1.  How do I know if my child is using substances?

• Changes in behavior, friends, grades
• Missing money from home
• Change in sleep patterns; too much, not at all
• Isolates from family
• Defiance of rules
• Defending alcohol or other drugs
• Chronic lying
• School attendance issues
• Loss of interest in hobbies/sports
• Mood swings
• Chronic sore throat, cough

While these symptoms are not conclusive evidence of substance abuse, it may be helpful to rule out the use of substances.

2.  How long does counseling/treatment take?
Counseling is a process, with many factors to consider including readiness to change and level of involvement. It is important to discuss goals with a trained professional.

3. Do we have to wait for my teen to ‘hit bottom’ to get help?
This is a common misconception about drug/alcohol counseling.  With support, new skills and tools, parents can help ‘raise the bottom’.

4.  My teen lies all the time, how will you get an accurate evaluation?
An experienced trained chemical dependency counselor expects a level of denial and considers this when doing an evaluation.

5.  My teen is concerned about confidentiality.
Due to confidentiality laws, any child over the age of 13 can seek counseling.  All information during those sessions is confidential unless a teen reports: harm to self, others or child/sex abuse.

6.  My teen is only experimenting with substances, why do we need to be concerned?
Experimental use of substances is only 2 or 3 times, beyond that it is considered substance abuse.

7.  My teen is only drinking; he/she is not using ‘hard drugs’.
Alcohol is a drug.  It affects every system in the body.  The younger a teen is when he/she begins drinking, the higher the risks for a life long problem.

8.  I used marijuana when I was a teen what do I say to my teen?
The marijuana of today does not compare with the marijuana that was around in the ‘60’s or 70’s.  It is much stronger now and we know so much more than we did about the harmful affects.  Marijuana use is the number one reason kids enter drug/alcohol treatment.

9. There is too much peer pressure to refuse drugs.
Sometimes it is easier to look somewhere else than to realize that your child is making a choice to use substances.  His/her peers are not forcing your teen to use, they may have an influence on his/her choice, but it is always about choice.