The facility may offer mixed gender programming, but the specific motivations to use, and social pressures as experienced by teen girls leading to the need for drug treatment, should be addressed.
A drug treatment for teenage girls should include behavioral and cognitive training, peer group therapy with other recovering teen substance abusers, an educational and high school equivalency portion, private sessions with an addictions professional, and family involvement.
Cognitive behavioral training, which teaches teenage girls how to change their thinking and behaviors, to reduce exposure to temptations, has been found especially effective; and family involvement and a sustained high level of family participation throughout the drug treatment is one of the best indicators of a successful eventual outcome.
Because teenage girl substance abusers so often suffer from concurrent psychiatric symptoms of depression, an intensive pre intake assessment allows addictions professionals to plan for a recovery strategy best targeted to the needs of the individual. For many, a cessation of drug or alcohol abuse is all that is needed to better mental health symptoms, but continuing psychiatric evaluation throughout a rehab stay allows for appropriate pharmacological intervention if symptoms persist with sobriety.
Drug treatment for teenage girls needs to offer intensive and long lasting aftercare programming, allowing teen girls to consolidate the lessons of drug treatment once returned to the environment of temptation, using the guidance of addictions professionals and within peer support groups.
page last update Aug 05, 2010
