service to adolescents.  At schools, we see promising students suddenly miss homework assignments or watch grades drop on tests.  Youth organizations and similar groups notice that some kids just stop attending meetings and functions.

Sadly, there is no magic wand that will put an end to adolescent substance abuse.  Prevention is an effort that must continue, though, because teens will otherwise not hear our message of consequences.  They will be left only with reasons to try alcohol and drugs, and none make them think first about future problems.  Although it may seem like a lost cause, at times, lives are saved every day.

In times of doubt, remember that when teens engage in alcohol abuse or drug abuse they increase the likelihood of future problems with alcohol dependence or drug addiction.  Each and every adolescent that hears this message gets the opportunity to live into adulthood alcohol and drug free.  At the very least, we can attempt to delay the start of substance use until after adolescence.

It is also important that we know when to refer teens to youth alcohol and drug treatment.  There is often a delay because of the mistaken parallel between adolescent substance abuse and adult substance abuse.  In actuality, teens need to at least speak with an addiction counselor at the first sign of abuse so the true nature of the problem can be understood in each case.

Adolescent alcohol and drug treatment helps teens to discover why they use alcohol or drugs.  This allows them to grow by dealing with life problems instead of escaping with substance use.  When mental health disorders are discovered, the treatment center should include in-house care for co-occurring mental health disorders.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides youth alcohol and drug treatment, as well as prevention education.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Adolescence is often a period full of difficulties and transitions.  As children transition into adolescence they attempt to define themselves and establish their own identities.  It is during this period that adolescents can suffer from a variety of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.  

Adolescents may also struggle to cope with their other issues by using drugs.   These difficulties, especially substance use and abuse, do not occur outside the context of other life difficulties. Often, mental health issues or substance use are concerns within a constellation of challenges that could affect an adolescent’s well-being within other life domains such as family, school, social, or emotional problems.

The life difficulties have influence upon, and are influenced by, the severity and duration of other mental health problems.   With this in mind, adolescent mental health treatment strives to help adolescents examine their life and develop a plan to use personal strengths to help reduce the negative impact of whatever mental health difficulties they struggle with. Adolescent behaviors are driven by valid reasons, and self-destructive behaviors often are inappropriate expressions of thoughts and feelings, or used as a coping strategy for seemingly insurmountable problems.

In order to promote healthy adolescent development, preventing and/or reducing the high-risk behaviors is a key goal. In addition to this goal, the long term objective of mental health treatment is to help youth develop into adults that are productive, balanced and self-confident contributors to society.

With adolescents it is particularly important to meet each teen where they are at. By collaboratively looking at the life of the young person and identifying areas for change, the mental health provider seeks to align his or her efforts with the needs and priorities of youth. Privacy and confidentiality are stressed and protected, and information is shared only with the consent of the legal guardian and knowledge of the youth, except where the law supersedes.

Adolescents seeking treatment may range from those first experiencing mental health symptoms or those first experimenting with substance use to youth who have more serious problems with mental health issues, alcohol dependence or drug addiction. A thorough assessment is necessary to fully evaluate the severity of a teens mental health issues and possible substance use and other bio-psychosocial areas that include (but are not limited to) psychological problems, medical status, family issues, and legal concerns.

An initial mental health assessment is needed to determine the intensity of treatment, which is often referred to as the level of care. Levels of care include outpatient therapy and residential rehabilitation.  These decisions are based on level of need and vary from adolescent to adolescent.    

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides adolescent mental health treatment as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare in youth alcohol and drug treatment.  If you would like more information, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

May 7th, 2009 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

It is difficult for a parent to know whether or not youth behavior problems stem from a mental health disorder.  When this question arises it is a good idea to start with a psychological assessment, especially if the problems are new and sudden.  After all, if it makes sense to take a child to the doctor for a cough, the same should be true for possible mental health issues.

Most of the time, when a child displays negative behavior, the last thing a parent wants to think about is that a possible mental health issue is responsible.  Fear and stigma usually delay seeking help for behavioral problems.  So, in general, mental health treatment comes after the child’s behavior has caused family problems or even alcohol or drug abuse.

Tarzana Treatment Centers provides specialized youth mental health treatment, as well as adolescent alcohol and drug treatment, at our youth treatment facility.  Our integrated behavioral healthcare provides mental health treatment for youth with and without alcohol or drug abuse issues.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides detailed information on the subject of children’s mental health.  The following explains the focus of the 2009 Awareness Day.

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National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day) is a day for everyone to promote positive youth development, resilience, recovery, and the transformation of mental health services delivery for children and youth with serious mental health needs and their families. Awareness Day raises awareness of effective programs for children's mental health needs; demonstrates how children's mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience; and shows how children with mental health needs thrive in their communities.

The theme for this year's national event is Thriving in the Community, with a special emphasis on how high school youth who receive the services they need are more likely to have positive outcomes, such as better grades, and less likely to have negative outcomes, such as involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

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Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community.  The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.