Troubled Teen Help Directory
Looking for a teen help program?
Call (866) 845-1390
Fat Camp
Learn about why fat camps don’t work and why the new healthy weight loss camps are so much more effective. more >>
Featured Programs
SunHawk Academy
If you teen's behavior has affected the harmony of your family, SunHawk's unique structure combines intensive therapy and powerful personal and family development workshops to not only change your teen, but how that teen interacts with you and other family members. We firmly believe that your teen's growth and progress are enriched by family involvement. Students can catch up on school credits while building a foundation for future success.
Learn more about SunHawk Academy >>
New Leaf Academy
Do you fear your daughter is growing up too quickly? Even young children are constantly exposed to confusing messages about how to act and who they should be. As a parent, you may feel overwhelmed by the many influences competing for your child's attention. At Leaf Academy of Oregon, your daughter will benefit from our educational philosophy that seeks to develop the whole person: socially and emotionally as well as academically. Through the Star Steps Program, girls learn to accept rules and responsibility for their behavior. They develop a sense of self and strong boundaries that will help them make the right choices as they move into adolescence and young adulthood.
Learn more about New Leaf Academy >>
Teens Prefer Prescription Drugs Over Marijuana and Alcohol
More teens and college students are abusing prescription drugs and even preferring them to pot and alcohol, according to a report requested by President Bush.
About one teenager in ten uses prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Some pain-killers such as OxyContin and Vicodin are becoming more popular than alcohol or marijuana, according to the report by the National Center on Alcohol and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
The number of college students using Vicodin went up 343 percent to about 240,000 students between the years 1993 and 2005. About 170,000 students are using tranquilizers like Xanax and Valium, up 450 percent. About 225,000 are using Adderall and other stimulants -- often to help them get through finals week.
It is easy to find these drugs in most middle-class medicine cabinets. Students also like them because they are considered safer than street drugs.
A study published in the July 2007 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter found a similar trend among middle school and high school children. The Harvard researchers found that 60% of the children who had prescriptions for such drugs also had friends who asked them to turn them over. One in ten traded or sold their medications.
Return to the Teen Help Directory >>