In a recent post, we mentioned that families can help teens kick drug habits by providing moral support, rules, structure and supervision, and by engaging teens in family-based treatment approaches.
It’s scary to know that your teen is experimenting, but it is comforting to know that family involvement can mitigate teens’ motivations for using drugs. As many as 9 in 10 people vow to seek help after a family intervention led by a trained guide.
Related: Why do teenagers use drugs?
Peer pressure, boredom, self-medication and rebellion are common reasons.
A primary goal of intervention is to help teenagers accept that their drug use is a problem and to see how it hurts those around them. Parents, siblings and other loved ones also suffer when one family member is using, but drug users don’t often consider how their actions affect others. An intervention gets all of them together to talk the about the drug use and to find a solution.
In an intervention, a counselor or other trained professional will talk with family members to help them better understand why teenagers use drugs and what family can do to help. Then the family, along with others who might be important in the teen’s life, such as friends, coaches, pastors or teachers, gather with the teenager for a meeting.
Tip: If you’ve wondered how to help kids stop using drugs, you’re already part of the solution. DIY kits for at-home drug testing can help verify the problem so you and your family can take steps to address it.
A wonderful thing about interventions is that teens get to see how much they are loved. The environment of an intervention also provides teens a structured opportunity to accept help and establish a treatment plan, both critical steps toward finding success.
Drug use is a serious problem, but it is solvable when family members and other loved ones are willing to get involved. If you’re ready to assist your teenager in kicking the habit, check out our list of resources for preventing and solving drug use.