Edges Magazine Issue 35 - The Young Addict

EDGES MAGAZINE Issue 35

November 2003

The Young Addict
Julian Gilmore, is Senior Counsellor,
at PROMIS Group a new centre opened in London

One of the major misconceptions concerning young (13 to 18 years) addicts is that they somehow have only just started using drugs, that they have only recently embarked on their using careers, that they have been led into bad ways by peer pressure and stupid behaviour, or that they are a bit green behind the ears and thus deserving our pity, sympathy and patronage.

The reality is that a 17 year old in treatment may well have been using drugs for 5 or more years, will be incredibly streetwise and sophisticated, as well as massively damaged. There may well be a deepening involvement with dangerous elements of the drug underworld, with all the risks that that entails.

Although younger patients may well experience a great deal of ‘euphoric recall’ (i.e. remembering drug culture and its associated music or other cultural phenomena), there is nonetheless – with all persons suffering protracted negative consequences of addictive disease – a deep underlying sense of unease: the good times have gone, the drugs aren’t working so well any more, and they are scared because it has all got so out of control.

Adolescent addiction patients are reasonably easy to integrate into a predominately ‘adult’ group; they have no problem in recognising in others the patterns of behaviour, which are increasingly dominated by demands of addictive use. They are capable of the shrewdest and most accurate feedback and challenge.

In many cases young patients will come from a family background of addiction and this is a huge issue in terms of resettlement following primary inpatient care. Their most significant relationships will, clearly, be with their parents and acknowledging the pain that their own active addiction has caused will be an extremely painful process.

They will also, of course, see older members of the therapeutic group and the counselling staff as surrogate parents and will therefore tend to sulk, glower and have temper tantrums. The paradox is that young street addicts, whilst being incredibly ‘mature’ in a worldly sense and possessing tons of street credibility, have been unable to grow emotionally.

Parents of addicted children need to put out the message that they will no longer tolerate drug use in the house nor will they supply drugs or pay off drug debts. In reality, of course, this picture is somewhat complicated by legal obligation and the fact that blood tends to run thicker than water. We have seen parents bang their heads against a wall asking ‘why, why, why?’. Yet we have known weak or ineffectual parents (often themselves in the grip of addictive disease) come to regard their errant offspring as authorities, counsellors or gurus! This points to the huge requirement for family therapy as a whole.

We recognise that the adolescent has particular needs. We organise activities and educational trips and we stay in contact with schools and significant individual caregivers. We have found too, that these younger patients have a great deal to contribute to our entire treatment programme through their energy and enthusiasm and that they get a kick out of doing so.

Julian Gilmore, Senior Counsellor, PROMIS Group