Getting Help

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Codependents Anonymous…If you’re a teen who has struggled or is struggling with alcohol addiction, drug abuse, or other mental health issues, you’ve probably heard of the 12-step approach to recovery. These mutual-help groups, as they’re known, operate under a set of 12 guidelines that encourage self-searching humility, faith, and honesty as methods to achieve abstinence. These peer-led groups have regular meetings, usually on a weekly basis,

So, you just heard you need treatment at a teen mental health or addiction treatment center. Your first thought is No…No way. That’s understandable. Maybe you don’t think you need treatment. Maybe you can’t imagine your life being any better, or don’t think going for treatment will even help. Perhaps you’re embarrassed of the “stigma” around mental-health treatment centers, and are worried about what your friends or neighbors will think.

Let’s recap the first two installments of this blog series on what to expect when you’re heading to a residential treatment center to address a mental health issue such as an alcohol use disorder, a substance use disorder, or an emotional disorder: Part One gave the you the heads up that the biggest thing that’s going to happen is you’re going to change the way you think about rehab (you’ll

Part One of this blog covered something not too many teenagers realize before going into rehab: the biggest thing to expect is that you’re going to change the way you think. You’re going to change the way you think about rehab itself – you’ll end up calling it treatment – and you’re going to change the way you view yourself, your family, and the world. In an ideal scenario, all

Countless questions spin around in your mind before you go to rehab. You’re curious about details about where you’ll sleep, whether the food will be good or bad, and what the other teenagers are going to be like. They’re all related to the big one: what should I expect? That really is the million-dollar question. At first glance, it seems like it should be an easy one to answer. And