Of summer, poet Darcy Cummings wrote of a “child leaving a walled school for the first time, stumbling from cool hallways to a world dense with scent and sound”.
The Case for Prevention of Problem GamblingJulie Hynes
Julie Hynes, MA, CPS
Sr. Community Health Analyst, PreventionLane at Lane County Public Health
Instructor, University of Oregon
Board of Directors, National Council on Problem Gambling
February 10, 2017
KYCPG 20th Annual Education and Awareness Conference
Drug consumption rates are high among the students especially teenagers. Often, this involves experimenting and testing their boundaries. To fit in or get relief from stress and deepration, teenagers abuse drugs. They often find drugs to be a solution to all these things.
Consequently, they are drowned into the depth of darkness.
The Case for Prevention of Problem GamblingJulie Hynes
Julie Hynes, MA, CPS
Sr. Community Health Analyst, PreventionLane at Lane County Public Health
Instructor, University of Oregon
Board of Directors, National Council on Problem Gambling
February 10, 2017
KYCPG 20th Annual Education and Awareness Conference
Drug consumption rates are high among the students especially teenagers. Often, this involves experimenting and testing their boundaries. To fit in or get relief from stress and deepration, teenagers abuse drugs. They often find drugs to be a solution to all these things.
Consequently, they are drowned into the depth of darkness.
How does youth violence affect health?
Deaths resulting from youth violence are only part of the problem. Many young people need medical care for violence-related injuries. These injuries can include cuts, bruises, broken bones, and gunshot wounds. Some injuries, like gunshot wounds, can lead to lasting disabilities.
Violence can also affect the health of communities. It can increase health care costs, decrease property values, and disrupt social services.
Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Use, Misuse, Abuse and Dependence (Lesso...Jewel Jem
Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Use, Misuse, Abuse and Dependence
Lesson for Grade 9 (Health) MAPEH
Contents:
> Risk & Protective Factors (meaning)
> Factors composed of influences in Life Domains
- Personal
- Family
- Peer and Friends
- School
- Community
Being the art director of the team, my duty is to design the book from scratch including color scheme, layout, font, info-graphic, web design, info-visualization and logo design.
Teenage substance use america's no. 1 health problemJennifer Foster
Teenage substance use is threatening the lives of our children. It is high time we stop ignoring the problem as a community, as educators and certainly as parents. As a parent myself I understand the many problems parents face when it comes to their children and the subject of drug abuse.
You will learn how parents, who themselves use medical marijuana, have further considerations as they help their kids understand these concepts. This webinar is co-hosted by Chanda Sinclair of the Portland Department of Substance Abuse Prevention and WCM’s Director of Education Becky DeKeuster. Join us for a lively discussion and a Q & A session, with helpful tips & tools for having honest, age-appropriate discussions with kids from toddlers to teens.
Companion Pressure can be an immense issue for some youthful gro.docxpickersgillkayne
Companion Pressure can be an immense issue for some youthful grown-ups. It can at times be positive, yet more often than not its negative and damaging. Contingent upon the people gathering of people, peer pressure addresses social impacts that impact youths. The pressure of needing to have a place can prompt crazy conduct.. Companion Pressure has been censured for young adult practices going from decision in dress to tranquilize utilization. The requirement for parental direction is at a record-breaking high. Guardians need to assume a part in setting up their youngster for managing the pressing factors the face from their friends.
Companions impact your life, regardless of whether you don't understand it, just by investing energy with you. You gain from them, and they gain from you. It's just human instinct to tune in to and gain from others in your age bunch. Friend pressure is characterized as the prevailing difficulty by individuals from one's companion gathering to make a specific move, receive certain qualities, or in any case adjust to be acknowledged. (peer pressure, 2009) Teenage is that period of life when you are presented to the world outside.
These are the years when you invest the vast majority of your energy with your companions. High school is the period of starting to get autonomous throughout everyday life; the long stretches of framing your beliefs and standards, the years that shape your character and the years that acquaint you with your own self.
To comprehend peer pressure it is imperative to distinguish hazard factors implied. Hazard factors are any conditions that may improve the probability of young people's taking part in hazardous practices. Hazard factors have been recognized inside people, family conditions, schools, friend or social connections and the local area. Singular danger factors incorporate enemy of social conduct, uneasiness or wretchedness, resistance.
Family hazard factors
incorporate separation, uninvolved guardians, negative correspondence, hazy standards and assumptions. School hazard factors incorporate scholastic disappointment, school advances, negative marking, delinquency, and low obligation to class. Friend hazard factors incorporate partner with the individuals who use medications, dismissal, and posse contribution. Local area hazard factors incorporate tolerant laws, drug accessibility, absence of significant jobs, and low financial status. It is likewise imperative to take note of that openness to many danger factors has a total impact and wild conduct.
There ought to be a qualification between hazard conduct and crazy conduct. As indicated by Arnett, hazard practices are socially endorsed, for example, cruiser riding and bungee hopping. Interestingly, crazy practices are those that need social endorsement. (1992) Young individuals who participate in one kind of wild conduct are probably going to take an interest in others. (Arnett, 1991) Various foolish practices incorporate w.
How does youth violence affect health?
Deaths resulting from youth violence are only part of the problem. Many young people need medical care for violence-related injuries. These injuries can include cuts, bruises, broken bones, and gunshot wounds. Some injuries, like gunshot wounds, can lead to lasting disabilities.
Violence can also affect the health of communities. It can increase health care costs, decrease property values, and disrupt social services.
Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Use, Misuse, Abuse and Dependence (Lesso...Jewel Jem
Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Use, Misuse, Abuse and Dependence
Lesson for Grade 9 (Health) MAPEH
Contents:
> Risk & Protective Factors (meaning)
> Factors composed of influences in Life Domains
- Personal
- Family
- Peer and Friends
- School
- Community
Being the art director of the team, my duty is to design the book from scratch including color scheme, layout, font, info-graphic, web design, info-visualization and logo design.
Teenage substance use america's no. 1 health problemJennifer Foster
Teenage substance use is threatening the lives of our children. It is high time we stop ignoring the problem as a community, as educators and certainly as parents. As a parent myself I understand the many problems parents face when it comes to their children and the subject of drug abuse.
You will learn how parents, who themselves use medical marijuana, have further considerations as they help their kids understand these concepts. This webinar is co-hosted by Chanda Sinclair of the Portland Department of Substance Abuse Prevention and WCM’s Director of Education Becky DeKeuster. Join us for a lively discussion and a Q & A session, with helpful tips & tools for having honest, age-appropriate discussions with kids from toddlers to teens.
Companion Pressure can be an immense issue for some youthful gro.docxpickersgillkayne
Companion Pressure can be an immense issue for some youthful grown-ups. It can at times be positive, yet more often than not its negative and damaging. Contingent upon the people gathering of people, peer pressure addresses social impacts that impact youths. The pressure of needing to have a place can prompt crazy conduct.. Companion Pressure has been censured for young adult practices going from decision in dress to tranquilize utilization. The requirement for parental direction is at a record-breaking high. Guardians need to assume a part in setting up their youngster for managing the pressing factors the face from their friends.
Companions impact your life, regardless of whether you don't understand it, just by investing energy with you. You gain from them, and they gain from you. It's just human instinct to tune in to and gain from others in your age bunch. Friend pressure is characterized as the prevailing difficulty by individuals from one's companion gathering to make a specific move, receive certain qualities, or in any case adjust to be acknowledged. (peer pressure, 2009) Teenage is that period of life when you are presented to the world outside.
These are the years when you invest the vast majority of your energy with your companions. High school is the period of starting to get autonomous throughout everyday life; the long stretches of framing your beliefs and standards, the years that shape your character and the years that acquaint you with your own self.
To comprehend peer pressure it is imperative to distinguish hazard factors implied. Hazard factors are any conditions that may improve the probability of young people's taking part in hazardous practices. Hazard factors have been recognized inside people, family conditions, schools, friend or social connections and the local area. Singular danger factors incorporate enemy of social conduct, uneasiness or wretchedness, resistance.
Family hazard factors
incorporate separation, uninvolved guardians, negative correspondence, hazy standards and assumptions. School hazard factors incorporate scholastic disappointment, school advances, negative marking, delinquency, and low obligation to class. Friend hazard factors incorporate partner with the individuals who use medications, dismissal, and posse contribution. Local area hazard factors incorporate tolerant laws, drug accessibility, absence of significant jobs, and low financial status. It is likewise imperative to take note of that openness to many danger factors has a total impact and wild conduct.
There ought to be a qualification between hazard conduct and crazy conduct. As indicated by Arnett, hazard practices are socially endorsed, for example, cruiser riding and bungee hopping. Interestingly, crazy practices are those that need social endorsement. (1992) Young individuals who participate in one kind of wild conduct are probably going to take an interest in others. (Arnett, 1991) Various foolish practices incorporate w.
The AssignmentRespond to at least two of your colleagu.docxtodd541
The Assignment
Respond
to at least
two
of your colleagues by providing at least two ways that their strategies may be expanded or improved.
Support your responses with evidence-based literature with at least two references in each colleague’s response with proper citation.
Colleagues Response # 1
Treating Childhood Abuse
The number of incidents that Child Protective Services (CPS) investigates annually in the United States is over two million alleged incidents of child abuse, 18 percent of physical abuse, 650,000 are confirmed to be physical violence, and neglect or abuse claims 1500 lives of children each year, with 80 percent being children under the age of four. Psychological and somatic symptoms, as well as psychological and medical diagnosis, including depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain syndromes, chronic fatigue syndrome, and irritable bowel disorder, have been correlated with childhood violence.
From exposure to traumatic incidents in which they are victims of physical and sexual assault, domestic violence, motor vehicle accidents, serious medical disease, natural or human-created disasters, a large number of children and adolescents can experience PTSD (Sadock, Sadock, & Ruiz, 2017).
Assessing for Abuse
Identification and assessment of childhood abuse can be a complex process. It needs careful consideration of the situation involving alleged childhood abuse. A detailed interview is used in policies used to assess childhood abuse. In evaluating childhood violence evaluation, both physical examination and behavioral review should be assessed during the interview. A conducive environment should be created to enable the client to feel comfortable so as to be forthcoming with information. The client and the therapist should develop a good relationship. Prevention, early identification of violence with intervention restrict incidence, and avoid further development of trauma.
Trauma screening refers to a brief method, centered survey to evaluate if a person has undergone one or more traumatic events, has reactions to such events, has particular mental or behavioral health needs, and requires referral for a thorough trauma-informed mental health evaluation. Screening and screening questionnaires and clinical interviews are techniques that help in evaluating for violence. The questionnaires can help diagnose a high-risk parent or caregiver who can mistreat a child or teenager and can determine whether they are at risk of abuse, are sexually abused or have been abused in the past.
Media Exposure
Media visibility can be helpful, but it has several drawbacks as well. An advantage of the media is that it can serve as a place for people to interact and exchange thoughts about the risks of child violence and prevention. Social networking and the internet also encourage abuse-victim children to find resources to aid coping. Their emotional health will benefit fro.
Similar to Danger zone teen substance use and treatment (6)
Sound familiar? Could be your angry son or daughter. Could be a teen, an adult, an addicted loved one. Whoever is spewing, it leaves you feeling like you drank poison and then took a stomach punch from Mike Tyson.
Where your md meets my jd when the doctor says yes but the treatment team say...Mrsunny4
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and several published studies1, 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin.
Living beyond the downside of sex and sexual expressionMrsunny4
Sex and sexuality have become more prevalent throughout our global community. Obtaining sexually related products, images, and information have become readily available for anyone, of any age, to obtain with an internet access. Undoubtedly the consequence of such materials being readily available has had a positive and negative effect upon our society.
Deadly adulterants new dangers of illicit drugsMrsunny4
The “cutting” or “adulteration” of street drugs is common practice in the manufacturing, distribution and selling of illicit drugs, all in the name of increased profit.
Why do we want to change how we feel about ourselves? Are our feelings pleasant or unpleasant? If our feelings are unpleasant, we drink, eat or take a pill to change them.
Hey grandma, can i live with you grandparents and the opioid epidemicMrsunny4
The other day I received a phone call from Helen. She and her husband Rick were beside themselves after learning their daughter, a 42-year-old PhD student, had relapsed into drug addiction. The couple, in their late-sixties, were not only charged with finding help again for their struggling daughter,
Dont be afraid to say the s word talking to kids about suicideMrsunny4
Through my work as Clinical Director of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, I frequently get asked by parents,” How do I talk to my child about suicide?
I define happiness as a feeling of contentment and peace about oneself. It’s the emotional response that the world is okay, there are better days ahead, and there’s room for possibility.
Anxiety, worry, stress, concern, apprehension, nervousness. It doesn’t matter what name you give it. It’s a horrible feeling. Anxiety comes when our minds focus on something in the future that feels like a threat.
For many parents, a child’s return to school may be met with a bag of mixed emotions, reservations and hesitations. They may have concerns about the potential of peer pressure, discrimination, school violence and exposure to various legal and illegal substances.
Relapse in most cases is not self-inflicted. Relapse-prone patients experience a gradual progression of symptoms that create so much pain that they become unable to function in sobriety.
When addiction crept into my household 11 years ago, I retreated to a journal. The clean, white pages offered me refuge to pour out my anguish, fear, confusion, and shame. It was a safe place to unveil my secret.
Our evolved unique feel good circuits makes humans different from apesMrsunny4
The brain regions circuitry tied to pleasure are difficult toaccurately describe, partly, because of many different ways we can trigger enjoyment or “Feel Good.”
The word “trauma” originated in the late 17th century from the Greek language. The literal translation is to “wound or damage.” The Greek word was specific to physical injury and has been used in medical terminology since.
Compulsive gambling is a progressive disease, much like an addiction to alcohol or drugs. In many cases, the gambling addiction is hidden until the gambler becomes unable to function without gambling, and he or she begins to exclude all other activities from their lives.
Pets were first kept by human beings as long as 12,000 years ago as guards and hunters. That role shifted in the 17th century to pleasure and companionship and in modern times, pets are treated as family members, with 62% of Americans owning pets.
How many patients does case series should have In comparison to case reports.pdfpubrica101
Pubrica’s team of researchers and writers create scientific and medical research articles, which may be important resources for authors and practitioners. Pubrica medical writers assist you in creating and revising the introduction by alerting the reader to gaps in the chosen study subject. Our professionals understand the order in which the hypothesis topic is followed by the broad subject, the issue, and the backdrop.
https://pubrica.com/academy/case-study-or-series/how-many-patients-does-case-series-should-have-in-comparison-to-case-reports/
Explore our infographic on 'Essential Metrics for Palliative Care Management' which highlights key performance indicators crucial for enhancing the quality and efficiency of palliative care services.
This visual guide breaks down important metrics across four categories: Patient-Centered Metrics, Care Efficiency Metrics, Quality of Life Metrics, and Staff Metrics. Each section is designed to help healthcare professionals monitor and improve care delivery for patients facing serious illnesses. Understand how to implement these metrics in your palliative care practices for better outcomes and higher satisfaction levels.
India Clinical Trials Market: Industry Size and Growth Trends [2030] Analyzed...Kumar Satyam
According to TechSci Research report, "India Clinical Trials Market- By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2030F," the India Clinical Trials Market was valued at USD 2.05 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.64% through 2030. The market is driven by a variety of factors, making India an attractive destination for pharmaceutical companies and researchers. India's vast and diverse patient population, cost-effective operational environment, and a large pool of skilled medical professionals contribute significantly to the market's growth. Additionally, increasing government support in streamlining regulations and the growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases further propel the clinical trials market.
Growing Prevalence of Lifestyle Diseases
The rising incidence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer is a major trend driving the clinical trials market in India. These conditions necessitate the development and testing of new treatment methods, creating a robust demand for clinical trials. The increasing burden of these diseases highlights the need for innovative therapies and underscores the importance of India as a key player in global clinical research.
Empowering ACOs: Leveraging Quality Management Tools for MIPS and BeyondHealth Catalyst
Join us as we delve into the crucial realm of quality reporting for MSSP (Medicare Shared Savings Program) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).
In this session, we will explore how a robust quality management solution can empower your organization to meet regulatory requirements and improve processes for MIPS reporting and internal quality programs. Learn how our MeasureAble application enables compliance and fosters continuous improvement.
The Importance of Community Nursing Care.pdfAD Healthcare
NDIS and Community 24/7 Nursing Care is a specific type of support that may be provided under the NDIS for individuals with complex medical needs who require ongoing nursing care in a community setting, such as their home or a supported accommodation facility.
R3 Stem Cells and Kidney Repair A New Horizon in Nephrology.pptxR3 Stem Cell
R3 Stem Cells and Kidney Repair: A New Horizon in Nephrology" explores groundbreaking advancements in the use of R3 stem cells for kidney disease treatment. This insightful piece delves into the potential of these cells to regenerate damaged kidney tissue, offering new hope for patients and reshaping the future of nephrology.
Global launch of the Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index 2nd wave – alongside...ILC- UK
The Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index is an online tool created by ILC that ranks countries on six metrics including, life span, health span, work span, income, environmental performance, and happiness. The Index helps us understand how well countries have adapted to longevity and inform decision makers on what must be done to maximise the economic benefits that comes with living well for longer.
Alongside the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva on 28 May 2024, we launched the second version of our Index, allowing us to track progress and give new insights into what needs to be done to keep populations healthier for longer.
The speakers included:
Professor Orazio Schillaci, Minister of Health, Italy
Dr Hans Groth, Chairman of the Board, World Demographic & Ageing Forum
Professor Ilona Kickbusch, Founder and Chair, Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute and co-chair, World Health Summit Council
Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director, Country Health Policies and Systems Division, World Health Organisation EURO
Dr Marta Lomazzi, Executive Manager, World Federation of Public Health Associations
Dr Shyam Bishen, Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Dr Karin Tegmark Wisell, Director General, Public Health Agency of Sweden
Defecation
Normal defecation begins with movement in the left colon, moving stool toward the anus. When stool reaches the rectum, the distention causes relaxation of the internal sphincter and an awareness of the need to defecate. At the time of defecation, the external sphincter relaxes, and abdominal muscles contract, increasing intrarectal pressure and forcing the stool out
The Valsalva maneuver exerts pressure to expel faeces through a voluntary contraction of the abdominal muscles while maintaining forced expiration against a closed airway. Patients with cardiovascular disease, glaucoma, increased intracranial pressure, or a new surgical wound are at greater risk for cardiac dysrhythmias and elevated blood pressure with the Valsalva maneuver and need to avoid straining to pass the stool.
Normal defecation is painless, resulting in passage of soft, formed stool
CONSTIPATION
Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. Improper diet, reduced fluid intake, lack of exercise, and certain medications can cause constipation. For example, patients receiving opiates for pain after surgery often require a stool softener or laxative to prevent constipation. The signs of constipation include infrequent bowel movements (less than every 3 days), difficulty passing stools, excessive straining, inability to defecate at will, and hard feaces
IMPACTION
Fecal impaction results from unrelieved constipation. It is a collection of hardened feces wedged in the rectum that a person cannot expel. In cases of severe impaction the mass extends up into the sigmoid colon.
DIARRHEA
Diarrhea is an increase in the number of stools and the passage of liquid, unformed feces. It is associated with disorders affecting digestion, absorption, and secretion in the GI tract. Intestinal contents pass through the small and large intestine too quickly to allow for the usual absorption of fluid and nutrients. Irritation within the colon results in increased mucus secretion. As a result, feces become watery, and the patient is unable to control the urge to defecate. Normally an anal bag is safe and effective in long-term treatment of patients with fecal incontinence at home, in hospice, or in the hospital. Fecal incontinence is expensive and a potentially dangerous condition in terms of contamination and risk of skin ulceration
HEMORRHOIDS
Hemorrhoids are dilated, engorged veins in the lining of the rectum. They are either external or internal.
FLATULENCE
As gas accumulates in the lumen of the intestines, the bowel wall stretches and distends (flatulence). It is a common cause of abdominal fullness, pain, and cramping. Normally intestinal gas escapes through the mouth (belching) or the anus (passing of flatus)
FECAL INCONTINENCE
Fecal incontinence is the inability to control passage of feces and gas from the anus. Incontinence harms a patient’s body image
PREPARATION AND GIVING OF LAXATIVESACCORDING TO POTTER AND PERRY,
An enema is the instillation of a solution into the rectum and sig
1. 1/4
Danger Zone: Teen Substance Use and Treatment
thesoberworld.com/2017/07/01/danger-zone-teen-summer-substance-use-and-treatment
Of summer, poet Darcy Cummings wrote of a “child leaving a walled school for the first
time, stumbling from cool hallways to a world dense with scent and sound”.
For many youth, a seasonal disconnect from the structured confines of formal education
offers a chance to explore passions via experiential learning through travel, internships,
jobs, summer camp and, well, just free time to hang out with friends.
It is that last option that may pose the most risk. Why? Free time, less supervision and the
potentially negative influence of peers can expose youth to more stress … and distress.
As Christopher Bell, then a rising high school senior, and I wrote in a piece published by
kidsinthehouse.com last July, “It’s true that for many young people the break from school
is a welcomed respite from self-reported stress induced by classes, homework and
extracurricular activities. Yet a significant number of adolescents who participated in a
study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) reported also feeling
stressed during the summer – and at levels higher than what even they believed to be
healthy”.
Unfortunately, just like many adults, adolescents may turn to alcohol and other drugs to
find relief, reflection or reaffirmation of connection to the potent peer group.
2. 2/4
Original research revealed in my book, Reality Gap: Alcohol, Drugs and Sex – What
Parents Don’t Know and Teens Aren’t Telling, details the ying and yang of peer dynamics
– making friends both the number one reason why kids make poor choices and the
number two reason they don’t.
What’s the takeaway?
Because teens (not parents) are the ones making choices in a season with, arguably, fewer
adult eyes on them, the “friendship factor” may be multiplied. In other words, whom your
children spend time with may very well dictate the decisions they make.
How can you help?
1. Communicate your expectations for behavior, maybe especially with regard to
substance use. Your children want to know what you expect from them and are more
likely to try to please you than not.
2. Enforce consequences for breaking family rules and parental trust. Kids generally want
to be held accountable for personal behavior.
3. Role-play responses to sticky situations. Just as for firefighters or football players,
practice prepares them to do the “right” thing with split-second timing.
4. Designate a code word they can use if they need help extracting themselves from a
difficult (and potentially dangerous) situation. Embarrassment is often a reason young
people don’t say no.
5. Create a social contract to sign with teens. When parent and child each have a stake in
the health and safety of each other, risk decreases.
And what if all that fails?
It is important that parents not underestimate the potential harm of substance use by
youth. There are compelling arguments against such use in statistics related to car crash
deaths and addiction. On that last topic, the news is mixed. Monitoring the Future (MTF),
an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school
students, college students and young adults, revealed in its 2016 report, “Teenagers’ use
of drugs, alcohol and tobacco declined significantly in 2016 at rates that are at their lowest
since the 1990s”.
That’s the good news.
The bad news can be found in the report’s caution that marijuana use remains high for
12th graders. With an ever-increasing amount of legalization of marijuana laws in states
across the country, this trend may be viewed as alarming …as are rates of addiction.
Heidi Heilman, President of the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance (MAPA) and founder
and Chief Executive Officer of Edventi, a company focusing on drug use and addiction
prevention and a collaborator at the Center for Adolescent Research and Education
(CARE), recently submitted testimony to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on
Marijuana Policy. In her written statement, she said, in part, “That marijuana is
hazardous to the health of young people is indisputable. The health literature on
marijuana use finds that using marijuana as an adolescent has a negative impact on both
physical and mental health. Longitudinal studies show that individuals who start around
3. 3/4
the age of 15 and continue to be regular and significant users into early adulthood suffer
memory loss, cognitive function impairment, diminished IQ, and lower educational
success rates.
Early users also suffer physically in terms of higher rates of respiratory diseases and
higher rates of certain cancers. Regular marijuana users can develop dependence on the
drug.”
For clarification and amplification on dependence and addiction, I turned to Carter
Barnhart, a CARE National Advisory Board member and national director of referral
relations at Newport Academy.
What is addiction?
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction as when people who use
drugs can’t stop taking a drug even if they want to. Teens who begin using substances
never plan to get addicted. They might use drugs because they like how it feels, or because
it dulls the pain and stress they’re experiencing, or because their peers are doing it and
they want to fit in. The problem is that drug use can quickly turn to drug dependence,
because drugs change the brain.
How can parents spot the warning signs that their child may be using/abusing
substances?
Signs of teen substance abuse include loss of interest in once favored activities; social
withdrawal; unexplained weight loss; secretive behavior; lack of focus; poor hygiene and
diminished personal appearance.
What options do parents have for treatment?
Treatment options include outpatient and day treatment, hospitalization, and residential
programs. Outpatient and day treatment programs provide varying levels of intensity and
time commitment as the teen lives at home, while residential programs provide a safe,
healing environment for recovery. An expert assessment is critical, as it can determine
which type of treatment a teen needs in order to have the best chance of avoiding relapse.
How can parents motivate a child to agree to treatment?
It’s not always possible to motivate your child to agree to treatment. Denial is often part of
substance use. It’s important to speak to him or her calmly, with compassion and clarity.
Explain that your decision to get her help is an act of love on your part, not of anger or
rejection. It might be useful to ask your child how he envisions life unfolding and how
drugs might affect life goals.
Good advice during the fun, free days of summer is that closer parental oversight might be
necessary to keep kids safe and out of the danger zone.
Stephen Gray Wallace is President and Director of the Center for
Adolescent Research and Education (CARE), a national collaborative
of institutions and organizations committed to increasing positive
youth outcomes and reducing negative risk behaviors. He has broad
experience as a school psychologist, adolescent/family counselor
4. 4/4
and college professor. He currently serves as director of counseling
and counselor training at Cape Cod Sea Camps, a member of the
professional development faculty at the American Academy of Family
Physicians and the American Camp Association and a parenting
expert at kidsinthehouse.com, NBCUniversal’s parenttoolkit.com
and TeenSafe. Stephen is also an expert partner at RANE (Risk
Assistance Network & Exchange). For additional information about
Stephen’s work, please visit StephenGrayWallace.com.