Blog
Importance of Parental Involvement in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment
Parental involvement is critical to successful treatment of adolescents with alcohol and other chemical dependency issues. Research shows that family-based interventions can be very effective in reducing current alcohol and other drug problem behavior and future risk. The quality of the adolescents' environment in regards to family, school and peers is critical for success when he or she is in treatment. Research shows that adolescents are often attracted to substance-using peers as a result of conflicted family and school environments. Environmental conflicts, especially in the family, raise risk factors for drug abuse in adolescence. Read more...
The Reality of Teen Substance Abuse in Santa Barbara
By: Galen Garbarino, MFT
It’s hard to believe that in our idyllic community, there is a rampant substance abuse problem among our young people. Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and countless other harmful substances have made their way into the lives of our adolescents. With increasing tolerance toward alcohol and marijuana and the attitude that “it’s no big deal,” more and more young people are experimenting with harder drugs. Perceptions of risk about alcohol and other drug use have been shown to have a direct correlation with usage rates. It is not uncommon to find that more than 50% of our high school seniors have experimented with drugs and/or alcohol at some point during adolescence and that 80% of those adolescents will try alcohol before high school graduation. Read more...
Adolescents and therapeutic confidentiality
Consider the following situation: Yesterday I found a pill in my 17 year-old son’s backpack. My friend is a nurse and she identified the pill as a painkiller. Since my son is in therapy, I called his therapist to discuss this. I became very angry when the therapist was reluctant to even discuss my son and his progress in treatment. Since I am paying for the therapy, I believe that I have a right to know what is going on there. I am considering firing this therapist for their attitude. Any suggestions? Read more...
Buprenorphine: The New Treatment for Opiate Dependence
The treatment of opiate dependence has been particularly unsuccessful over the years. There are more and more people abusing opiate-based pain medications. Oxycontin and Vicodin are the most abused prescription medications on the market these days. It has become clear that once dependence is established, opiate addicts are often not the easiest to manage. Thus began the search for medications and strategies to assist the opiate addict in loosening the bonds of addiction. Read more...
What You May Want to Know About Women and Substance Abuse
By: Donna Genera, MFT
In a variety of ways, women are more vulnerable than men to the ravages of substance use. The number one drug of choice for women is alcohol. This is followed closely by cigarettes, prescription drugs, marijuana, and any form of stimulant.
In the last 25 years, the number of women drinkers has increased by a ratio of two to one over new male drinkers. Among college students, the percentage of male drinkers rose 3%, while female drinkers increased by 12% (Straus, Bacon & Hanson). Read more...