Troubled Teens Resources

Schools for troubled teens do not give their students the luxury of free time. Teenagers with addictions and behavioral problems are given priveleges based on performance and behavior. One privilege treated like gold in many teen boarding schools is access to the internet. Unlike many naive or indifferent parents, staff is well aware of the inappropriate and harmful information teens can dig up on the net.

If your teen has unrestricted access to the computer in your home, you would do well to monitor their use. Just find some teen chat rooms or go on MySpace and you’ll get an idea why the internet is not the best place for teens at risk to spend their time.

“A new study from the Caron Treatment Centers analyzed more than 10 million online messages written by teens and found a number of conversations about drinking, taking drugs, and having sex. The study was based on a computerized search of blogs, public chat rooms, message boards, and other Internet sites. Research firm Nielsen BuzzMetrics said that about 2 percent of posts specifically mentioned alcohol or other drugs.

Common discussions included trading information about using drugs without getting hurt or caught and debates about legalization and the drinking age. Some teens discussed their partying and sexual activities. Often, newer slang for drugs was used to avoid raising red flags among suspicious parents.

Bad information on drugs abounds online. Some teens have found themselves in the Emergency Room after following misinformation regarding supposed safe drug combinations. There is no way for teens to differentiate good vs bad information.”

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Teens at risk are not necessarily easy to identify. Some teen drug addicts, like adult drug addicts, are known as high performance addicts. Even thought they are actively on an illicit drug and spend a great deal of energy acquiring the drug, they still perform well in school and manage to hide their addiction from their parents.

As diligently as parents seek ways to constantly monitor their troubled teenagers, those teens are just as industriously figuring out ways to pull the wool over their parents eyes.

Teen crisis intervention starts with thorough and sound information on drugs, drug culture, and teen behavior. What better person to offer a parent insight into their drug addicted teen than a former teen addict?

A new book just released by such an author might just prove be a good investment for parents just starting their library devoted to teen help.

“Clean: A New Generation in Recovery Speaks Out” is written by Chris Beckman of MTV’s Real World Chicago fame. The book moves quickly through his teen years describing his first encounter with Jim Beam at 11. Yes, you read that right, 11.

Beckman makes an excellent case for alcohol being considered a gateway drug. There is a considerable amount of controversy about that theory, but Beckman shows a clear progression of abuse starting with alcohol and ending with hard drugs.
Interlaced throughout the book are stories of addiction and recovery from others who share their journeys. Clean, also provides the reader with a plethora of resources on where to get help, risk factors, and related health issues.
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