TEENS WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS CAN BE HELPED

County's Mental Health Youth Services Program Provides Vital Service

Editor's note: This is the second story in a three-part series examining
the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services provided by the Catawba County Mental
Health Services department.

An intensive outpatient group gathers at Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services,
part of Mental Health Services of Catawba County, three times a week for
three hours to discuss their substance addictions.

For some, the drug of choice is marijuana. For others, it's alcohol. For
still others, crack or cocaine are the drugs they fight to overcome.

The battle will be difficult for each one.

They are teen-agers.

Of all programs at Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, the Youth Services
Program has recently expanded its services the most, according to Melissa
Rhyne, substance abuse program coordinator. She says this growth can be
seen as a good thing, because more youths are made aware of and using
available help, or a bad thing, as the need for these services continues.

Youth services include individual and family counseling, dual diagnosis
treatment, drug testing and consultation, case management and referral
services.

The program emphasizes the need for abstinence from mood-altering
substances and focuses on emotional, mental, social and spiritual growth.

Clients, ages 10 to 17, are screened. Therapists assess their needs and
coordinate treatment options.

Teens in trouble for the first time may attend a program, called SAFE, and
a 16-session group, Crossroads, for youth with a substance abuse diagnosis.
Pathways is the adolescent intensive outpatient program.

Ryan Frye runs Pathways. He says most of the young people he works with are
one step away from hospitalization or training school. The groups are
small, about eight members, and use the power of peers for the betterment
of each teen.

Pathways group members may participate several weeks or several months.
Some relapse, some go to inpatient care and others come and go a few times
before making appropriate lifestyle changes.

"Will you relapse? Yes. Will you overcome it? Yes," Frye tells them.
"Treatment is more effective than punishment."

Members sit in a circle, legs stretched out and arms crossed over their chests.

One says he hasn't gotten a lot of support from friends at school since he
quit smoking marijuana. Another believes he would rather go to jail than
the group and is quitting drugs only so he can get out of the program. A
third doesn't like the way he fights with his parents when he's high.

They are at different places in their treatment, but there is a level of
understanding and support they share with each other. In this group,
leaders emerge. Others may have issues running so deep they will be better
served by individual sessions and then return to group at a later time.

Frye's goals are for the adolescents to understand why they are there and
address their denial, examine their relationships, understand the legal
consequences of their behavior and be armed with skills to deal with their
addiction.

In the educational component of the group, he teaches about drug
classification, dependency, DWIs and drug laws to further the teens'
understanding of the consequences of their choices. He also goes into
issues seemingly unrelated to drugs.

"Nobody has a substance abuse without having some mental issue, be it
depression or self-esteem. Telling someone to stop drinking is not enough.
There is a reason why he or she is an alcoholic," Frye said.

They talk about violence, family, relationships, sex, drug use, school,
work and authority figures.

"It can all be turned into constructive topics. You can bring it all
around. Sometimes they are brash, but I let them express themselves. They
have to respect each other, but they can talk about whatever they want to
talk about," Frye said.

More adolescents use drugs than alcohol, because it is easier for them to
get. In Catawba County marijuana is still the first drug choice of
adolescents, followed by Ecstacy. Frye doesn't see a lot of heroine use or
over-the-counter drug use. He sees some cocaine users and huffers - teens
abusing chemical fumes.

Adolescents in need of even greater assistance are referred to inpatient
care, often to a center in Swain County, and stay for 28 to 45 days. Rhyne
said sometimes there is a four to six week wait at the facility, so Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Services works with the clients in the interim.

They also provide aftercare, multi-family support, alternative to school
suspension and drug education.

Prevention services are another integral part of the program. The "Steppin'
Up" program in the schools and community presents information on basic life
skills, self-esteem, peer pressure and other issues, and provides positive
role models who urge the teens to stay in school.

Staff members are also positioned within the community to address
prevention and intervention needs.