What are some teen trends in drinking and chemical dependency?
What we’re seeing with young people is an increase in abuse of prescription drugs taken for non-medicinal purposes. Technology has made it easier to access drugs. Kids learn how to get drugs online. Alcohol continues to be a widely and very heavily abused drug. Young girls and young women are abusing alcohol and drugs at the same rate that their male counterparts are, and that’s a change. What we are also seeing in treatment is that about 90 percent of the young people who come here have a pre-existing mental health diagnosis-like depression, anxiety or attention deficit disorder. Q: How does that complicate things? A: If we don’t treat these disorders concurrently, the person probably won’t succeed. That means treating the whole person, dealing with the addiction and dealing with the mental health disorder. We also include the parents for an intensive, four-day parent program. The more complicated the case, typically, the longer time somebody needs in a treatment setting. Q: What does
