The Pathway Program has been working with drug abusing adolescents, young adults and their families for over 30 years. Often, family members approach us discouraged, disheartened, and afraid for their young loved one’s well-being. Parents who approach us feel they have tried everything:
- Encouraging and talking
- Control and discipline
- Reasoning and education
- Various forms of counseling or therapy
- Youth groups and programs
- Diet/exercise
- Clubs, tutors, sports, camps
- Rehabs, detoxes, halfway houses
- Wilderness programs and hospitals
We do NOT believe that any of these approaches are wrong or incorrect. In fact, they are all logical, good parenting! The first thing we want every parent to know is that their concern for their young person’s well being is well founded and this makes them good parents.
We believe that with young adults and adolescents, an enthusiastic social approach to sobriety is successful. We do not focus on changing the nature of young people, we focus on providing them with the proper environment and motivation to change.
Young people often have not experienced the same harrowing consequences of an adult alcoholic or drug addict. By the time someone reaches true adulthood with an active addiction, they have often lost everything – marriages, kids, careers, houses.
Pain motivation is not always as effective in young people because the majority of drug abusing young people haven’t “lost everything”. Unlike adults, young people often haven’t experienced the same level of consequences. Therefore, the traditional pain motivation experienced by adults to change is usually absent in drug abusing young people.
Enthusiastic Sobriety Programs – The Approach That Meets Young People Where They Are
The Arizona Youth Survey reports year after year on young people’s motivation to try drugs. In this survey, young people in Arizona anonymously answer questions about their involvement in drug use and other activities. They overwhelmingly report that they try drugs because they want to have fun! We have found that this is the primary motivator for young people who use drugs – fun and social acceptance.
The Pathway Program’s entire philosophy is based on providing young people with what they are seeking – a fun, enriching, accepting, socially connected experience.
The primary tenets of Enthusiastic Sobriety are the following:
- Family Recovery. Pathway offers support groups for parents along with its youth programs. Our treatment outcomes have consistently shown strong improvement in young people, their families lives, and their relationships with each other. See our outcomes for youth and families.
- Positive Peer Groups. Pathway’s peer support groups allow young people to fulfill this age group’s critical need for social support and engagement. Pathway’s support groups are unparalleled in the industry. Learn more about our alternative peer groups / support groups for young people.
- Fun Through Sober Social Activities. We provide sober social activities weekly to provide a safe place to have fun and enjoy life sober.
Many of our staff are in recovery themselves; they know that getting sober is not easy. Those who have walked through the recovery process often report that it is the hardest thing they have done in their entire life. We offer young people in a new peer group that helps to provide them with a positive sober lifestyle. Each week at The Pathway Program, families and young people have access to:
- Weekly Parent Support Group Meetings are provided for parents who are looking for answers and solutions. Our weekly support group meetings for parents are free to all who have a young person involved in The Pathway Program and aimed at educating and connecting parents to the resources they need to restore their strained family relationships. See our parent support group meeting outcomes.
- Daily Treatment Sessions for Young People. Our IOP sessions are 4 hours in length, 5 days per week. Our residential treatment sessions are 6 hours in length, 5 days per week. Young people are in treatment groups of people their age, staffed by competent drug abuse counselors who are often in recovery themselves. Our staff counselors work with young people to develop their understanding of the 12 steps, develop positive peer relationships, work through their guilt/shame, and reconnect with their families.
- Weekly 12 Step Meetings. We provide three weekly 12 step meetings for young people, where they can identify with other youth and work through any troubles they are facing in life and recovery.
- Weekly Sober Social Activities. We provide 2 weekly sober social activities where young people can learn to have fun and connect with their peers without using drugs.
We have found that this mix of services provides the optimal result for drug abusing young adults and adolescents.