NAPERVILLE CLINICAL SERVICES OFFERS INDIVIDUALIZED POST DRUG REHAB SERVICES
03/02/2011
Sarah Weithers specializes in providing behavioral therapy treatment to teenagers trying to stay off drugs or alcohol.
Behavioral treatment after rehab imperative for teens who want to kick drug habit
“Just say no” may be a nice-sounding mantra, but it isn’t enough to motivate teenagers to stop using illicit drugs and alcohol. And if an adolescent has a serious substance abuse problem, receiving rehabilitation treatment may not be enough to keep a teen clean and sober, say the experts. And that’s where Sarah Weithers comes in.
Weithers, LCPC, CADC, is a licensed clinical professional counselor and certified alcohol and other drug counselor with Naperville Clinical Services—a group practice in Naperville dedicated to providing high quality therapy to individuals, couples and families throughout the western suburbs. She provides behavioral treatment and counseling to many adolescents who have finished a rehab program. And she can tell you that the teenage substance abuse crisis in America is getting worse, based on the latest statistics.
For starters, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study data collected in 2009 indicates that use of any illicit drug has slightly increased across adolescent age groups, with nearly 20 percent of eighth graders (up from 19 percent in 2007), 36 percent of 10th graders (up from 34 percent in 2008), and nearly 47 percent of 12th graders reporting they used an illicit drug at some time in their lives. Startlingly, a 2005 Partnership for a Drug-Free America study determined that about 20 percent of teens in middle and high school have abused prescription drugs. And in 2008, an estimated 20.1 million Americans ages 12 or older (8.0%) were current (past-month) illicit drug users, according to SAMHSA).
“Teens face immense peer pressure to fit in and earn a reputation or status,” Weithers said. “Taking drugs and drinking alcohol are ways for them to demonstrate that they’re cool, dangerous, rebellious and accepting of their friends who partake in these substances. Pretty soon, experimentation leads to regular use or abuse, resulting in physical and mental dependency.”
Based on a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study conducted in 2008, among children aged 12 to 17, the types of drugs used in the past month varied by age group. Among 12- to 13-year-olds, 1.5 percent nonmedically used prescription-type drugs such as Percocet, xanax and oxycontin, 1.2 percent used inhalants (huffing aerosols), and 1 used marijuana. Among 14- to 15-year-olds, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit substance (5.7 percent), followed by prescription-type drugs used nonmedically (3 percent), inhalants (1.3 percent), and hallucinogens (1.0 percent). Additionally, marijuana was the most commonly used drug among 16- to 17-year olds (12.7 percent); next came prescription-type drugs used nonmedically (4 percent), hallucinogens (1.6 percent), cocaine (0.7 percent), and inhalants (0.7 percent).
Closer to home, approximately 30 percent of eighth graders, 45 percent of 10th graders and 53 percent of 12th graders in Illinois have used illicit drugs as of 2003, per SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health., and an estimated 117,000 of the illicit drug users in Illinois were between the ages of 12 to 17 years old.
“The bad news is that there are more inducements and triggers today. Drugs and alcohol are becoming more readily available and accessible, and kids are pushed at earlier ages to start trying them,” said Weithers. “But the good news is that there are more treatment centers and options out there for teenagers today than ever before.”
Sadly, however, Drugfree.org reports that only 10 percent of the estimated 1.4 million teens with substance abuse problems actually receive treatment. And according to the NIDA, 40 to 60 percent of drug-addicted patients suffer a relapse after treatment.
“Most of the teen patients I see for drug behavioral therapy are referred as a condition of completing their treatment program,” said Weithers. “By the time they get to me, they have usually just finished an intensive outpatient program that can last a few weeks or an inpatient rehabilitation program that can span from 30 to 90 days. But while they may have detoxed and sobered up, they still need to get in touch with the root causes of their problem and learn ways to maintain their sobriety. That’s where I can help. Those who make it this far stand a much better chance of not suffering relapses. But without good post-rehab therapy, the odds are that they may slip back into drug or alcohol use.”
By engaging in one-on-one talk therapy with her adolescent patients, Weithers challenges each to discuss the circumstances that led to the drug use and the thought processes behind their behaviors. Together, they examine the temptations that trigger drug use, including the friends involved, places where the drug was used, preferred times of day, and feelings they had before, during and after taking the substance.
“Teenagers are a difficult age group because they think they know it all and they often don’t want to listen to or trust adults,” said Mary Plonis, M.Ed, Psy.D., licensed clinical psychologist and director of Naperville Clinical Services. For them to succeed in the kind of post-rehab treatment we offer, they have to stay motivated. We cannot force these adolescent patients to come back to see us—they have to do so of their own free will.”
To keep them on the straight and narrow, Weithers continues to stress to her youth patients the importance of setting realistic goals and acknowledging the consequences of returning to old bad habits.
“Also, to better ensure success, it’s vital that the parents are actively involved in the treatment and lifestyle changes needed,” she said. “Behavioral therapy following drug inpatient or outpatient treatment can be very effective, but it takes a strong commitment from all the family members and a good network of support for the teen involved.”
Naperville Clinical Services specializes in working with individuals, couples and families and offers a wide assortment of treatment options, among them:
• Anger management
• Anxiety
• Child/adolescent counseling
• Family therapy
• Grief therapy
• Group counseling
• Hypnosis
• Infertility treatment
• Marital therapy
• Medical evaluations and testing
• Parental counseling
• Pregnancy counseling
• Improving school performance
• Improving sports performance
Phone (630) 409-9700 to learn more about the post drug rehab behavioral therapy or any programs or treatments offered by Naperville Clinical Services, located conveniently next to Neuqua Valley High School, at 2272 W. 95th St., Suite 115, Naperville, Ill. 60564. For more information about the practice, visit www.NapervilleClinicalServices.com.
