Baptist’s New Adolescent Chemical Dependency Program Offers Free Initial Assessment
- Last month, a private school in the metro Jackson area made news by requiring all students and their dates to pass a breathalyzer test before they could enter the school’s prom.
Given the well-documented use and abuse of drugs and alcohol among teenagers, the school’s strategy is not surprising. But without a breathalyzer, how can parents know if their kids have a drug or alcohol problem?
According to Mark Rester, MD, medical director of the Adolescent Chemical Dependency program at Baptist Health Systems, the clues of substance abuse generally are:
Academic decline. Your teen’s grades suddenly start to fall. They show no interest in school or learning. They have frequent absences, truancy, and discipline problems.
Changes in social behavior. They have new friends who are less interested in standard home and school activities. Their choice of clothing might change, showing a new fascination with clothes that highlight drug use.
Changes in behavior at home. They start arguments, break rules, or withdraw from the family. They show sudden mood changes, irritability, irresponsible behavior, low self-esteem, poor judgment, depression, and a general lack of interest.
“Keep in mind that some of this is typical of teenage behavior,” said Dr. Rester. So how does a parent distinguish between normal teenage rebellion and chemical abuse?
“If your teenager shows unusually secretive behavior, or if there is an unexplained disappearance of money, that could be a sign of trouble,” says Dr. Rester. “An unexplained acquisition of items of high monetary value might be a clue that a teenager is selling drugs,” he added. “And if they are ‘running around with a bad crowd,’ that may be another indication that they are in trouble.”
Monitoring the Future, a project of the University of Michigan funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, reports that 47% of kids have tried an illicit drug by the time they finish high school. The same report found that more than half of the 12th graders and nearly a fifth of the 8th graders included in the 2007 report stated they had been drunk at least once in their life.
“Teens from all walks of life are subject to substance abuse; it’s not just kids from lower socio-economic backgrounds,” says Dr. Rester. “Kids from affluent backgrounds are just as likely—if not more likely—to become chemically dependent. Their parents tend to have more outside interests and may provide less attention to their kids. These kids also may feel more pressures to succeed and seek relief from those anxieties.”
Baptist Behavioral Health Services now offers a chemical dependency program for adolescents and young adults ages 13 to 21. It will offer treatment for patients who have psychiatric disorders in addition to chemical addictions. The 12-week program offers cognitive, behavioral and 12-step therapies in a group therapy setting. It offers a free initial assessment. For more information call Baptist Behavioral Health at 601-968-1102.
According to The AntiDrug, a project of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, if a parent suspects drug or alcohol abuse it’s important to take action right away.
There are numerous resources available on the Internet to guide parents who think their teens have a drug or alcohol problem. Another resource is the toll free line of the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, a service of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Parents can call that number–1-800-729-6686–24 hours a day to talk with trained specialists.
Dr. Rester cautions against the routine use of home drug testing kits. “The American Academy of Pediatricians doesn’t recommend doing this because it can undermine the teen’s trust in the parents,” he explained. “A good outcome must involve everybody—the parent, teen, and any healthcare providers who may be included.”
“Even if your teen is driving you crazy, you’ve got to get yourself under control and be constructive,” he said. “Try getting your teen to talk about the problems you are seeing—the social changes, academic decline—in a non-confrontational, caring fashion. You’ve got to communicate, “We want you to succeed.’”
Resources:
Online
www.theantidrug.com (for parents) and www.freevibe.com (for teens). Both are projects of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign launched by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy www.ncadi.samhsa.gov: The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.
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