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Adolescent Services

Our Adolescent and Family Services (CMC-AFS) team works with adolescents aged 14-18 struggling with substance use and other compulsive behaviors, like gaming and gambling. We are also skilled in working with the co-occurring disorders (anxiety, depression, trauma, autism spectrum, etc) that often accompany these problems. We use cognitive behavioral (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as well as motivational approaches to engage adolescents in the possibilities of behavioral change, while also reducing the harm associated with many high risk behaviors.

Goals of CMC-AFS

  • Help teens and their family members understand and engage in behavioral change
  • Help teens identify their values and learn coping skills to achieve their goals
  • Promote a sense of self-awareness, confidence and self-efficacy for everyone in the family
  • Coordinate care with people (parents, therapists, etc) supporting the adolescent
When we work with adolescents, we ask that parents/caregivers be involved in an ongoing way. This typically means parents having their own family therapist with us, and teens working with a different clinician at CMC. This arrangement gives teens space to think through their reasons for making changes and their parents space to think through rewards/consequences, limits and communication strategies.

As a family member our work with you will be based on the Invitation to Change Approach (ITC), which brings evidence-based principles and practices, including kindness, together in a way that will help you encourage positive change in your teen. It will also help you bring self-compassion and care to yourself in the process. The ITC can help you:

  • Lessen the tension, conflict, and heated emotion in your relationship and household
  • Allow yourself to be part of the change process and be taken care of on this journey
  • Talk to your teen in ways that improve collaboration and encourage change
  • Respond more effectively both to the positive changes your teen makes and to their less positive behaviors, while letting natural consequences play a role in motivating change

The program is individualized for each client and includes:

  • Comprehensive assessment with the adolescent and family
  • Individual sessions (45-50 minutes)
  • Family sessions using the Invitation to Change approach (ITC)
  • Parent support group
  • Access to psychological and academic testing
  • Access to psychiatric evaluation and referral to trusted psychiatrists with expertise in working with adolescents and substance use disorders
  • Drug testing

Speak with an intake specialist

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New Workbook

The Beyond Addiction Workbook for Family and Friends: Evidence-Based Skills to Help a Loved One Make Positive Change, is our first full-length publication on the Invitation to Change Approach (ITC). From Dr. Carrie Wilkens, Dr. Jeff Foote, and Dr. Ken Carpenter (authors of Beyond Addiction).
Workbook Details