Victory Recovery Partners, a network of addiction-recovery centers on Long Island and New York City, provides outpatient care to help patients overcome their addictions and substance use disorders. Originally, Victory only treated adults who were battling addictions to drugs and alcohol. However, we began to realize that there is an increasing need for adolescents to receive treatment, too. We knew we had to address this issue, as the adolescent population needed a support system – they needed help. After much careful consideration, we have now opened a fully functional adolescent program that operates at three of our centers: Hauppauge, Shirley, and Massapequa Park.
We are truly excited about the opening of our adolescent program, because we will now be able to expand our services to a new population that previously couldn’t receive our services. The age range for this new service is from age 11 to 17. We are specifically looking to target those who are in middle school and high school.
For our adolescent program to be effective, we recognize that the patient’s family must be engaged in the treatment process. This is key, as we have found that when family members are involved in the recovery process, there is a higher chance that the patient will succeed emotionally, socially, and academically.
We have found that there are a number of reasons why adolescents are vulnerable to addiction and substance use disorders. Firstly, adolescents may act more impulsively as compared to adults. As their brains are still developing, adolescents may be a bit more impulsive, leading them to engage in substance use. Additionally, adolescents often have a lot on their plates to handle. They may be feeling pressure at school, socially they could feel isolated, and substance use could present itself as a means for coping with stress and bullying from peers. Adolescents may also be copying behaviors that they see from friends and family. For example, if they were raised in a household where their mother or father had a substance use issue or addiction, the adolescent may also develop similar issues.
For our adolescents to succeed in our program, our experienced team of behavioral health counselors will get to the root of the issues, and custom tailor the patient’s treatment plan to best fit the patient’s needs.
It is key to understand that adolescents who initially begin treatment may have beliefs that are false. For example, adolescents may deny that they have a problem – leading them to be hesitant towards making a change. They also may not feel strongly motivated to seek help. As we stated above, family involvement is key here – family members can help the patient understand that they do need change, and that seeking help is key for a successful recovery and life.
As is the case with our adult programs, change takes time, patience and effort. Parents of adolescents should be encouraged to explain to their child that the recovery process is a journey. The road to recovery is not a straight path. Rather, there are bumps along the way – with twists and turns. However, if you can stay on the path, and continue down the road, you will succeed.
Victory Recovery Partners is a network of addiction-recovery centers on Long Island and New York City. Our outpatient services have helped 15,000+ patients recover from their substance use disorders and addictions. We operate in a unique way – all of our services are provided under one roof. This includes behavioral health, psychiatric, wellness, and medication-assisted treatment services.
For more information on Victory Recovery Partners, please visit our website.