Drug or Alcohol Abuse

What is Drug Abuse? Drug Abuse is the improper or excessive use or misuse of a substance. It is portrayed by a destructive pattern that affects daily living and causes problems at home, school, work, with friends, with the law, etc.

General Signs and Symptoms of Drug Abuse

• Sudden change in behavior
• Withdrawal from the family
• Lying
• Changes in sleep pattern; awake for long periods of time or excessive sleepiness
• Change in appetite
• Mood swings; angry and then suddenly happy
• Personal hygiene is less important
• Loss of interest in favorite activities
• Bloodshot or glassy eyes
• Runny nose or nose bleeds
• Unexplained need for money; stealing
• Discoloration of fingertips or teeth
• Having items related to drug use: matches, pill bottles, rolling papers, pipe, syringes or needles
• Engaging in risky behaviors

Teens use drugs for a variety of reasons: curiosity, peer pressure, experimenting, to feel good, to mask feelings of loneliness, to enhance physical or mental performance, reduce stress or depression. Drug use or abuse does not necessarily lead to addiction; however, there are risk factors that attribute to the likelihood of a drug user developing an addiction.

Diagnosing drug abuse includes one or more of the following occurring in a 12-month period

• Use resulting in failure to fulfill major role obligation at work, home or school
• Use in physically hazardous situations
• Recurrent substance related legal problems
• Continued use despite persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by substance

(American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR)

It is important to seek help for your teenage son who is abusing drugs or alcohol to guide them back to a substance-free life. Oftentimes a change in the environment is all that is needed to get your son back on track.

Triumph Youth Services offers a small, highly structured family environment for youth. This family-like community promotes a social environment that takes on both therapeutic and healing properties instead of maintaining negative behaviors.

Triumph Youth Services provides a daily Life Skills Group. The goal of our Life Skills Group training program is to teach the student a new set of responses to social situations, as well as how to integrate his behavior with others in the environment. Our staff members are trained and encouraged to be effective leaders by serving as teachers or coaches who hold the young men responsible for working on problems and to act as limit setters and good listeners.

Our Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) approach utilizes individual therapy mixed with group and family therapy to treat each youth’s issues. In addition to the therapy, the Positive Peer Culture utilized in Triumph Youth Services facilities help the youth process their issues and build skills for their own personal progress. This includes consistent group counseling and peer mentoring, which are crucial for helping teens change behavior.

The clinicians at Triumph Youth Services are highly trained and have extensive experience working with adolescent youth. Our clinicians are licensed and approved as mental health professionals to provide individual, group and family therapy.

Call Triumph Youth Services. We are here to help.