College life is an exciting time for thousands of emerging adults on campuses across the nation. It is also an opportunity for students to engage in behaviors that can impede personal health. Numerous studies link personal health and wellness to academic achievement.1-3 The core mission of most institutions of higher education (IHEs) is academic…

The time right after treatment for substance abuse is a particularly vulnerable time for adolescents; a time made more difficult by the expectation that they will return to their high school. Traditional high schools are often a high-risk environment for students who are working on maintaining their sobriety. Recovery schools offer an alternative…

This article describes and reflects upon efforts to generate greater support for media literacy and critical thinking within the strategies and programs of the Federal government in the early 1990s to about 2005 primarily among agencies with an interest in youth substance abuse prevention. Beginning with their personal reflections on discovering…

More than ever, people are seeking substance use disorder treatment during the adolescent and young adult stages of development. Developmentally, many of these young adults new to recovery are in the process of making career decisions that may require attendance at a college or university. However, the collegiate environment is not conducive to a…

Suicide is a preventable public health concern affecting the nation as the 10th leading cause of death. The prevalence of suicide among the elderly is higher than any other group. Risk factors attributed to this phenomenon are depression, social isolation, substance abuse, poor physical health or function, financial stress, and access to lethal…

This article outlines the stress-strain-coping-support (SSCS) model which underpins the whole programme of work described in this supplement. The need for such a model is explained: previous models of substance misuse and the family have attributed dysfunction or deficiency to families or family members. In contrast, the SSCS model assumes that…

This article provides a brief overview of the Teen Interactive Theater Education (TITE) curriculum, the theory behind its inception, and the expected outcomes. TITE is an innovative positive youth development program that engages young people in the consideration of pertinent topics in today's society through the use of experiential activities…

Art therapy is often thought of as an adjunct to counseling; however, because of its unique ability to bypass defenses, in some situations, art therapy may be a treatment of choice to allow clients to discover and express feelings that are often difficult to express verbally. Using art as therapy does not require that the therapist or the client…

Childhood exposure to traumatic events is a major public health problem in the United States. Traumatic events can include witnessing or experiencing physical or sexual abuse, violence in families and communities, loss of a loved one, refugee and war experiences, living with a family member whose caregiving ability is impaired, and having a…

Key to the dissemination of evidence-based addiction treatments is the exchange of experiences and mutual support among treatment practitioners, as well as the availability of accurate addiction training materials and effective trainers. To address the shortage of such resources, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) created…

Substance abuse has been identified as a significant social problem. Social work is uniquely positioned to affect this problem. Kennesaw State University has established a substance abuse concentration as part of its master's of social work program. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of this curriculum. The curriculum is…

The rise in female delinquency has resulted in large numbers of girls being incarcerated in Youth Development Centers (YDC). However, there are few gender specific treatment programs for incarcerated female adolescent offenders, particularly for those with a history of substance dependency. In this article, we present a Multi-level Risk Model…

In a recovery school, the students commit to working on recovery from chemical dependency and addiction while becoming successful students. Since all of the students attending the school have been in chemical dependency treatment, the safety of the environment is the first concern of students, their families and staff. Applying restorative…

Significant barriers exist to the implementation of evidence-based practices into routine mental health and substance abuse settings. This paper discusses the role and function of technical assistance centers to help support the implementation process using, as a guide, the experience of the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Illness (SAMI) program combines cognitive rehabilitation and dual-diagnosis substance abuse treatment within a stages of change context. This article describes the development, implementation, and preliminary outcome analysis of the SAMI program in a forensic hospital.