Adolescent Substance Abuse
Posted on Aug 20, 2021 at 0:00 AM
All youth experience social determinants of health, or conditions in which they are born, grow, and live. These conditions create a set of protective factors that decrease the likelihood and risk factors that increase the likelihood for engaging in risky substance use. Each youth has a set of protective and/or risk factors unique to their personal circumstances. These circumstances are like a pot of water on a stove, where each risk factor turns up the heat, making it more likely for the pot to boil over, and for the youth to engage in risky substance use. Some examples of risk factors include economic instability, limited access to healthcare, and having a parent with a substance use disorder.
When adolescents experiment with alcohol and other drugs, it can heat up and boil over into a bigger problem. By creating environments that keep the heat down for adolescents, we can prevent substance use from boiling over into a bigger problem.
Adolescence represents both a critical at-risk period for substance use initiation as well as an opportune time to intervene and prevent behaviors from developing into more acute health problems. Not all adolescents who experiment with drugs and alcohol will develop a substance use disorder; however, all psychoactive substances have negative effects on the still-developing adolescent brain. Substance use in youth has been shown to contribute to academic underachievement, interruption of the natural course of brain maturation, and is a predictor of substance use disorders in adulthood.
PROJECT CHANGE CLUBHOUSE is a co-ed program for individual between the ages of 13 and 17 that have an active substance abuse diagnosis. Project Change Clubhouse is a safe space for teens to learn how to be drug-free. There is no other recovery program for teens like the Clubhouse Model. Empowerment, companionship, and maintaining one’s balance in life are just a few of the Clubhouse benefits.
Is your teen drinking alcohol and/or using drugs? Could there be mental health issues that need to be addressed? Project Change Clubhouse may be just what you need. A supportive program providing a comprehensive range of services for adolescents and their families who are experiencing the progressive disease of substance abuse. We provide individual, group and family counseling as well as employment services, education assistance & drug-free recreational activities.
The first step is to call (706) 569-0727 for an Intake Appointment. An assessment by one of our clinicians determines your eligibility. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.
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