Beating Addiction: Help for Teen Girls
Meghan Vivo--An Interview with Laurie Wilmot
Drug and alcohol addiction doesn't discriminate - it affects men, women, teens, adults, and people of all races and backgrounds. Teenagers, and particularly teenage girls, are especially vulnerable to the physical and psychological effects of substance abuse as their brains and bodies are continually developing. At an age when most kids are breaking away from their parents, exploring their career interests, and establishing lifelong bonds with friends and partners, teens who are addicted to drugs or alcohol face an entirely different challenge just to get back to normal adolescent life.
Girls Experience Addiction Differently
The number of teenage girls abusing drugs and alcohol has steadily risen in the past decade. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that "girls ages 12 to 17 now match boys in illegal drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in smoking cigarettes and misusing prescription drugs."
Between work, school, friends, family, boyfriends, and the popular media, girls are under tremendous stress and pressure. Teenage girls who are addicted to drugs or alcohol face unique challenges to their self-confidence, sense of personal power, and ability to process emotional issues. Girls tend to be more sensitive to family conflicts, and thus crave a stable social support network. They also tend to develop addictions more easily and are more prone to depression than their male counterparts.
Because the female physiology is different, women tend to develop alcohol-related health problems like cancer, cardiac complications, and mental disorders faster than young men do, according to the American Medical Association. And because substance abuse often goes hand in hand with risky sexual behavior, warns the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, teen girls are more likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease or become pregnant.
Components of an Effective Recovery
Because each person faces different physical and emotional challenges, different forms of treatment are effective for different people. Teenage girls who are struggling with substance abuse often start the recovery process in a residential treatment facility, therapeutic boarding school, or wilderness therapy program.
SageWalk the Wilderness School offers licensed wilderness programs for teens aged 13 to 17 who are struggling with depression, substance abuse, attention deficit, anger management, and related issues. Laurie Wilmot, LCSW, a therapist at SageWalk, points to the following as some of the most important components of a girls' substance abuse recovery program:
Traditional Substance Abuse Treatment
Most teens in wilderness therapy and related programs are new to the recovery process. At SageWalk, teens are first introduced to the 12-step philosophy, literature from Narcotics Anonymous, and regular NA meetings in the wilderness.
As teens become familiar with the emotional triggers for use and the stages of recovery, they begin processing the issues that led them to abuse drugs and alcohol in the first place. To facilitate this process, students in SageWalk's recovery groups receive therapy at all different levels - they do processing work two days a week with their primary therapist, addiction counseling three days a week with their alcohol and drug counselor, and continuous educational lessons with the wilderness field staff.
"The chances of a successful recovery improve drastically when a wide range of therapeutic services are available to each teen," says Wilmot. "At SageWalk, all of the counselors reinforce each other so that each student hears the same message from a variety of sources. Over time, they begin to realize their substance abuse is out of control and accept the need for change."
Specialized Groups
Girls attending SageWalk receive highly specialized treatment for their drug and alcohol issues. The program divides girls with substance abuse problems into two groups: one for heavier users who exhibit more acute chemical dependency issues, and another for younger girls who primarily struggle with behavioral issues like defiance, low self-esteem, or depression, but may be experimenting with drugs and alcohol as a symptom of their underlying disorder.
"Subdividing girls into groups makes wilderness therapy a more effective intervention for all of our students," says Wilmot. "By separating the heavier users from the lighter users we can make sure the girls are interacting with peers who face problems of a similar nature and degree. This minimizes the sharing of negative learned behaviors and takes some pressure off the younger girls to 'fit in' and be 'cool.' In these specialized groups, the field instructors can focus on each student individually without having to divert their attention to girls with more pressing issues."
Addressing the Core Issues
Under the guidance of a certified alcohol and drug counselor, the students explore why they use, the negative consequences of use, and the issues underlying their chemical dependency.
"Many of our students are using a wide range of substances - meth, heroin, marijuana, Oxycontin, DXM, and cocaine, to name a few - to self-medicate and avoid dealing with their underlying self-esteem, depression, or trauma issues," Wilmot explains. "Our substance abuse counselors take the focus away from the shame of abusing drugs, and redirect it to acknowledging the intensity of the problem and understanding how drugs and alcohol have affected the students' lives."
Why Wilderness
The wilderness setting is an ideal place for teens to confront their issues with drug and alcohol addiction. They are far removed from their friends, their source of drugs, and the culture of drug abuse they created at home, and are closely supervised 24 hours a day. By staying active, eating right, and avoiding drugs and alcohol, students experience a natural detoxification process and get a head start on recovery.
"In the wilderness, it's clean and sober time," says Wilmot. "There are no supermarkets, drug stores, medicine cabinets, or drug dealers to turn to in times of desperation. Here, we have their full attention - and they have no choice but to address the real issues."
Source: Aspen Education Group
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