To effectively treat adolescent drug use, counselors have to have a structured model to follow.

When working with adolescent or young adult drug users, the order of process is as follows: Chemical Use Assessment, Feelings Assessment, Relapse Prevention Assessment, Behavior Change Assessment, Pre-discharge Review and On Going Recovery Plan.

Chemical Use Assessment: During the 4 – 6 week chemical use assessment, we are working with the drug-using teen to help them explore the negative consequences of their drug use.

Here we are exploring how they have experienced negative consequences in School, Work, Family, Friendships, Finances, Legal, Health, Safety, Motivation, Values and any areas of their life.

This information is not only processed with the user, but with the parents in a family session as well. During the family session, the parents listen to their child as s/he shares exactly how their life has been affected by their drug use.

During the same session, the parents also share how they have seen consequences in their child’s life because of drug use and their feelings about it.

We have found that this is an important process for decreasing denial in drug using – teens. After the child has been staying drug free and this process is complete we then move on to the

Feelings Assessment: During this process, we are helping the drug free adolescent, young adult, or adult recover their emotional health. At first, it is simply helping them to acquire a feelings vocabulary.

When they are able to distinguish the hurt, pain, sadness, anger, joy, peacefulness and other feelings with appropriate identification, we then help them to find appropriate ways to express them.

This is process is important because it is where the teen is learning the skills to express emotions in a healthy way so that they do not need to hide from them with drugs.

Relapse Prevention Assessment: During this process, we are helping the recovering person to identify the people, places, things and feelings that might trigger them to want to use drugs again.

We also help them to identify relapse warning signs in their behavior. Then we use all of this information to help the them see how these things can be avoided or dealt with appropriately.

This is a very important piece of the therapeutic process, because this is where the recovering person is learning new skills for dealing with the temptation to use drugs.

Behavior Change Assessment: By this time in the treatment program, the parents, the recovering person and the counselor have seen behavior change. Though, this process is where the recovering person is examining what behaviors still need changing. With that information a plan is developed and the client is working with his counselor to make the needed behavior changes possible.

Predischarge Review: Here the counselor, the recovering person, and the family are examining all that has been accomplished and determining what issues might still need to be addressed. Then a treatment plan is developed to address those issues with the counselor before discharge.

On Going Recovery Plan: This is when the client is discharged after successfully completing the program and an on going plan of support for recovery is developed and implemented.