Here’s the first thing that parents seeking treatment for their children need to know: You are not alone. Our country is experiencing an adolescent mental-health crisis. The time for truly comprehensive care for teenagers has never been more critical to society than it is now.
We know that so many young people are in dire need of help and healing. But how do you find the care your child requires? Unfortunately, many treatment programs for teens struggling with substance abuse and mental health disorders seek to “fix” the symptoms without looking at the root causes. That approach doesn’t work — at least not in the long term.
Recovery treatment must look at the “why,” not just the “what.”
The model of addressing symptomology doesn’t touch the deepest challenges that teens face. In order to achieve sustainable healing, treatment must address the underlying issues and emotions that teens are attempting to mask through destructive behaviors.
Thus, sustainable treatment needs to focus on the root causes of an adolescent’s struggle — the uderlying feelings of insecurity and fear that lead to anxiety, depression and self-medicating. These conditions are typically a result of severe or ongoing environmental trauma, and teenagers’ means of coping might include self-harm, disordered eating, substance abuse and other addictive behaviors.
[Read: Mental Health Experts Recommend Their Favorite Depression Books.]
Today’s teens need mental-health treatment that goes beyond talk therapy.
Holistic mental-health treatment addresses recovery and wellness on every level — psychological, biological, social and spiritual. A holistic, individualized approach focuses on each teen’s unique DNA, history, temperament and constitution. In addition, holistic treatment combines a variety of clinical and experiential modalities — an approach that has proven results.
Parents who are seeking recovery treatment for their children — whether in a residential setting or outpatient program — should ask the following questions to determine whether the care provided will offer the best possible solutions for the child and for the family.
1. Is the entire family involved in the healing process?
When young people are in crisis, family involvement in treatment and ongoing recovery is critical to success. This includes participating in family therapy, as well as creating an appropriate environment and boundaries at home after your child’s residential stay or during outpatient treatment. Research shows that, with family involvement, there’s a much greater likelihood of long-term healing for both the adolescent and the entire family unit.
2. Is the treatment individualized for each teen?
Effective treatment must take into account a teenager’s gender, personal history, psychological development and physical and behavioral needs. In addition, the treatment team should consider a child’s relationships with family and peers and the environment in which they live and go to school, as well as their current coping skills, including their ability to emotionally self-regulate. Every child is unique, so treatment must be as well.
[Read: Is Depression a Disease?]
3. Are experiential modalities provided?
Experiential therapy, mindfulness, yoga therapy, art therapy, music therapy, equine-assisted psychotherapy and horticulture/culinary therapy are all evidence-based modalities that have been proven to significantly impact mental health. Studies show that experiential methods for decreasing teen anxiety and depression, such as mindfulness and exercise, can be just as effective as prescription medication. Body-based modalities are particularly important for teens, as they often find talk therapy difficult.
4. Who will be on your child’s treatment team?
In order to heal the whole person, treatment needs to include expertise on multiple levels. Most important, who are the people doing the actual work with your child? Most facilities rely on certificated counselors who do not have master’s degrees. Confirm that the treatment team consists of licensed master’s- or doctorate-level therapists. Secondly, how often is a psychiatrist on campus? Many facilities have a psychiatrist come in for a very short period of time, once a week or so. When addressing teen mental-health issues, psychiatry needs to play a major role. Parents should make sure that a psychiatrist is an active part of treatment. I encourage families to speak directly to the psychiatrist in order to ensure their level of involvement before sending their child to any facility. In addition, a personalized protocol for an adolescent in recovery should include assessment, feedback and treatment not only by a therapist and family therapist, but also by a recovery counselor, nutritionist and medical doctor. Each piece of the puzzle is necessary in order to put your child’s — and your family’s — life back together.
[Read: How Do I Know If I Have Depression?]
5. When and why is medication used?
Drugs have side effects, some of which can be quite dangerous. These include the risk of addiction to the drug, increased depression or anxiety and even suicide. Medication should be used only when absolutely necessary — and, if it must be used, it should always be used in combination with therapeutic modalities. A drug prescription should never be an automatic fallback. Our health care system needs to move away from solving every problem with a pill, and instead help our youth find more sustainable methods of healing.
There’s another critical aspect of effective recovery — the overall attitude and philosophy of a treatment program, which is harder to determine with a single question but which can be assessed through careful observation. Your child deserves care that is delivered with unconditional love and acceptance. Teens who end up in recovery treatment aren’t bad, or wrong, or broken. They are beautiful, powerful, sensitive young adults — and, with compassionate, comprehensive treatment, they will go on to live happy, fulfilling lives.
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How to Find the Best Recovery Treatment for Your Child: 5 Questions to Ask originally appeared on usnews.com
