Special Problems in Counseling the Chemically Dependent Adolescent

Here is a valuable book to help professionals provide the most successful treatment for chemically dependent teenagers by examining the special conditions associated with adolescent chemical dependency. Counselors with experience in treating alcoholism and substance abuse need to have an awareness of the distinctive problems of adolescent chemical dependence that are related to their developmental nature. Such complicated problems as sexual abuse, eating disorders, addictive gambling, and membership in cults are discussed in their relationship to the treatment of the adolescent substance abuser. Special cases of the mentally impaired adolescent and the relapsing chemically dependent adolescent are also discussed in this remarkable volume. Treatment professionals will find encouragement for their work with adolescent clients in Special Problems in Counseling the Chemically Dependent Adolescent, which approaches counseling from a holistic perspective and perceives the family structure as an agent of change. The comprehensive chapters create a better understanding of the different addictions that affect the adolescent population and the pertinent factors that complicate the treatment of chemical addiction. The correlation between chemical abuse and child abuse in families is examined and strategies for treating adolescents suffering from chemical abuse and gambling addiction are suggested. A study of eating disorders among adolescents demonstrates the similarities in the etiology, treatment, and assessment of anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive eating, and the conditions resulting in chemical dependency. Experienced professionals counseling and working with adolescents will be able to provide more efficient treatment to their clients by utilizing the practical suggestions presented in this important book.

Eileen Smith Sweet, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and a certifiedaddictions specialist. She directs the Addictions Studies Programat Montclair State College in Upper Montclair, New Jersey,where she is Assistant Professor in the Counseling Department. Dr.Sweet has published widely in the area of chemical dependency,adolescence, multicultural counseling and the family. She is on theEditorial Board of the Journal of Adolescent Chemical Dependencyand has a private family therapy practice in Bogota, New Jersey,where she specializes in the treatment of addictions.

Contents Foreword - Preface - What Do Adolescents Want? What Do Adolescents Need? Treating the Chronic Relapser - Problems of Child Abuse with Adolescents in Chemically Dependent Families - Adolescence, Chemical Dependency and Pathological Gambling - Eating Disorders and Chemical Dependency Among Students - The Adolescent Mentally Ill Chemical Abuser: Special Considerations in Dual Diagnosis - Cult and Cult-Like Pathways Out of Adolescent Addiction