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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1981)
Drug treatment program specializes in teen help By STEVE HOOKS 01 the Emvrald A stay at Eugene’s Adoles cent CareUnit ought to be a sobering experience — at least, the staff of this new drug abuse treatment center hopes it will be The center, which is de signed to "deal with the special problems of the teen age alcoholic and substance abuser," opened its doors at Broadway and Madison streets last week The program is the first of its kind in the state The CareUnit is at the former site of Valley Lane Hospital, and is under the direction of Sacred Heart Hospital Its staff includes a medical doctor, a psychologist and a team of nurses and therapy specialists It ultimately will provide 20 beds The program came none too soon, says director Joel Koch The Northwest has been in dire need of this type of pro gram because teen-age drug abuse is on the rise, he says In the past, adolescents had to travel out-of-state for this type of treatment, Koch says, adding there are fewer than 10 adolescent care units in the country "More young people are drinking than used to" nation wide, Koch says However, he says he has no figures on whether Oregon s teen-agers are drinking more Alcohol, which was the "in" drug among teenagers 20 years ago, gave way to "hard drugs in the early 1970s, but recently has regained its popularity Many people identify teens with "hard" drug abuse and are shocked to learn of the teen alcohol problem, Koch says The problem strikes an emotional vein in adults because they realize al coholism is not limited to adults, he says An unhappy home environment, alcoholic parents, and school pressures all may contribute to teen al cohol abuse, Koch adds At the center, teens are ex amined and counseled to de termine whether they are chemically dependent on a drug, Koch says Patients then enter a carefully supervised drying out" period Extreme cases of dependence require drying out" at Sacred Heart Hospital, he says "Alcoholism physically pro gresses much more rapidly in adolescents than adults Photo by Mark Pynes The Eugene Adolescent Care Unit, which opened last week, is the first in-state treatment center for alcoholic teenagers, says the Center's director Because of this, medical evaluation and monitoring is extremely important,' says Peter Patricelli, the CareUnit's medical director The program stresses a drug-free environment that is so rigid only decaffeinated coffee is served, says Dan Siemens, nurse manager of the unit But the program involves more than "drying out ” Following detoxification, the patient enters a "highly struc tured and intensive" recovery program emphasizing family involvement. Koch says "The more involvement the family has in therapy, the greater the chances .of successful treatment,'' Siemens says "Family involvement as sures the re-establishment of communication lines and the development of mutual under standing and respect," Koch says The program includes al cohol and drug education, in dividual, group and family counseling, and therapy that stresses the "development of alternative peer group rela tionships and social skills," Koch says "The goals are to help each young person establish a more positive self-image, develop a more effective value system and make more responsible and appropriate decisions,'' he says The program works on a reward and consequence sys tem, Siemens says Teens who successfully complete a program level — usually within a week — are given new privileges, such as movie-going With each additional level completed, more privileges are meted out, Siemens says Likewise, a violation of the rules results in privileges be ing taken away, he adds The program enables the teen to continue schoolwork and to make decisions about treatment, Koch says Patients and families also participate in programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Narcotics Anonymous, and Al-Anon After successful completion of the four to six week program, the patients and families attend weekly aftercare sessions'' for about three months, Koch says Koch says that because the program just started, a “typical patient" profile or successful cure rate hasn't been determined yet He adds that because al coholism and drug abuse are considered "progressive, fa tal” diseases, the goal of the cured teen is to remain com pletely "dry." iPOr/T?g Continued trom Page 1 Roy Elbie, a Sheldon dorm resident who chairs the gover nance committee, says he feels strongly that the program is necessary He says the burglary problem seems to be worse this year than either of the other two years he's lived in the dorms "It's our hope that we can initiate this program from the grass roots — the students themselves," Elbie says "I feel very strongly that the program is both necessary and has a tremendous chance for succeeding," he says Elbie says he already has no ticed more awareness of the burglary problem among dorm residents Tentative plans for the watch center around a student chosen in each dorm to educate dorm residents about crime preven tion Those students also would give advice and information on personal safety and crime trends, Allison says He says he thinks the dorm watch could help decrease dorm burglaries "We firmly believe that a student has a right to get a col lege education and not get vic timized," he says. 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