Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Facility Question and Answers

drug rehab for 18 yr old????

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psy:
I disagree with the above.  First off, if you force, bribe, or otherwise coerce him into "treatment", it'll fail because he will resist.  Secondly, if you force a person to admit they have a "problem" when they may very well not (just be depressed, for example), you're going to be left with a kid who, for all intents and purposes, will have a problem since he will view himself as an "addict" and act accordingly whether or not that was true to begin with (self fulfilling prophecy).  Often times, drug usage is an effect, rather than a cause in itself.  AA and NA don't treat the root cause of an addiction, rather they concede defeat and say one must admit powerlessness over the substance and take things one day at a time.  The results of this are disastrous.  In a controlled study (Brandsma et. al.) on AA, there were three control groups of court mandated offenders (i.e. forced, like your kid would be).  One group went to AA.  One group had rational behavior therapy (similar to Rational Recovery) and one group had no treatment at all.  The AA group did NINE TIMES as much binge drinking as the RBT group and FIVE TIMES binge drinking as the group who had no recovery "treatment" of any sort at all.  This is hardly the only study on AA/NA.  For more on AA's effectiveness, either check out this chapter in this book. (link) or, this page (link).  It's popular because it's cheap and free and it's adherents follow and spread it with a religious fervor (Courts have found it to be a religion, techincally).  Twelve step is not, however, based on either science or common sense.

I also disagree with the above stuff regarding wilderness.  There are no and have never been any studies showing wilderness "therapy" works other than to give parents a romantic feeling that somehow some indian "teen whisperer" is going to magically turn your son into who you want him to be.  It's as absurd as it sounds, but sells well since it's what parents desire.  More or less, they just want your money, and there is a lot of money in the forced "treatment" industry.  Please keep that in mind at all times.  There is no need for your son to "detox" unless that is exactly what he wants and requests on his own without pressure or coercion.  It's his choice, and you'll do more harm than good by forcing it.

Again, I can't emphasize enough: resist the impulse to try and control your son.  Has it worked so far?  Have you tried?  Do you really think anybody can force long lasting change on another?  Sure, programs can use tried and true thought reform techniques (brainwashing) to provide temporary results similar to those in Chinese re-education groups (probably not what you think, if you've done research into it), but those "results" are only as long lasting as the kid remains inside the controlled milieu (it will, however leave scars for life).  Even if permanent forced change were possible, again, it wouldn't be ethical.  Your son, as a human being, deserves the right to choose his own path, whether that be sober or not.  Offer to pay for an apartment for a few months, give him some cash to settle down, and set him on his way.  He'll survive.  If he fails, chances are the only way he'll learn is by doing just that.

Anonymous:

--- Quote from: "P. Numien" ---As the bald guy on telly also states: "You can only change what you acknowledge as a problem".
--- End quote ---

The bald guy on the telly (Dr. Phil) is a LifeSpring devotee who runs his own Lifespring clone LGATs (Pathways).  He is also not a doctor.  Dr Phil is to psychology as televangelism is to religion (all about the money, ratings, power, and little about helping people or substance).

Anonymous:
To psy:

I did write that he has to state that he has a problem before anything can start.

As for the wilderness. I have seen people detoxing in a super luxus cabin with spa, sauna etc. Maybe it is enough for some, but other just need the hike because there is only so much to do in a cabin.

I have even had people detoxing at home in their own appartment on their own without any support, but this mother doesn't know whether her son owns money so some drug lord who will give him some manicure by chopping some of his fingers off as they do here in Finland.

Those I have helped have benefitted by taking some time off from their daily life. They came to me, they got help, I dont know how much they use or of what reason they became user unless they like to tell me. It is not my business to know anything about them. I am not judging people. Everybody can loose control in a globalized world where none stops to take a breath of fresh air. Drug- and alcohol abuse is not a serious matter. They are symptoms of stress, depression or an old too heavy mental backpack, because people havn't learn how to dump all those bumps everybody runs into during life. Of course their can be severe cases, where people hear voices or cut themselves for more than mental haemorrhage. For those more severe cases, we have hospitals for that where they can be treated with the respect they deserve.

As for the AA/NA. Acknowledge that your country is not as developed as the nordic countries where the government offers group therapy for former drugs user WITHOUT RAP. Our heathcare system are over that stage where you have make group therapy something dramatic. Of course a tear can drop whenever the issues debated are hard, but none are pushing people to put something on the table angainst their will.

Being on a third world standard regarding drug treatment, what can you offer?

To Guest: Yes. The ball guy is "Doctor" phil. That's why I never use his name. His doctor title is fake. But if he let the teenagers he ships off to various hellholes, a little slack and actually used what he states, they wouldn't go anywhere. I have seen none - absolutely none - of those teenagers acknowledging that they had a problem before they were detained. I know - based on people in difficult situations during my life - that this statement is correct. So why doesn't he use it?

Anonymous:
Volunteer medical based drug rehab is not the same as coercive adolescent behavior mod programs. There are some similarities, but grouping them all together as the same is dishonest. The kid is 18, so you cannot force them into treatment, it's up to them whether they want help or not.

As I see it you have three options:
1. Don't do anything. Wait and hope he grows out of it and things get better. He can always get his GED and start college in a year, or two, or five.
2. Tell the kid they either have to go to drug rehab, or they are kicked out in 30 days. That will give them time to consider their options, and figure out where to live if they choose not to receive treatment.
3. Kick them out immediately, and hope for the best. This is the classic "tough love" approach. Depending on how "tough" you want to be, you could call the cops on them and report the thefts and drug use. I wouldn't suggest that, but it is an option.

I would probably choose option #2. Even if you are bluffing about kicking them out, at least it will get them thinking about the idea of getting help, you can plant the seed and hopefully it will grow into a realization that drug abuse and stealing from family is not the sort of person they want to be.
You probably are not going to receive names of specific drug rehab facilities here, since the forum focuses on adolescents for the most part. Medical based drug rehab that uses a combination of psychology, psychiatry, and AA/NA are widely available for people of any economic means. Google is a good source for finding local facilities. The worries you have from reading this forum are more applicable to programs that deal with minors. If your kid feels they are being harassed in treatment, they can simply leave and call you and explain what happened. Drug rehabs usually allow daily visiting, and uncensored phone calls, so you don't have to worry about that. You can see him daily if you choose to.
As to the strange post talking about taking a camping trip, ignore that. This is the same ideology and methodology employed by wilderness programs, and is little more than a glorified vacation. There is already a system that exists to treat drug abuse, there is no good reason to dismiss it. Try your local hospital and see if they have a 30 day rehab, medical insurance should cover it.

Guest

psy:

--- Quote from: "P. Numien" ---To psy:

I did write that he has to state that he has a problem before anything can start.
--- End quote ---

Never said you did.  But have you ever known a program to let a person progress without admitting to a "problem"?  So maybe I think you're a communist.  Never mind defending yourself, you are.  I know it because everybody from Finland is a commie!  I know it because I was once a commie and a commie knows a commie!  A dirty commie socialist, just like "that one" in the white house!  And I'm going to send you off to a re-education camp within which you will not progress until you admit you are a dirty commie.  Maybe after a while you might actually start to believe you were a communist.  Maybe after the re-education you would start to hook up with other "communists" because they told you that you were one and you naturally associate with those who you believe you will fit.  You get where I am going with this?  Most programs in the US don't help people to admit they have a problem.  The force them.  They more or less say  "you will not leave here until you admit you have a problem and furthermore you will DIE on the outside if you do not submit to this program!"  Problem is, not everybody who uses drugs has a drug problem.  Sometimes it's just a phase, or caused by depression, or any number of factors.

Explain the AA study I quoted in the previous post.  how did that happen?  In my opinion, the reason more binge drink in AA as opposed to on their own is because they come to believe that they are weaker and more messed up than they actually are (in fact, they're encouraged to come to that conclusion).  When a person might recover on their own, to send them into an environment where they very likely might do worse is irresponsible.


--- Quote ---but this mother doesn't know whether her son owns money so some drug lord who will give him some manicure by chopping some of his fingers off as they do here in Finland.
--- End quote ---

Well, then that is the kid's problem.  If the kid is smart, he'll stay away from those kind of folk, but ultimately, it's his life to live and his mistakes to make.  The least the mother can do is give him a chance on his own at success without other influences to try to "change" him to what the thinks he should be.


--- Quote ---Those I have helped have benefitted by taking some time off from their daily life. They came to me, they got help, I dont know how much they use or of what reason they became user unless they like to tell me. It is not my business to know anything about them. I am not judging people. Everybody can loose control in a globalized world where none stops to take a breath of fresh air. Drug- and alcohol abuse is not a serious matter. They are symptoms of stress, depression or an old too heavy mental backpack, because people havn't learn how to dump all those bumps everybody runs into during life.
--- End quote ---

Well, i'm glad you acknowledge that.  It's far more effective to treat the route cause than a symptom.


--- Quote ---Of course their can be severe cases, where people hear voices or cut themselves for more than mental haemorrhage. For those more severe cases, we have hospitals for that where they can be treated with the respect they deserve.

As for the AA/NA. Acknowledge that your country is not as developed as the nordic countries where the government offers group therapy for former drugs user WITHOUT RAP.
--- End quote ---

note to parent: RAP refers to a form of attack therapy practiced in many US programs.

I freely acknowledge that.  The system in the United States is messed.  You don't have to tell me that.  That being said, you're only proving my point: in Finland, drug treatment might be a little bit different than it is in the United States.  You might know what works there, on Fins, but what works and does not work here is a different story.


--- Quote ---Our heathcare system are over that stage where you have make group therapy something dramatic. Of course a tear can drop whenever the issues debated are hard, but none are pushing people to put something on the table angainst their will.

Being on a third world standard regarding drug treatment
--- End quote ---

HAH!  That may be, but you live in a nanny state.


--- Quote ---what can you offer?

To Guest: Yes. The ball guy is "Doctor" phil. That's why I never use his name. His doctor title is fake. But if he let the teenagers he ships off to various hellholes, a little slack and actually used what he states, they wouldn't go anywhere. I have seen none - absolutely none - of those teenagers acknowledging that they had a problem before they were detained. I know - based on people in difficult situations during my life - that this statement is correct. So why doesn't he use it?
--- End quote ---

It's almost as if you are justifying detaining teens just to get confessions out of them.  The ends justify the means, right?

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