What is addiction? Merriam-Webster.com defines addiction as the compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; persistent, compulsive use of a substance known to be harmful by the user.
Drug or alcohol addiction is a disease with a destructive pattern. There is a physical dependence that drives the addict with an overwhelmingly strong desire to obtain and use drugs or alcohol. The addict must have the drug or alcohol to maintain normal functioning and that is their primary motivation.
Symptoms
- Increased tolerance requiring increased dosage or more frequent use to obtain the same affect
- Experiencing withdrawal as the affects of the substance wears off
- Substance taken in larger amount and for longer period than intended
- Desire to stop but can’t
- Ignoring activities that were once important
- Continued use despite negative consequences
(American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR)
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.Susceptibility to Drug Addiction Risk Factors for Teens
- Family history of drug or alcohol abuse or addiction
- Lack of parental supervision
- Impulsiveness
- Entering middle school or high school; new social challenges
- Trouble with authority
- Doing poorly in school
- Friends who think that alcohol or drug use is not harmful
- Gang involvement
If your teenage son is exhibiting symptoms of drug or alcohol addiction, it is imperative that you seek help for him. Triumph Youth Services can help your son turn his life around and become a productive member of society. Our cognitive therapy 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.
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.
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.
