How You Can Support Your Teen through Recovery

Tips to Help Your Teen Recover from Drug or Alcohol Addiction

Even teenagers can become addicted to drugs or alcohol. Teens these days are experimenting with drinking and doing drugs earlier than ever, it seems. In part, they are encouraged by ever increasing pressure to grow up earlier and earlier, and in part, they are searching for ways to cope with the mounting pressures they face.

If your teen has become addicted to drugs or alcohol, the best thing you can do is enter them into a professional addiction treatment program. While they are getting Mesa addiction counseling and learning how to manage their addiction, you can also take these steps to support them through their recovery:

A father with his teenage son walking in a park, talking and trying to support him in his recovery with tips from Corebella Health & Wellness blog

Abstain from Alcohol in their Presence

You may enjoy the occasional glass of wine or cocktails at a dinner party. But now that your teen is in recovery, you may be worried about whether you should drink, and if so, how much. Your instinct to question your drinking habits is a good one. Drinking in front of your teen can be a trigger for their own drinking.

Giving up drinking can remove triggers for your teen and signal to them that you fully support their sobriety. You may enjoy a drink when you are away from home, such as when you meet up with friends for dinner.

Have a Conversation about Disclosure

Do you tell your cousins or your neighbors about your teen’s addiction treatment? Or do you keep it a secret? There is no right answer to who you should tell about your teen’s recovery. The best thing you can do is have an open and honest conversation with them about who they want to know and when. They may want to tell only close family at first, or they may want to be the one to tell others, and not you.

Remember that your teen’s recovery is not shameful and should not be seen as a dirty secret. Even if your teen chooses discretion at first, remind them that you are proud of their efforts and are behind them in letting others know as soon as they are ready.

Enforce Boundaries for Parties and Socializing

You may feel the urge to keep your teen from going to parties or socializing with former friends, as there might be alcohol or drugs involved, which could tempt your teen into a relapse. You don’t have to ban your teen from attending these events entirely, but you should have open communication and clear boundaries.

You may enforce a curfew or insist that any parties must be supervised by an adult. You should also talk to your teen regularly about who their friends are and meet them whenever possible. Above all, you should make it clear to your teen that you are always there when needed, including to pick them up so they don’t drive under the influence or to remove them from an uncomfortable situation.

Stay Abreast of Social Relationships

You cannot control what your teen does or the people they choose to spend time with. However, you can establish lines of communication so that you always know who your teen’s friends are and so that you can offer support and advice to help them make healthy choices.

Talk with your teen about establishing values so they can make good choices about who to befriend and how to navigate their own relationships. Your teen will also learn these things in Mesa addiction counseling, but you can reinforce them at home so that your teen will be less vulnerable in social situations.

Get Support

You are not the expert on addiction, and therefore, you are going to struggle. You are going to be lost for the right answers, and you are going to make mistakes. You are going to be confused, and you are going to fear for your child. All of that is to be expected.

You need to get your own Gilbert addiction counseling and support. You should see a counselor who specializes in addiction issues. You should also attend a support group for the family of addicts. You will get support and encouragement, as well as advice for how to handle some of the challenges you will face. You’ll also learn how you can better support your teen.

Encourage Counseling and Group Meetings

Finally, your teen needs professional help and support from those who have experienced some of the same struggles. You should continue to encourage your teen to attend addiction counseling sessions and group support meetings. Schedule the appointments, or offer to drive them to meetings. Suggest a meeting when your teen seems to be having a hard day or is struggling with a particular challenge.

As a parent, it is frustrating feeling like you can’t just fix everything for your child. But the only thing you can do when your child has an addiction is to support them and help them get the professional help they need. Following these tips will help you be there for your teen during their recovery and support them in their success.

Call Corebella Health and Wellness to get your teen the help they need. We offer a range of addiction treatment services, including addiction counseling, group support, and medication therapy from a suboxone doctor. We also offer support groups and counseling for family members. We offer services throughout Tempe, Glendale, and Scottsdale. Call us today to learn more.