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.
Unfortunately, the statistics
show that students who attend a
four-year higher education in
stitution probably will be vic
timized at least once, Allison
says
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