ADOLESCENT ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT: GETTING ADOLESCENTS INTO TREATMENT

Although occasionally adolescents will spontaneously request treatment, more often they come to treatment under some duress. In working with them it is important to make it clear that your task is to help them, and that you are not an agent of their parents, of the law, or of the school system. At the same time, part of helping them may involve an intervention, which entails confrontation, and, as was mentioned earlier, total confidentiality cannot be assured.In dealing with adolescents, the importance of working with the family cannot be overemphasized. The parents need to deal with their child’s alcohol/substance abuse. And they must consider their behaviors which may have protected, covered up, or excused the problem. When it is clear that there is a significant problem, and all efforts to involve the adolescent in treatment have failed, the parents may need to seek legal help. Most states allow for parents to request state assistance if they feel they cannot enforce safe limits for their child. Although this is a very drastic and difficult step to take, it can be important when alcohol-abusing adolescents are acting in ways that endanger their lives. Probation can also be a way of mandating treatment for adolescents, but again this only works if the parents can stop protecting the adolescent from the consequences of his behavior.*152\331\2*

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