Addiction counselors are professionals who specialize in helping individuals overcome their addictions. They help them work towards a healthier and happier life.

Among the many clients they serve, troubled teens are often some of the most vulnerable and in need of support. They may be struggling with substance abuse, behavioral issues, or mental health problems.

In this article, we will explore how addiction counselors can help troubled teens. Keep reading to learn more!

Building Trust and Rapport

The first step in helping troubled teens is building trust and rapport with them. Addiction counselors create a safe and non-judgmental environment for their clients. This helps teens feel comfortable opening up about their struggles.

They may also engage in activities such as games or art therapy. This is to break the ice and build a stronger connection with their clients.

Identifying Underlying Issues

Counselors know that behavioral issues are often symptoms of underlying problems. They work with teens to identify any underlying issues. This can include trauma, family problems, or mental health disorders.

By addressing these root causes, counselors can help teens overcome their addictions. This can also prevent future relapses.

Creating Individualized Treatment Plans

Each teen is unique, and their treatment plan should reflect that. Counselors work with teens to create personalized treatment plans. This helps address their needs and goals.

This can include a combination of:

• Therapy
• Support groups
• Medication management
• Family therapy
• Behavioral modification techniques

Counselors can tailor the approach to each individual. This can increase the chances of success in recovery.

Encouraging Positive Habits

Addiction counselors also help teens develop positive habits that promote well-being. This may include regular exercise, healthy eating habits, and practicing self-care.

These habits aid in recovery. It also improves mental health and quality of life for troubled teens.

Teaching Coping Mechanisms

Stress and triggers can be major factors in relapse for teens. Counselors help these individuals develop healthy coping mechanisms. This helps them manage stress, triggers, and cravings.

This can include techniques such as:

• Deep breathing
• Mindfulness
• Journaling
• Guided imagery
• Distraction techniques

By learning to cope with challenges in healthier ways, teens are better equipped to maintain their sobriety.

Providing Emotional Support

Living with addiction can be emotionally draining for anyone, especially teenagers. Counselors provide the emotional support that troubled teens need during their recovery journey.

They listen without judgment and offer a safe space for teens to express themselves. This helps them feel understood and supported throughout their treatment.

Offering Education on Addiction

Many teens may not understand the impact of their addiction on their lives and those around them. Addiction counselors educate teens about the science behind addiction. This includes its effects on the brain and how it can be treated.

This knowledge empowers teens to take control of their recovery. It also helps them make informed decisions in their journey towards sobriety.

Assisting with Family Counseling

Addiction affects the individual struggling with it and also their loved ones. Counselors may offer family therapy sessions to help mend strained relationships. They help improve communication within the family unit.

This support is crucial in helping teens build a support system for their recovery. It also helps families heal from the effects of addiction.

Addressing Co-Occurring Disorders

It is common for teens struggling with addiction to also have co-occurring disorders. This can include depression or anxiety. Counselors can identify and address these issues alongside substance abuse treatment.

By addressing all aspects of a person’s mental health, counselors can help them achieve long-term recovery. This also improves their overall well-being.

Connecting Teens with Support Groups

Support groups are an essential part of recovery for many individuals. Counselors can help teens find and connect with support groups.

These groups offer a sense of community and understanding. This can be beneficial in maintaining sobriety. They also provide a place to share experiences and offer support to one another.

Providing Relapse Prevention Strategies

Relapse is a common concern in addiction recovery. Counselors help teens develop personalized relapse prevention strategies. They consider their triggers and challenges to create a plan that works for them.

They may also provide resources for moments of high risk for relapse. This can include emergency hotlines or crisis plans. This helps teens feel prepared and supported in managing potential setbacks.

Advocating for Teens’ Needs

Addiction counselors also serve as advocates for their clients. They can help troubled teens navigate the legal system. They also help address any discrimination they may face.

This support ensures that teens have a fair chance at recovery. It also helps them feel valued and supported by their counselor.

Monitoring and Adjusting Treatment Plans

As teens progress in their recovery journey, counselors track their progress. This helps them adjust treatment plans accordingly. This ensures that the approach remains effective.

It also allows for flexibility in treatment to meet each teen’s evolving needs. This can increase the chances of long-term success in recovery.

Promoting Healthy Boundaries

Many teens may struggle with setting and maintaining healthy boundaries. This can lead to enabling behaviors or codependency.

Counselors help their clients understand the importance of boundaries. They also help set them in relationships. This is vital in maintaining a healthy support system.

Providing Guidance for Life Skills

Teens struggling with addiction may also lack important life skills, such as time management or job readiness. Counselors can provide guidance and resources to help their clients develop these skills. This prepares them for a successful and independent future.

If you are an addiction counselor looking to work with teens, consider checking PsychologyJobs.com. They offer a wide range of job opportunities in the field of psychology, including addiction counseling. This can be a great way to start your journey in helping troubled teens.

The Role of Addiction Counselors in Troubled Teens

Addiction counselors play an important role in helping troubled teens overcome their struggles and achieve long-term recovery. By utilizing these strategies, they can support and guide teens toward a healthier and happier life.

Remember, every teen is different, so it’s essential to tailor the approach to each individual’s needs. With dedication and patience, counselors can make a positive impact on their lives.

Don’t forget to explore our other articles. There’s a wealth of knowledge waiting for you on our site.

Also read:

How Boxing Improves Teenage Mental Health

How to Find a Therapeutic Program for My Teen

The post How Addiction Counselors Can Help Troubled Teens first appeared on Help Your Teens.

The question, can therapy help with your troubled teen, is different for each family. In most cases it is absolutely beneficial to speak with someone objective.

Local Therapy

1. Local therapy. With teenagers this is not always easy, since some will refuse to attend or will stop engaging with their therapist. What can be more frustrating is when they start manipulating the counselor. Sometimes you need to switch therapists to find one that can relate to your teen; however, you may get to a point when you realize it is simply not working.

To find a local therapist, start with your medical insurance. Staying in-network will help you have financial coverage. If you do not have medical insurance, reach out to your school counselor for assistance. They can usually provider local resources that will work with families that do not have insurance coverage.

Have you tried online therapy? Since the pandemic we have seen a spike in virtual therapy but there are pros and cons to this method of counseling when it pertains to adolescents.

Pros:

• Convenience of home. Parenting difficult teenagers is becoming more challenging especially if they need mental health services.

Many parents are not able to get their teenager in the car — which makes getting to the therapist’s office nearly impossible. With online therapy you can connect with a therapist from virtually anywhere at any time. Online services provide access to therapeutic support quickly and with little hassle.

• Reduced stigma. Teens are all about appearances, with online therapy it is unlikely they are going to bump into peers at the therapist’s office, nor do they have to share they are going to a doctor appointment. Many teens feel embarrassed about seeing a therapist and fear their peers may find out. Virtual therapy can reduce many of these concerns.

• Comfort of the internet. Let’s face it, this generation grew up online, most teens enjoy and are most comfortable chatting over a computer than talking to a therapist in-person.

Cons:

• Lack of personal interaction. The absence of face-to-face contact may impair treatment — this is a serious drawback to online therapy especially when it pertains to troubled teens that can be manipulative. Mental health professionals learn a lot of information by watching someone’s body language and nonverbal cues.

• Technology glitches. Online therapy comes with the added pressure of you and your therapist relying on an internet connection. One or both of you may lose service, interfering with your ability to connect when desired or needed. This should be discussed with your therapist on how this situation will be handled if internet service is lost.

• Lack of privacy and confidentiality. Although they are in the comforts of your home, do they feel it is a safe space to speak freely? Are there distractions? Keeping your personal information private is a major concern in psychotherapy, but online treatment adds a layer of complexity. Confidentiality is just as important in online therapy as it is in more traditional forms of treatment delivery.

Is online therapy effective for troubled teens? It depends on the teenager, research has found that online therapy can be effective at treating anxiety, depression, and trauma.

Online therapy can be an effective and convenient way to access mental health services. But that does not mean that it is right for everyone. Whether or not online therapy may be appropriate for you depends on your teenager’s condition and the severity of their issues.

2. Outpatient therapy. This can be beneficial to teens that require more clinical hours weekly. It also gives them group therapy which can be beneficial in helping your child know they are not alone. The one negative is they are still in their home environment and surrounded by their friends (if they have negative influences) as well as with their devices. Like with attending traditional talk therapy, your teen must be willing to attend, which can be another hurdle for some.

Outpatient treatment is typically recommended through your therapist when they believe your teen can benefit from extended clinical hours.

3. Short-term hospital stay. In some situations, a short-term adolescent psychiatric hospital can give you an evaluation that helps you with a diagnosis for your teen’s behavior and medication to address it. Will they continue the medication at home, and will they continue with therapy? Many parents have placed their teenagers in the hospital for a short time, it rarely has any long-lasting impact on their behavior.

The common struggle parents face is although their child may be prescribed medication, unless it is taken regularly and followed up with their therapist, it is unlikely to be effective. Many of these defiant teenagers do not believe they have a problem – or will blatantly refuse or hoard the pills.

Many parents have use short-term hospital stays when they are faced with a crisis. Whether their teen is threatening suicide or to harm someone, possibly self-harming themselves – these can be a short-term solution to stabilization. It can keep your child safe until you find a long-term therapeutic setting for them.

Therapy in Residential Treatment Centers

If your teen has failed or is unsuccessful in communicating with their therapist locally, it might be time to consider a therapeutic boarding school or residential treatment center where therapy more structured and consistent. They are unable to hide behind their mask of manipulation — whereas attending once or twice a week it is easy to create an illusion of what they want their therapist to believe about them.

When a teen is removed from the stressors and triggers of home – not to mention their peer influences and especially devices (social media) – with a slowed down manageable pace – and placed into an environment with staff, activities (enrichment programs) and therapy designed to encourage change – (build self-worth) – the opportunity for the kind of true and deep change required to turn your teen’s life around can finally start to happen.

A consistent and positive environment replaces the toxic environment they are leaving. They will not have access to drugs or alcohol – or their social media or devices. The peer influences are now cut-off. If they have been struggling academically, often this new and unique environment is where they will begin to thrive again.

If there was family discord, the destructive cycles with siblings and/or parents are now stopped and communication is deliberately slowed down to include mediated conversations, letter exchanges, and intermittent visits.

Making the leap into residential treatment is a major emotional and financial decision, contact us for more information if you believe you are ready for this step.

Also read:

5 Benefits of Therapeutic Boarding Schools

Where Can I Send a Troubled Teenager?

The post Can Therapy Work With Troubled Teens? first appeared on Help Your Teens.

It’s important to better understand why your troubled teen is reluctant to speak with a therapist. There can be several reasons, including the stigma of needing help for mental wellness.

Other reasons teens might refuse therapy is:

• They don’t think they need it; they believe they are fine the way they are.
• They believe the therapist or counselor will make them take medicine.
• They don’t believe therapy or medicine will work.
• They may have tried it when they were younger, and didn’t like it.
• They are feeling hopeless, and simply don’t want to try.

5 Ways to Help Your Troubled Teen Without Talk Therapy

1. Certified Teen Life Coach: As parents grow more desperate to get help for their troubled teenagers, Certified Teen Life Coaches have been able to fill a void as an option for some families. The mental health crisis is not diminishing anytime soon, it’s time to learn about all resources available to us to get adolescents the treatment they need. 

Marissa Terron, founder of Families in Need of Direction – Therapeutic Life Coaching, (F.I.N.D.-TLC) and a Certified Teen Life Coach, works with many adolescents (tweens and teens) and shares that although most have refused to attend counseling sessions, some simply preferred the style of a life coach for emotional support.

Teen Life Coaching also requires the parent(s) to be involved privately or as a whole to learn new strategies that will help them continue supporting their teen as they work through their issues, set and achieve goals and move toward a brighter and productive future.

2. Animal Therapy: Animal therapy has been proven beneficial for youth struggling with trauma (PTSD) and develop coping skills for anger and stress management. Research has shown when troubled teens work with dogs, horses, and/or most animals, especially if they are involved with training a pet, it can help reduce a person’s anxiety as well as help those suffering with PTSD and reactive attachment disorder (RAD).

When working with animals, specifically therapy dogs, they are trained to be attentive to a person’s needs and offer unconditional love therefore helping with teen depression. This can often help stabilize intense emotions and allows your teen to express themselves without fear of judgment.

3. Art Therapy: Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS) and even some phobias. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief.

Clinical art therapy can be effective for adolescents who usually see it as a nonthreatening form of treatment. The art that the adolescent produces can help the therapist gain some idea of the youth’s concerns and life circumstances, especially those situations that are too risky to reveal or too personally embarrassing to relate. This awareness better equips the therapist in efforts to protect and support the adolescent during this turbulent time of life.

4. Gardening (Horticulture) Therapy: Gardening can make you feel more peaceful and content. Focusing your attention on the immediate tasks and details of gardening can reduce negative thoughts and feelings and can make you feel better in the moment. Just spending time around plants eases stress for many people.

Self-esteem is how much you value and feel positively about yourself. Helping a plant grow is a big feat. When you see your work pay off with healthy plants, your sense of pride gets a boost. By building self-confidence, your teen will make better choices.

5. Music Therapy: Research shares that music therapy has had the power to help teens overcome chronic depression music therapy increases communication, socialization and memory in children and teens. Because music therapy bridges the gap between art and science, and the artistic nature of the therapy allows teenagers to open up and explore their feelings. It also helps them cope with their mental health issues.

Music therapy provides teens with a positive, creative, and fun outlet. They can build a strong identity of themselves focused on who they can become versus their past choices. Teens involved in music therapy will also be discovering new interests and perhaps even a greater talent that needs to be nurtured.

Animal, art, horticulture and music therapy are typically offered in residential treatment in addition to talk therapy. These therapies are excellent alternatives to help reach your teenager that is refusing talk therapy at home.

Also read:

How to Convince Your Teen to Attend Therapy

How Boxing Helps Teenage Mental Health

The post How to Help My Teen Without Talk Therapy? first appeared on Help Your Teens.

Conflict in relationships is normal and even healthy, but if disagreements start feeling unresolvable and too frequent, it can damage the family unit and lead to divorce. 

Research suggests that parental divorce can cause an increased risk for child and adolescent adjustment issues, such as depression, academic difficulties, social withdrawal, and disruptive behaviors (poor conduct, substance abuse disorders, etc.) However, a good way to minimize these effects is by providing your spouse and teen with pre-divorce counseling.

What is Pre-Divorce Counseling?

Pre-divorce counseling for teenagers has become an increasingly popular option for families looking to support their teens during this difficult time. Pre-divorce counseling provides teenagers a safe and supportive environment for teenagers to express their feelings, concerns, and fears about their parents’ separation. “Counselors can help them to release their anger and pain in a healthy way,” note divorce lawyers at Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C., “divorce can certainly spark a whirlwind of emotions.”

Pre-divorce counseling for couples is a procedure that helps couples decide if it is time to part ways and get divorced. During the session, the couple sits with a divorce therapist and explains their situation. The therapist then helps them plan and ease the process and teaches them how to communicate effectively to find solutions to their upcoming problems. 

What Happens During Pre-Divorce Counseling for Teens?

Pre-divorce counseling for teens can be incredibly helpful. The following can be expected:

• A safe and supportive environment for the teenager to communicate. A counselor can create a space for a teen to express their feelings, concerns, and fears about their parents’ separation. 
• Finding the right techniques to process the change. The counselor may use a variety of techniques, such as talk therapy, role-playing, and cognitive-behavioral therapy, to help the teenager process their emotions and develop coping skills.
• Making a plan to move forward. The counselor may also work with the teenager to develop a plan for how to manage their emotions and navigate their changing family dynamics. This may include strategies for communicating with their parents, setting boundaries, and maintaining healthy relationships with both parents.

What Happens During Pre-Divorce Counseling for Couples?

Pre-divorce counseling is done in the presence of both spouses. The following can be expected:

• Improved overall communication between the partners. Usually, couples develop a communication block, which the pre-divorce counselor helps them overcome.

• A civilized and peaceful conversation about future issues. Divorce comes with its fair share of problems, so knowing how to communicate with each other will help prepare for it better. 
• Finding the right option for the well-being of the children. Divorce can be especially hard on children and teenagers. Since children come first, parents have to find the best option for their well-being, even if they don’t get along with each other.
• Making a plan to go through the divorce as seamlessly as possible. During the process of divorce, numerous arguments can arise. Pre-divorce counseling helps couples make those necessary plans to better prepare for the divorce.

Benefits of Pre-Divorce Counseling: How Does it Help Teenage Children?

It Can Help Prepare for The Journey Ahead 

Children, especially teenagers, can take divorce the hardest. With pre-divorce counseling, parents may be motivated to make things better. Pre-divorce counseling for couples with children can help all parties go through the process more easily. 

Parents may also learn how to discuss the divorce with their children, help them transition to two different households, and in certain cases, adapt to blended families. A study conducted by Loyola University recommends that children experiencing parental divorce must have an outlet to discuss their feelings with others in a supervised support group environment. 

Explaining the situation to the kids can better prepare them to deal with their emotions, as they will know what to expect.  

It Helps Form New Routines

In pre-divorce counseling, spouses learn to communicate with their teens in an unbiased manner. This can help them work out their emotional issues in a healthy way. Moreover, your teenager can work with you to form new routines and maintain the bond. 

Supporting Your Teens

The process of getting a divorce can seem quite overwhelming for everyone in your family, and most divorcing families have plenty of questions. Pre-divorce counseling can provide teenagers with a safe and supportive environment to express their feelings and questions about their parents’ separation and provide divorcing couples with strategies to help their teenagers process the upcoming changes..

By addressing these issues early on, pre-divorce counseling can help minimize the negative effects of divorce on teenagers. Ultimately, investing in pre-divorce counseling for teenagers can lead to healthier and more positive outcomes for everyone involved in the divorce process.

Also read:

How Boxing Helps Teen Mental Health

My Teenager Refuses to Go To School

The post Benefits of Pre-Divorce Counseling for Teens first appeared on Help Your Teens.

What do you do if your teen is refusing to attend therapy? First understand you are not alone. You can feel powerless when you know your teen needs therapy, yet they refuse to go.

You can feel powerless when you know your teen needs therapy, yet they refuse to go. Often at this stage, parents have tried everything they can think of to help, yet the teen continues to struggle. As parents, we have the life experience and can see where this road will lead for the teen if they do not get help.

The way you approach the subject that your teen needs extra help is especially important. This will likely set the tone for your teen’s attitude towards getting therapy.  Many young people may think it’s embarrassing or hard to admit they need help so it’s important to help them understand there’s no shame in seeking counseling.

If you have experience with therapy yourself or personally know others that therapy has helped, consider sharing that with your teen, this can normalize and remove some of the stigma.

Let them know why you believe counseling can be helpful, say something like, “I wonder if it would be helpful for you to have someone to talk to besides me.” Or say, “I don’t always know how to help you with problems so I wonder if it could be helpful for you to talk to someone who works with teens.”

If your teen is not listening to you, ask their doctor to make the recommendation to them personally. Especially if your teen has a good relationship with their pediatrician or family doctor, sometimes hearing the suggestion of how a therapist can help from an outsider has more of an impact on them than from their parent.

My Teen is Still Refusing Therapy

If your teen refuses to go to counseling, do not despair. You still have several options about how to get help.

Seek counseling on your own without your teen

Often, parent-training can be one of the most effective ways to help teens. A therapist may be able to teach you how to coach your child. If your teen knows you are going to counseling to talk about them, they might also be interested in going to share “their side” of the story. You are your teen’s greatest influence. In many cases the teen will eventually want to attend a session with you.

Speak with your teen’s school guidance counselor

Discuss whether there are any services available within the school system to help your child. A teen who will not meet with a counselor outside of school may be willing to speak with a guidance counselor. This is less intimidating for teens.

Create a contract with your teen

If it is a mild issue that you’re concerned about, create a contract with your teen. Tell your teen that they must go to a certain number of sessions before they can make a decision about whether to continue treatment. Explain to them that after these sessions are complete, if they really feel they are not benefiting from it, they do not have to go back. At this point, you can suggest it’s possible they could try another therapist they might have a better rapport with.

Consider online counseling

Sometimes, teens who will not speak to someone face-to-face may consider talking to a therapist online. Online treatment isn’t appropriate for every condition so it’s important to talk to a therapist or your teen’s physician about the potential pros and cons before you begin treatment. This can be tricky; be sure your teen has been approved for online therapy.

Consider residential treatment

Once you have exhausted your local resources, you are at your wit’s end and your teen is still struggling with mental health concerns — whether it’s depression, rage, screen addiction, anxiety or other disorders that is causing family discord and you feel like you are constantly walking on eggshells, learn more about why residential treatment works when home therapy is not an option or fails.

Also read:

5 Benefits of a Boarding School for a Troubled Teen

Why Therapeutic Boarding Boarding Are Effective

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Contact us for a free consultation about how a therapeutic boarding school can help your teen that is refusing therapy.

Sources: VeryWellFamily

The post My Teen Is Refusing Therapy first appeared on Help Your Teens.