Drugs and young people don't mix. The disease of addiction progresses more rapidly in young people than it does in adults. The use of alcohol and other drugs exaggerates and magnifies all the normal boundary-testing behaviors associated with adolescence. A loving, well-behaved son or daughter can seem to change into a self-destructive and withdrawn stranger, sometimes within a matter of months. The use of drugs often leads young people to poor school performance, involvement with the criminal justice system, strained relationships with family, and health problems. Tragically, too many young people die as a result of their involvement with alcohol and other drugs.

Chestnut Health Systems has been providing chemical dependency treatment services for young people between 12 and 18 years old since 1985, and we are accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Our staff of primary therapists, residential counselors, nurses, and recreational therapists care about young people and are committed to helping them learn to live sober lives. We believe every young person has a chance for a better life without drugs and that all adolescents long to be valued members of families and communities.

At Chestnut Health Systems, we respond to each young person's development level, capacity to learn, and readiness for growth. Our holistic approach, low therapist-to-client ratio, and the therapeutic quality of our treatment environment are the fundamental elements or our treatment program. The four main goals in the treatment of adolescents are to:

• help the young person see they have a problem
• convince them there's another way to live their lives
• teach them the skills they need to live without abusing substances
• help connect them with services in their community for additional support

Chestnut Health Systems' Adolescent Chemical Dependency Services will help both you and the young person in your life identify the pattern of beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that may be self-defeating, as well as dangerous to the child's physical and mental health. The program is individualized to address each child's special concerns and underlying substance abuse issues.