INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / OCTOBER 31, 1989

 

 

 

2-Day Workshop: Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Dependence

 

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Costly to Society

Nobody is too young - or old -
to have trouble with alcohol or
drugs. Substance abuse savages the
lives of rich and poor, men and
women, people of all ages - from
teenagers to the elderly.

The sad fact is that British
Columbia has the highest rate of al-
cohol and drug abuse in Canada,
according to figures published in
1988 by the B.C. Ministry of Labour
and Consumer Services. Roughly
300,000 people in B.C. are al-
coholics or drug abusers.

B.C. also has the highest rate of
heroin offences, the second highest
rate of marijuana offences, and the
third greatest rate of cocaine offen-
ces in the country, say Ministry
Statistics. The social costs of the
problem are staggering and they af-
fect us all.

Police and court expenses, so-
cial services and medical costs, lost
time and productivity in the
workplace - all have a destructive
impact on society.

To address these issues,
Douglas College is offering a two-
day workshop November 14 and

 

We are getting more and
more people, of a much
younger age, who are
concerned about their use
of alcohol and drugs.

 

15 on “How to Assess and Treat
Adolescents for Alcohol and Drug
Dependence.” The workshop will
be presented by the Johnson In-
stitute, one of North America’s lead-
ing centres for the treatment of
substance abuse.

“People are becoming much

 

more conscious of the incalculable
pain and suffering alcoholism and
drug addiction can bring to family
members, particularly children,”
says Ronald Conboy, a counsellor
with the provincial Alcohol and
Drug Program in Maple Ridge.

“We are getting more and more
people, of a much younger age,
who are concerned about their use
of alcohol and drugs. I’m happy to
see that the College is offering a
seminar on the assessment and
treatment of adolescents for al-
cohol/drug dependence.”

Conboy says that the emotional
misery suffered by children who
grow up in a home with a sub-
stance abuser can last a lifetime.
“And children of abusers are at
great risk of becoming abusers
themselves.”

“Teenagers are harder to as-
sess,” Conboy adds. “You can’t
look at them in the same way as
adults. First you have to get the
kids to admit there might be a prob-
lem and then try to find out what
sort of trauma might be respon-
sible.”

Conboy says there are many
reasons young people first experi-
ment and then abuse alcohol or
drugs. Peer pressure, poor self-
image, low self esteem, even just
plain boredom can all be factors in
substance abuse. Any sort of
trauma - physical, sexual or emo-
tional - can lead to substance abuse,
which gives kids a feeling of gran-
diosity and power. “They think it’s
something to have fun with,” he
says.
Rob Axsen, director for North
Burnaby’s Odyssey Adolescent Sub-
stance Abuse Program, says kids
from abusive homes get high to
avoid the pain and trauma of their
lives.

The November 14 and 15
workshop, aimed at professionals

 

in the fields of education, health,
justice and social work will focus
on the skills necessary to recognize
and deal with the stages of adoles-
cent development and progressive
substance abuse.

Also covered will be assess-

 

Aimed at professionals in
the fields uae
health, justice and social
work, the workshop will
focus on the skills
necessary to recognize and
deal with the stages of
adolescent development
and progressive substance
abuse.

 

ment and intervention strategies,
counselling and treatment plan-
ning, aftercare and recovery.
Videotape will be used to assess
skills practice.

The role of the family in
teenage addiction will be ex-
amined, as will strategies for turn-
ing teenage resistance into
co-operation and helping young
people to overcome their feelings of
shame and victimization.

The workshop costs $160 and
early registration is recommended.
Contact Douglas College at 527-
5479 for more information. @