Perhaps you are a parent worried about your child or an educator aware of warning signs that a student is abusing drugs. Maybe you are a member of the clergy whose young parishioner is exhibiting signs of addiction. If an adolescent you care about is engaged in risky behavior with an addictive substance, you have every right to be worried. But you also have every reason to hope. The Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge (PAATC) faith-based addiction treatment program offers young people a path to recovery.
Substance abuse among teens is increasing more slowly overall than in decades past. However, the coronavirus pandemic has put a severe strain on teenagers across the country, and there is speculation that we will see spikes in teen drug and alcohol use in the next year or two. Sadly, more than half of high school seniors have abused drugs.
At Pennsylvania Adult and Teen Challenge, we offer faith-based treatment for teens over the age of 18. To talk to someone who can answer your questions about this and other matters relating to your teen’s addiction, reach out to PAATC today using our online form or dialing 844.442.8673.
Challenges to a Teenager’s Faith
Teenagers today are bombarded with countless bits of information hourly, from their peers, phones, televisions, laptops, billboards, and every bit of marketing targeted just to them. Teens are the future consumers of everything from liquor and cigarettes to cars and vacations. They are uniquely vulnerable to this messaging as their brains are still developing, and they have had too little life experience to know how to sort facts from fiction.
A range of factors can erode teenagers’ Christian faith, no matter how securely and lovingly they were raised to honor and believe in its precepts, including:
- Peer pressure
- Bullying
- Bombardment by scary news stories
- Anxiety about school success
- Anxiety about the future
- Social media messaging
- Glamorization of drug and alcohol use
- Demeaning images of women and girls
- Feeling misunderstood or ignored
- Feeling isolated or ostracized
When teens lose their way, it does not need to be forever.
Teen Faith-Based Treatment
Teens have their own unique set of challenges as they navigate life during the most turbulent time of life. They are undergoing more physical, emotional, social, and spiritual changes than they will at any other period. Turning to substances to ease anxiety and depression, “fit in,” or claim the “fun” and glamor is all too common among this age group.
Unfortunately, occasional use to ease the pain can easily manifest into substance use disorder for many teens. This can propel them quickly toward consequences that may drastically impact their lives or those around them, including:
- Unpredictable mood swings and bouts of anger
- Difficulty in school
- Self-esteem issues
- Engaging in self-destructive behavior
- Other mental health disorders
For teens raised in a Christian home, faith-based rehab can offer something familiar and comforting. It also reminds them of their roots, the foundation of their strength, and the presence of divine guidance in their lives.
In faith-based treatment, the caring, supportive environment and a community of other teens dealing with the same challenges of addiction provide security and a chance to explore their drug or alcohol use with honesty and trust.
Contact Pennsylvania Adult and Teen Challenge
At PAATC’s teen treatment center, we offer a comprehensive faith-based and evidence-based program that includes:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Group support
- Bible study
- Pastoral care
- Family therapy
- Sober, age-appropriate activities
In addition, it offers the compassion and commitment of professional staff with your teenager’s best outcomes in mind at all times. Please reach out today to learn more by filling out our online form or calling 844.442.8673. We look forward to hearing from you.
