Substance Abuse Programs for Teens and Young Adults
To be effective, substance abuse programs for teens and young adults need to treat underlying mental health issues in addition to substance use behaviors.
Paradigm Treatment is not a teen drug rehab. It is, however, a caring residential facility where teens and young adults can get support for a wide range of moderate to severe mental health issues, including substance abuse disorder. Unlike many traditional substance abuse treatments for adolescents and young adults, we approach substance use as a symptom of a broader mental health condition, with an understanding that, for many of our clients, these behaviors are just the tip of the iceberg.
Bringing a dual diagnostic lens to teen alcohol treatment allows us to better meet each client’s personal needs and challenges. To further this goal, each client admitted to Paradigm undergoes a thorough psychiatric evaluation, with results used to construct a treatment plan geared toward individual wellness.
Because we focus on the whole individual, teens and young adults in our program are given skills and tools to establish long-lasting recovery and healthy, happy lives. If you’re searching for Texas or California alcohol rehab centers for your child, or more general substance abuse programs for teens and young adults, we encourage you to learn more about Paradigm Treatment, including our unique therapeutic focus and how we help empower young individuals who are presenting with substance abuse or other problematic behaviors.
OUR APPROACH TO SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT FOR ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS
Individualized treatment plans are a cornerstone of our care model. Within that model, we also offer several core services that allow us to adequately address the issues our teen and young adult clients may be facing regarding substance use and problematic behaviors.
Social Detoxification
Depending on the severity of use, some young individuals coming into our program may experience symptoms of withdrawal.
While we are not a teen drug rehab or detox facility, we do provide social detoxification, which involves careful monitoring and care during the withdrawal process to ensure the physical and mental well-being of clients. Because this can be such a difficult and uncomfortable experience, we also work closely with teens and young adults throughout social detoxification to provide support and much-needed guidance.
Individuals who are experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms may need inpatient medical treatment at a designated teen addiction treatment center. Once medically stable, clients can transition to a residential level of care at Paradigm and undergo social detoxification and other mental health therapies.
Mental Health Counseling
All clients receive one-on-one therapy sessions every day while they are at Paradigm. In addition to these sessions, clients also take part in group therapy sessions, family sessions, and a number of other types of experiential therapies, depending on their desires and interests. Some of these unique therapy approaches include art therapy, writing therapy, music therapy, and equine therapy.
We believe that the best substance abuse programs for teens and young adults put a high priority on substance use as a behavior rather than the defining issue. In both individual and group sessions, therapists work with clients to address their substance use issues, the mental and physical effects of substance use, and any related behaviors. Once teens begin to have an awareness of their problematic behaviors and their effects, therapists help them evaluate what stressors, triggers, and/or conflicts in their lives may have led to the initial or continued use of the substance.
Effective teen alcohol treatment doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Our therapists work with clients to identify deeper connections between substance use and other mental health issues. Once clients make these connections, they implement different behavioral therapies to empower them to make positive, lasting changes in their lives.
Behavioral therapies include learning new ways to cope with stress and better communicate with parents, teachers, peers, and other family members. Therapists may also assist clients with recognizing and changing faulty belief systems that have held power in their lives and impacted their behavior. This deeper work, in which our clients attempt to change their underlying behaviors, feelings, and belief systems, is fundamental to Paradigm Treatment and to a successful and lasting recovery.
Supplemental Programs
A traditional teen addiction treatment center may not offer much beyond the basics when it comes to your child’s care. But at Paradigm, we strive to support teens both physically and mentally with an array of supplemental programs that help relieve stress and support overall well-being. These programs include:
- Hiking
- Yoga
- Surfing
- Acupuncture
We also offer academic support for those whose substance use is triggered in part by school stress.
All of these programs contribute to a truly holistic substance abuse program for teens that addresses individual clients and what they’re up against in all aspects of their lives.
Parent Support
At Paradigm, we see firsthand how being a parent of a teen or young adult struggling with substance abuse is extremely challenging. It can also be a scary experience, with many parents undergoing traumatic and difficult situations before beginning their search for a teen drug rehab or another type of substance use program.
For these and other reasons, we provide comprehensive parental support throughout their child’s stay, including individual parenting therapy sessions, family counseling sessions, group sessions with parents and teens, and parent effectiveness training.
Our therapists help parents become more aware of what their teen is experiencing while providing them with resources and tools to offer support long after they leave our program. Therapists also serve as a bridge of communication between clients and parents, providing a safe, open place for both parties to speak and be heard. Family sessions can be an extremely powerful tool for relational healing and forgiveness, and they help ensure that the lessons learned in teen alcohol treatment are sustainable in the outside world.
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Continue ReadingLucy Nguyen is the Executive Director at Paradigm Treatment, overseeing all clinical treatment programs across the organization’s southwestern region. Her extensive experience includes working with young adults in private practice, serving as a therapist for children and teens with emotional and behavioral needs, and acting as a behavior interventionist for teens with developmental disorders. Lucy integrates cognitive-behavioral approaches with mindfulness and compassion in her work, and she is also EMDR-trained. She holds a Master of Science in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine.