A LITERATURE REVIEW ON TREATMENT METHODS FOR ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE USE ISSUES

Abstract

This literature review examines different treatment modalities for adolescent substance use issues in order to assess efficacy. The question of efficacy is an important one, as adolescent substance use issues are an ongoing problem (Winters et al., 2011). Over the course of the review, I searched the databases PsycINFO and Google Scholar, and found scientific research articles on topics pertaining to “adolescent substance use treatment, therapeutic boarding school efficacy, AA, adolescent resident programs, wilderness programs, family therapy, adolescence substance use”. After finding articles, they were reviewed for relevance and quality. After review, it was concluded that treatments such as CBT, family therapy, and motivational interviewing had been shown through research to be effective treatment methods for adolescent substance use issues. Treatments such as wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, residential programs, AA, and D.A.R.E. all have shown to either have a lack of research or the research is inconclusive or ineffective for adolescent substance use issues. Parents should focus their resources on treatments that have been shown through research to be beneficial and have a treatment model that is based on valid theories, such as CBT and Family Therapy models.