The complex web of criminal justice involvement and mental health concerns accompanying impulsive teen behavior is often overwhelming. The proper treatment approach for teens should be evidence-based and supported through quality research.
We’ll help you understand why teen rehab centers are essential and the practical, research-based approaches they use to help teens transition into adulthood.
Treatment Options
Before discussing each of the methods a teen rehab program uses, it’s important first to understand that not all treatment options are the same. For example, a teenager with a criminal record may require different treatment than a teen with a mental health diagnosis.
Some models used for adults are also effective when dealing with teenagers, but often, professionals shift the focal point of treatment methods to help address harmful behavior. They also work to help teens reckon with the changes they may be experiencing as they transition into adulthood.
To this effect, substance abuse treatment providers, mental health professionals, and medical professionals may all collaborate under the broader umbrella of a teen rehabilitation program. Rehabilitation in both adults and teens is a holistic approach, teaching the patient to identify negative patterns and, eventually, self-correct them as part of a transformation into positive habits. Achieving this broad goal is often a complex and lengthy process involving three main steps: diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.
Effective Teen Rehabilitation Methods
Motivational Interviewing
The notion that teens are still trying to “find themselves” has become trivialized and dichotomized to the extreme. On the one hand, onlookers might posit that teens need to “grow up and live in the real world.” On the other, authority figures may be lax to the point of apathy, arguing that “they’re just kids” and should receive little responsibility, if any.
Neither attitude is helpful, and as teenagers experience the whirlwind of emotions and physical changes associated with puberty, they may start to engage in risky or self-harming behaviors due to strong emotional turmoil, peer pressure, or mental health concerns.
Motivational Interviewing intends to help young people who struggle with their personal identity, allowing them to express their feelings and healthily interact with them. Self-efficacy is vital to modifying behaviors; after all, if an affected teen believes they have little or no control over their thoughts or impulses, then they will not be motivated to modify those behaviors. Therapists use this methodology to address that fallacy, teaching teens that they can indeed impact and change their behaviors.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Similarly, cognitive behavioral therapy is used for teens and adults to help them identify negative thought patterns that may lead to addiction. Counselors, psychologists, and mental health social workers can help the teen identify triggers that may lead to substance abuse or risky behavior, remove themselves from dangerous situations, and transform those thoughts into healthier ones.
Of course, doing so can be a painfully slow process; undoing trauma, substance abuse, or addiction is never easy. Sometimes, a licensed mental health or substance abuse professional may recommend psychiatric-prescribed medication to alleviate symptoms the teen may be experiencing or gear towards a better state of mind.
The teen may go through private individual therapy sessions with their counselor, but the family is often involved in the process; after all, when a teen’s behavior necessitates rehabilitation, the family itself may need healing, closure, and stability moving forward.
Adolescents may also participate in group therapy sessions where other teens can share their feelings in a safe space. Sometimes, former rehabilitation graduates or people who have struggled with substance abuse in the past may participate or be guest speakers at therapy, allowing the teen to receive first-hand wisdom from someone who can be truly empathetic to their struggle.
Exercise and Active Learning
Of course, teen rehabilitation methods aren’t just endless therapy sessions. Substance abuse or addiction can lead to a wide range of adverse physiological effects, leaving the body and the mind in a constant downward spiral. Often, hearty exercise and active learning can significantly improve a troubled teen’s state of mind.
Wellness of mind often necessitates wellness of the body; indeed, there is a myriad of positive psychological effects of exercise, and investing time in oneself to build enduring fitness is a good step forward for many teens struggling to manage their health. With technology such as bike desks, physical fitness aspects can also be brought merged with clinical forms of therapy such as talk therapy.
Similarly, teens are encouraged to participate in experiential therapies such as art or music. The activity itself is less important than its core notion: teens can express themselves through a healthy medium. This provides opportunities to create something unique that fits their personalities and can help teens find positive hobbies that can occupy them and distract them from unpleasant thoughts and ideas.
Instead of feeling as though their emotions and expressions are stagnating, teens can learn, grow, and self-invest through these mediums, allowing them to benefit throughout treatment and, hopefully, pick up on a talent they never knew they had.
Responsibility Practice
Teen rehab centers often operate on a rigorous schedule. Discipline is critical to teaching teens to respect authority figures—and their peers, for that matter; however, discipline eventually gives way to trust. Over time, teens are entrusted with growing responsibilities and may even co-lead some of the activities available at the rehab center.
Responsibility is a key marker of adulthood and an extremely important skill to learn. After all, the goal of rehabilitation, by definition, is to help the affected individual return to normalcy over time. One example of responsibility is equine therapy, in which teens tend to horses throughout their stay. Doing so promotes values of humility, patience, accountability, and self-esteem. There are also positive recorded psychological effects when working with animals.
The Bottom Line
Teen rehabilitation is a complicated and often long-winded process to help teens recover from substance abuse, mental health disorders, or risky behaviors. Therapists use varied methods to this effect, all of them strongly supported by research.
Regardless of the individual’s struggle, the goal is to help them identify negative thought patterns and behaviors, transform them into more positive ones, and consolidate good habits and skills that are beneficial to the body and mind.