Substance Abuse and Chemical Dependence
Drug and alcohol addiction is a chronic, progressive disease that impacts millions of Americans. It is characterized by compulsive drug cravings and drug-seeking behaviors that persist despite severe negative consequences. Without treatment, substance abuse can lead to depression, problems at home or work, and in some cases, physical injury or death.
In 2006, 23.6 million people needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem, yet only 2.5 million actually received treatment, leaving 21.1 million without the help they need (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006). Scientific research shows that treatment can help people reverse destructive behaviors, avoid relapse, and combat their addiction to alcohol, illicit or prescription drugs, or other substances.
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Adolescent Substance Abuse & Behavioral Issues
Adolescence is a time riddled with anxiety, pressure, and conflict. In a period of a few short years, teens undergo drastic changes in their bodies, their relationships, their ideas of who they want to become, and their plans for the future.
For many teens, the transition into adulthood occurs without incident, but for others the changes can be overwhelming. Teens who struggle to cope with difficult emotions or situations may begin abusing drugs or alcohol, fall in with a negative peer group, or display signs of defiance, low self-esteem, anger, or depression. If these issues go untreated, they often follow the teen into his twenties and thirties, reducing his productivity at school, at work, and in his personal and professional relationships.
With an out-of-control teen in the home, the family unit begins to suffer. Parents know they need help, but don’t know where to turn. Often, sending an adolescent to a residential treatment program away from home is the best way to address the teen’s behavioral issues and restore healthy function to the family.
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Eating Disorders
At any given time, it is estimated that 8 million people in the U.S. suffer from an eating disorder. Only about 10 percent receive treatment, and roughly 35 percent of those who get treatment choose an appropriate program at the appropriate level of care.
Disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, and compulsive overeating may result in a range of consequences, from mild disturbance in daily functioning to serious and even life-threatening problems, such as heart failure, vitamin deficiencies, irregular blood pressure, dehydration, kidney damage, and gastrointestinal complications. Those who suffer from eating disorders are also at high risk of substance-related disorders and serious psychiatric conditions, including depression, panic disorders, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders.
Eating disorders are not necessarily about food or weight. They can be triggered by sudden stressful life changes, such as personal loss or illness, and frequently result from a complex interplay between society’s ideals of beauty, childhood psychological trauma, genetics, and family dynamics. For individuals struggling with low self-esteem, dysfunctional relationships, lack of boundaries, or perfectionism, experts have suggested that the acts of binge eating, purging, excessive exercising, or food restriction may be an unconscious effort to control and cope with internal sources of conflict.
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Weight Management
Overweight and obesity are significant health issues in the United States. Based on the increased risk for developing serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, gallbladder disease, and diabetes, it is estimated that obesity currently results in 400,000 deaths annually. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has consistently ranked obesity among the top health threats facing Americans. Approximately 37 percent of adults are currently overweight, 32 percent are obese, and 4.8 percent are morbidly obese.
Weight issues can have particularly devastating physical and emotional effects on adolescents. Over the past 20 years, obesity rates among young people have skyrocketed, making overweight and obesity the most common chronic illness facing children and teens today. Research from top universities shows that overweight children are likely to continue gaining weight as they age, with nearly 80 percent of overweight teens becoming obese adults.
Even a modest weight loss (a decrease of less than 10 percent) can produce beneficial health effects, such as increased energy, less reliance on medications, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and enhanced self-image. Rather than turning to risky and expensive surgeries, more doctors recommend that families find weight loss programs that change behavior over an extended period of time and that include the family in the process.
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Dual Diagnosis
Drug and alcohol addiction is often accompanied by co-existing emotional, psychological, and/or psychiatric conditions. Studies show that one of every two individuals with severe mental illness also suffers from a substance abuse disorder. Often, the psychiatric condition occurs first and leads the individual to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol, which can lead to chemical dependency. In other cases, the drug or alcohol addiction is the primary condition, which eventually leads to depression, anxiety, or other psychological problems.
When clients are faced with dual diagnosis, each co-existing disorder must be treated simultaneously within an integrated model to achieve the best possible outcome. When the disorders are treated separately, the risk of relapse is exceedingly high.
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Learning Differences
Children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD), high-functioning autism, and Asperger’s syndrome often are highly intelligent and capable, but may struggle in traditional school environments because of compromised social performance and low self-esteem. They may be falling behind academically, and are sometimes targeted for bullying by their peers. Because they feel discouraged and unable to cope, they may begin to act out, associate with a negative peer group, engage in dangerous behaviors, or make questionable choices.
Schools that specialize in the unique challenges of children with learning differences focus on their strengths while helping them understand how to interact more positively with the world around them. These schools provide a safe, structured environment that can improve social functioning, behavioral challenges, and academic performance.
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Adoption Issues
Families with adopted children face distinct challenges, particularly as adolescence approaches. Most parents agree that the teen years are the most challenging, and this can be especially true for adopted children who, like all teens, struggle to discover who they are and who they want to be.
It is common for children at this crucial developmental stage to reflect on their unique situation as an adopted child and act out their frustrations and uncertainties through substance abuse, defiance, and other behavioral issues. Many adopted children question their identity and value, suffer from low self-esteem, depression, or anxiety, and experience intense feelings of grief and loss. While some adopted teens simply need the support of family and friends, others may need professional guidance to process their emotions in constructive ways.
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Pain Management
Chronic pain is a complex and potentially debilitating condition that can affect every part of the human body. Everyone experiences pain of some kind, but chronic pain sufferers face reduced productivity at work, less energy at home, and a depleted sense of health and well-being brought on by prolonged periods of intense discomfort.
The good news is chronic pain is treatable. Whether pain is caused by physical, psycho-emotional, chemical, nutritional, behavioral, or environmental factors, effective treatment requires a combination of medical and psychological interventions. By making behavioral, lifestyle, and emotional changes that decrease pain over time, pain patients can get back to enjoying life.
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Emotional Trauma
Traumatic experiences are extraordinarily stressful events that can destroy a person’s sense of stability, security, and control. Whether the threat is physical or emotional, occurs as the result of ongoing abuse or neglect, or follows in the wake of a single overwhelming event, it can have a devastating impact. Trauma-related problems such as flashbacks, nightmares, intentional self-harm, and depression can be extremely disruptive to the trauma sufferer and his or her loved ones. Often, traumatic events are so intense the trauma sufferer disconnects from reality and loses his or her ability to cope in a healthy way.
With treatment and support, the trauma survivor can experience renewed hope. For most patients, the trauma recovery process can be described in seven steps:
Step One: Learn to manage negative emotions without turning to self-destructive behaviors
Step Two: Create a narrative framework for recovery
Step Three: Identify repetitive, self-defeating patterns that diminish happiness
Step Four: Reconnect actions and feelings in a healthier way
Step Five: Address traumatic memories to lessen their power
Step Six: Develop new, healthy ways of connecting with others
Step Seven: Continue a program of recovery into the future
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Wilderness Programs
Aspen's outdoor behavioral health programs are short-term, high-impact therapeutic interventions that emphasize experiential learning and individualized counseling as a catalyst for positive behavioral change. Designed for troubled teens struggling with a wide range of behavioral issues, our wilderness programs expose young people to natural environments, complete with camping expeditions, hiking, and other adventure activities. In this unique setting, free from modern distractions, campers have the opportunity to discover who they want to be, as our highly trained instructors guide them toward greater respect for themselves and others.
Wilderness therapy is a powerful experience for an adolescent. Teens enrolled in an outdoor program experience the challenges of living and working together outdoors as a means of working through internal conflicts and emotional obstacles that have kept them from succeeding with parents, in school, and in prior treatment. By the end of an outdoor program, teens develop a strong sense of accomplishment and personal growth, and are well-equipped to move on to the next stage of their journey.
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Therapeutic Boarding Schools
Aspen's therapeutic boarding schools help adolescents who are struggling academically, socially, or behaviorally reach new levels of success. Using innovative, individualized treatment that combines comprehensive therapy, education, recreational activities, and alternative therapies, our boarding schools are an attractive alternative to the traditional school setting. With both single-gender and co-ed campuses, each of our residential programs follows an accredited middle school, high school, or college-preparatory curriculum.
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Online Treatment
CRC Health is one of the first behavioral health care service providers to offer clinically effective treatment via the Internet. Through eGetgoing, the first and only accredited online recovery program, patients can engage in individual counseling, educational seminars, and interactive group counseling sessions under the guidance of a certified substance abuse counselor.
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Sexual Addiction
The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity defines sexual addiction as “engaging in persistent and escalating patterns of sexual behavior acted out despite increasing negative consequences to self and others.” Sexual addiction is a progressive disorder marked by uncontrollable sexual thoughts and acts, distorted thinking, risk-taking, and in some cases, illegal activities that continue despite detrimental health risks, financial problems, shattered relationships, or legal problems.
A growing number of medical experts have determined that sexual addiction is a genuine disorder that an estimated 16 million Americans, both men and women, are facing. In the same way that people can become addicted to drugs, alcohol, or gambling, they can become addicted to sexual thoughts, urges, and behaviors.
Sex addiction can also be accompanied by other addictions, both chemical and behavioral, and can have significant social, emotional, physical, legal, and financial consequences. Because people struggling with sexual addiction are generally reluctant to discuss their issues openly among individuals with other addictions, sexual addiction is best treated in specialized programs tailored to the client’s particular needs.
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Video Game Addiction
Although gaming addiction is not yet officially recognized as a diagnosable disorder by the American Medical Association, there is increasing evidence that people of all ages, especially teens and pre-teens, are struggling with compulsive use of video and computer games.
As technology advances and video games become more realistic and compelling, many teens are turning to computer and video games to fill their social and emotional needs. Those who spend hours in front of the video console or computer often experience social withdrawal, poor academic performance, irritability, or depression, as well as physical consequences such as carpal tunnel, migraines, sleep disturbances, backaches, eating irregularities, and poor personal hygiene.
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Internet Addiction
Internet addiction is a growing concern among adolescents and adults around the world. For some, the compulsion manifests in hours of conversing in chat rooms or on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook; for others, the addiction involves pornographic websites, virtual casinos, shopping, or simply searching large databases for information for excessive amounts of time.
Experts estimate that as many as 10 percent of Internet users may be addicted, though some mental health professionals object to classifying Internet addiction as a clinical diagnosis. Internet use is generally considered excessive if the user spends increasing amounts of time online, experiences feelings of restlessness, depression, or irritability when trying to cut down on Internet use, lies about time spent online, ignores personal hygiene or daily responsibilities, or uses the Internet to escape from problems.
Internet addiction often leads to personal, family, academic, financial, and occupational problems that are characteristic of other addictions. Internet addicts isolate themselves from the people in their lives, instead creating emotional attachments to online friends, activities, and virtual communities.
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Compulsive Gambling
About 85 percent of American adults say they have gambled at some point in their lives, whether it’s at a racetrack, casino, or online. Unlike people who can enjoy gambling in moderation, compulsive gamblers lose control of the impulse to gamble, regularly chase their losses, and go to extreme lengths to hide their gambling and resulting financial problems, even when they know they are hurting themselves and their loved ones. Left untreated, compulsive gambling can interfere with every aspect of a person’s life.
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Psychosexual Rehabilitation Programs
CRC Health offers comprehensive treatment at designated facilities for young men who have committed sexual offenses. Beginning with a state-of-the-art, research-based assessment, our highly trained staff use a multidisciplinary approach that addresses a range of biological, social, psychological, and experiential factors. For those suffering from mental illness, learning disabilities, trauma, or related issues, treatment interventions and length of stay are tailored to the individual’s particular needs and background.
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