When you’re the parent of a teenager in trouble, your best resources are other parents who have been where you are: people who share your values; who have felt what you’re feeling and faced what you’re facing. These are the "experts" most qualified to recommend the treatment programs, professionals, and resources that match your needs and your child’s. To find such people:

•Talk to your kids’ friends’ parents
•Join a parenting class or support group
•Attend twelve-step meetings and share your situation; invite people to talk to you afterwards
•Post a message; read other parents’ messages on local electronic bulletin boards
•Ask trusted teachers, school counselors, coaches, clergy to connect you with parents in similar situations

To supplement what you’ll get from friends and neighbors, here’s a list of resources I’ve used myself, and resources that have been recommended to me by professionals I trust. I encourage you to visit websites, bookstores, and agencies within your own community to find what’s helpful to you, and to check references before committing to any professional or program.

ORGANIZATIONS

To find a treatment program near you:

•Use any search engine (such as www.google.com or www.yahoo.com) and enter "adolescent drug abuse" or "adolescent drug treatment programs in [your city]"

•Or, look in your local phone book under ‘Alcoholism’ or ‘Drug Abuse & Addiction.’

•Or, call: National 24-hour Alcohol/Drug Treatment and Support Group Referrals:
1-800-234-0420

•National Alcohol/Drug Treatment Referrals for Adults and Adolescents:
1-800-454-8966
4 am-10 pm PST

•Hazelden Foundation
"A non-profit organization providing high quality, affordable addiction treatment, education, publishing and research for more than 50 years," Hazelden offers referrals to its own, twelve step-based programs and others.
E-mail: info@hazelden.org
www.hazelden.org
1-800-257-7810 or 651-213-4000
6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. CT weekdays
7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. weekends

•Parents Universal Resource Experts (P.U.R.E.)
"We offer first hand experience and recommend programs/schools that we would send our own children to…P.U.R.E. will assist you inevaluating what your specific needs are, and recommend placement (if needed) into the most appropriate program and/or school."
www.helpyourteens.com
(954) 349-7260

To find a twelve-step meeting near you:

•Look in your local phone book under ‘Alcoholism’ or ‘Drug Abuse & Addiction,’ or call

Alcoholics Anonymous
"A fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism."
Check the phone book or call 411 for the AA office in your area
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

•AL-ANON, ALATEEN
"To help families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Alateen is our recovery program for young people.."
www.al-anon.alateen.org
1-888-4AL-ANON
Monday-Friday, 8 am to 6 pm ET

For parenting support:

•Toughlove
"A non-profit, self-help organization that provides ongoing education and active support to families, empowering parents and young people to accept responsibility for their actions."
P.O. Box 1069, Doylestown, PA 18901
www.toughlove.org
(215) 348-7090 Fax (215) 348-9874

•Families Anonymous
"A Twelve-Step, self help, recovery and non-profit fellowship of support groups for relatives and friends of those who have alcohol, drug or behavioral problems."
www.familiesanonymous.org
E-mail: famanon@FamiliesAnonymous.org
(800) 736-9805
10 am to 4 pm, Monday-Thursday
10am to 2pm Friday, PST

•The Children’s Defense Fund
"CDF's Parent Resource Network (PRN) can help you find the necessary resources to become a more effective parent. We have selected a variety of national Web sites that offer parents information about caring for their own children as well as getting involved in group efforts to help children in their own communities or states."
25 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
www.childrensdefense.org/parentresnet.php
E-mail: cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org
(202) 628-8787

•Love and Boundaries
One on one coaching and seminars to help you survive your child's drug or alcohol problem.Go to the Love and Boundaries web site for a seminar schedule and to set up a free coaching call.
www.loveandboundaries.com

To find or create a recovery high school near you:

•Association of Recovery Schools
"…brings together students, secondary and post-secondary schools, and helping professionals, to support students in recovery from alcohol or other drug dependence."
117 Lyle Lane
Nashville, Tennessee 37210
Andy Finch, Director
www.recoveryschools.org
E-mail: a.finch@creativerecovery.org
(615) 248-8206 Fax: 615-248-8762

To find an adolescent drug court program near you:

•Even in counties that have adolescent drug courts, their existence may not be made known to teenagers or their parents. If your child is arrested, ask if such a program is available, or contact:
Justice Programs Office, American University
Offers publications on juvenile drug courts and referrals to local drug courts.
www.american.edu/justice
E-mail: justice@american.edu
(202) 885-2875
Monday-Friday, 8 am-6pm EST

•National Association of Drug Court Professionals
Offers publications on juvenile drug courts and referrals to local drug courts.
www.nadcp.org
email: nadcp1@aol.com
703-575-9400

To find a therapist or consultant who specializes in adolescents and/or drug abuse:

Look in your local phone book under or ‘Psychologists’ or ‘Educational Consulting & Services,’ or contact:
•American Psychology Association
"A scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With more than 155,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide."
www.apa.org, click on "Consumer Help Center"
(202) 336-5500

•National Association of Social Workers
The largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world... NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies."
www.socialworkers.org
(800) 227-3590

•National Board for Certified Counselors
"…an independent not-for-profit credentialing body for counselors, incorporated in 1982 to establish and monitor a national certification system, to identify those counselors who have voluntarily sought and obtained certification, and to maintain a register of those counselors."
www.nbcc.org
(336) 547-0607

•American Association of Marriages and Family Therapists
"…the professional association for the field of marriage and family therapy…representing the professional interests of more than 23,000 marriage and family therapists throughout the United States, Canada and abroad."
www.aamft.org

•Independent Educational Consultants Association
"A non-profit, international professional association representing full-time experienced independent educational advisors…[who] counsel students and their families in the selection of educational programs, based on the student's individual needs and talents."
www.iecaonline.org
(800) 808-4322

Federal government agencies offering free informational materials about teens and drugs:

•National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
"The Office of National Drug Control Policy’s National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is a historic initiative created to educate and enable America’s youth to reject illicit drugs." Publishes lists of web sites related to "raising drug-free kids."
(800) 788-2800

•Websites include:
www.mediacampaign.org: Fact sheets, press releases, links related to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov: Current data on drug use, policies, programs
www.theantidrug.com: "Drug-free children" parental strategies in Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cambodian
www.freevibe.com: "Helps kids 10-15 understand the dangers of substance abuse;" features moderated bulletin boards, media tools, drug facts.

•Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
"The nation’s one-stop resource for the most current and comprehensive information about substance abuse prevention." Offers publications searches and referrals 24/7 in English and Spanish.
www.health.org
E-mail: info@health.org
(800)729.6686

•National Criminal Justice Reference Service
"NCJRS offers extensive reference and referral services to answer your questions about crime and justice-related research, policy, and practice. Staff can offer statistics and referrals, discuss publications, compile information packages, search for additional resources, and provide other technical assistance-all tailored to your particular information needs."
www.ncjrs.org
E-mail related to juvenile justice issues: askjj@ncjrs.org

 

BOOKS

Addiction and Recovery

The Heart of Addiction by Dr. Lance Dodes, HarperCollins 2002
Hooked by Dr. Lonny Shavelson, New Press 2001
Running on Ritalin by Dr. Lawrence Diller, Bantam Books 1998

Various books from the Hazelden Foundation, 1.800.328.9000
P.O. Box 176 Center City, MN 55012.
www.hazeldenbookplace.organization
email: bookstore@hazelden.org

Teenagers in Trouble–Parents’ Stories

Augusta, Gone by Martha Tod Dudman, Simon & Schuster 2001
Hold Me Close, Let Me Go: A Mother, a Daughter, and an Adolescence Survived by Adair Lara, Broadway Books 2001
The Stardust Lounge: Stories from a Boy's Adolescence by Deborah Digges, Doubleday 2001

Teenagers in Trouble–Help for Parents

Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to The Mall by Anthony Wolf, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2002
Treating Teens: A Guide to Adolescent Drug Programs from Drug Strategies, 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20036. 202/289.9070
www.drugstrategies.org
email: dspolicy@aol.com