Insight-Oriented Therapy for Adolescent Substance Abuse

“Know thy self” is an ancient Greek aphorism that has been used since the days of Socrates, but applies equally to modern life. The more you know yourself, the happier you will be – this is a basic tenet of insight-oriented therapy, which has helped thousands of adults and adolescents overcome problems like substance abuse, trauma, depression, and other psychological and behavioral issues.

Insight-oriented therapy, or insight therapy, encourages people to break free from old habits and behavior patterns by looking inward and assessing one’s own emotions, motivations, and self-talk. Through enhanced self-awareness, patients are better equipped to challenge negative thoughts and work through difficult emotions in healthy ways.

An Insightful Approach to Teen Addiction

At no one time could understanding oneself be more important than during adolescence, when young people are first establishing their identity. This is no easy task – at the same time they’re learning who they are as individuals, they must find a way to fit in with friends, peers, and family.  Based on research by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), studies have shown that the adolescent brain continues to develop into early adulthood.   The areas of that are responsible for self-control, judgment, emotion and organization develop and change into early adulthood.  This may help explain adolescent poor decision-making, recklessness and emotional outbursts.   As adolescents navigate through this time, it is important that they can express themselves in a safe, non-judgmental environment. 

Historically, adolescent substance abuse treatment programs have focused on behavior modification, seeking to reduce negative behaviors rather than treating the underlying issues. In recent years, there has been a shift toward inquiring more deeply into how and why the negative behavior manifests.  Many adolescents with at risk behaviors are dealing with dual diagnosis issues.  This means that the behaviors may be secondary to an underlying depression, anxiety or trauma.  “It is important for our youth to process the reasons why they made poor choices in order to really produce long term effects” says Karen Rubenstein, LMFT, Clinical Director of ECHO Malibu. 

ECHO Malibu is unique in its approach to teen substance abuse treatment, which may explain its impressive success rates. Our staff seeks to genuinely understand the adolescents’ world, meet them where they are, and accept them for who they are without any pretense.

Writing Their Own Story: The Shift from Reactive to Proactive

Insight-oriented therapy permeates every aspect of substance abuse treatment at ECHO Malibu. Among other approaches, the staff at ECHO Malibu uses depth psychology and narrative work to help teens address the issues underlying their substance abuse.

Our staff continuously works with each adolescent to gain insight into themselves and how they fit into their family system in an effort to help them improve their lives.   It is our belief that each adolescent holds the answer within themselves and needs a safe place to cultivate those answers.

As part of its therapeutic approach, ECHO Malibu asks clients to take a close look at the story they’re telling themselves about who they are.  Many teens have a perception of themselves and how others see them.  For most teens, it’s a relief to learn they are not defined by their self-limiting beliefs and that those beliefs can be altered. Our staff at ECHO Malibu helps each teen understand the developmental stage he is in and how his experience of life will change over time. Once teens understand that their story isn’t finished, they begin to shift from reactive (acting out) to proactive (writing a new life story for themselves).

In the ECHO Malibu model, the “e” in “ECHO” stands for empowerment. When teens feel empowered, they are better able to deal with drug cravings and triggers to use at home and change any negative patterns with the significant people in their lives. Because they will inevitably be faced with drugs, parties, and old friends and lifestyles when they go home, adequate preparation is essential.

 
Families Benefit from Added Insight

Insight-oriented therapy is effective not only with teens, but also their parents. Family relationships are a focal point at ECHO Malibu, where therapists work with parents and teens to understand their place in the family system, how those roles are working, and which patterns can be modified.

It is rare that treatment is exclusively about “fixing” the adolescent. More commonly, there is dysfunction in the family system that must be addressed for change to translate to the home environment. Through insight-oriented family therapy, parents and teens start to appreciate each other’s strengths and challenges rather than blaming one another for the discord at home.

Figuring out what’s happening in the family is an important aspect of adolescent treatment.  ECHO Malibu focuses on family communication patterns and assists in restructuring old patterns of communication to a more open, honest and effective way of communicating.

A Better Way to Live

Effective treatment for teen substance abuse requires more than addressing the drug or alcohol abuse itself. One of the primary goals of treatment is learning how to live better. Although other therapeutic approaches are helpful to address risky behaviors and help teens avoid negative peers, therapies aimed at shifting internal belief systems set a firm foundation for long-term change.