Family Involvment

The sixth fundamental element entails active family involvement, especially on the part of the parents. Selekman and Todd (1991, pp. 8-9) explain: "Although many traditional drug abuse programs for adolescent substance abusers stress the importance of family therapy as a major component, it is questionable how important this modality is in actual practice•..Outmoded belief systems and problem-maintaining patterns of interaction were left untouched while the adolescent was in the hospital or residential treatment program...Considering the impact on he families to which adolescents return, it is no surprise to us that close to 56 percent of the adolescent substance abusers who receive inpatient treatment resume chemical use following discharge." Thus, treatment strategies that help parents overcome co-dependent enabling behaviors are essential (Ross, 1994).