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When our children are struggling with substance misuse, one of the most constructive things we as parents can do is lead with compassion and connection, not criticism. This empathetic approach is at the heart of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CR...

You are the only one who can give your child a healthy parent   As parents trying to help a child struggling with substance misuse, one of the most vital things we can do is take care of our own mental and emotional health first. It's so easy to get caught u...

You don't have to do this alone When we discover our child is struggling with substance use, it's easy to feel alone, ashamed, and overwhelmed. But surrounding yourself with others traveling this challenging road can provide incredible hope, wisdom and streng...

You are an important part of the healing process   If you've made it through this guide, congratulations on taking the vital first steps to support your child on the journey of recovery from substance misuse. I hope you now have a better understanding of key...

This challenge is too big to negotiate alone - you need support. The cost of isolating and trying to do it alone leads to burnout and depleted mental and physical capacity to approach your child with unconditional love and compassion. Isolation can delay you f...

The increasing rate of opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnoses, coupled with the shortage of treatment options for adolescents, strongly support the provision of medication for addiction treatment (MAT) by adolescent providers. Pediatricians, family physicians, an...

Psychiatric disorders commonly co-occur with substance use disorders in young people. This is not surprising since psychiatric disorders in childhood, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder, and Depress...

Adolescents with opioid use disorder (OUD) are developmentally different from older adults, and programs seeking to develop outpatient medication for addiction treatment (MAT) should include evidence-based, age-appropriate counseling and behavioral therapy as ...

1 in 3 children starts drinking by the end of 8th grade                                           ...and of them, half report having been drunk.   With this Guide, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) introduces a simple, quick, emp...

NIAA created this Guide to help you conduct fast, effective alcohol screens and interventions with your patients, even during brief, acute care visits. The tools, tips, and resources are designed to help you surmount common obstacles to youth alcohol screening...

Decide on a screening method The screening questions can be used at any time, alone or along with other tools, as part of a clinical interview. Some practices may prefer to incorporate the questions into written self-report questionnaires or computer screenin...

Refer to the following pages for detailed steps. Step 1: Ask the two age-specific screening questions - One about friends' drinking - One about patient's drinking frequency |\/ NO <- Does the patient drink? -> YES St...

About underage drinking patterns   About what age do kids start drinking? The average age at first drink is about 14, according to national surveys of 12 to 20-year-olds (Chen at al., 2011). The more we can help kids delay when they begin drinking, the bett...

Confidentiality often plays a role in providing health care to adolescents. When it comes toalcohol use by patients who are minors, don’t let concerns about confidentiality deter you fromscreening and intervening as needed. All of the major medical organizatio...

Given the time constraints of your busy practice, you may wonder about quick and effective waysto help children and teens adopt healthier behaviors. If it’s not already in your repertoire, consideradding brief motivational interviewing, a patient-centered comm...

Using the quick two-question screening tool and risk level estimates in this Guide, you’ll havea good idea as to your patients’ level of risk for alcohol-related problems. You can further gaugethe risk level and need for referral by asking more questions, as s...

When making referrals, involve your patient and a parent or guardian in the decision and schedulea referral appointment while your patient is in the office. If available in your community, arrangefor an interagency facilitator to help make sure your patient co...

Alcohol-related problems - which result from drinking too much, too fast, or too often - are among the most significant public health issues in the United States. Many people struggle with controlling their drinking at some time in their lives. More than 14 m...

Options for Treatment When asked how alcohol problems are treated, people commonly think of 12-step programs or 28-day inpatient rehab but may have difficulty naming other options. In fact, there are a variety of treatment methods currently available, thanks ...

Professionally led treatments include:   Medications Some are surprised to learn that there are medications on the market approved to treat alcohol dependence. The newer types of these medications work by offsetting changes in the brain caused by AUD.  All...