When parents are trying to manage a drug-addicted teen, it can be a very difficult emotional experience. Many get desperate and turn to boot camps to help their teens. This is a major mistake, as boot camps are not as effective as it would seem. Instead, they should turn to the similar, but less extreme, adventure therapy method.
Boot Camps Are Dangerous
While boot camps were once considered an effective way of helping troubled teens get off of drugs and straighten out their behavior, they are now seen by many as dangerous. The behavior in these camps often becomes abusive as teens are pushed hard to succeed. In many instances, teens can be physically hurt or even killed due to these situations. Even worse, boot camps don't work.
As a result, rehabilitation experts that liked the idea of placing the teens in an immersive environment looked for a way to create a non-abusive variant. What they came up with is adventure therapy, a drug rehab method that is becoming an increasingly popular option for many across the nation.
What Is Adventure Therapy?
When a teen is involved in an adventure therapy rehabilitation experience, they are removed from negative social situations and away from drugs. They won't be able to contact their dealer or people whom they used with in the past. Instead they are placed in an environment where they will learn new survival skills while receiving rehabilitation treatment.
This includes managing withdrawal problems, psychologically examining them, finding behavioral-adjustment techniques, and experiencing group and even family therapy. The idea is to place them in a challenging environment, but one that actually supports who they are as a person in a positive and constructive way.
Adventure Therapy Is Effective
Studies of adventure therapy have come to a very similar conclusion: it works. Obviously, the effectiveness will depend on how willing the teen is to engage with the program. Those who are simply going to avoid jail time may not succeed. However, those who are serious about adjustment are likely to get the help they need to recover.
For example, one study of a typical adventure therapy program found that "Thus far, the program has proved effective" in identifying the source of teenage addiction and helping them beat it. Spending time in this program provided them with the care they needed to recover and the focus necessary to beat their addiction for good.
Any parent who is looking for a drug rehabilitation treatment option that will transform their teenager's life should investigate adventure therapy. It may be just what their child needs to recover for good.
Share27 January 2017
One day I was playing a game of basketball with a friend, and the friend I was playing ball with tripped and took a hard fall to the ground. He hit his head hard, but he insisted he was okay and just wanted to go home and take a nap. I knew in my heart that he was not thinking clearly, and I didn't feel right letting him go home. I talked him into letting me take him to the hospital, and after some tests, it was determined he had a bad concussion. The doctors told me that if I had let him go home and sleep, things could have taken a turn for the worse. I created this blog to remind everyone to look out for each other after injuries. Not everyone thinks clearly after a head injury, and just being a good friend could save a life.