Crisis intervention centers are often community-based storefront facilities staffed mainly by nonprofessionals who have themselves been drug abusers. They are not likely to fall for the youngster who says, “I experimented just that one time,” or “I was keeping the stuff for a friend.” The centers provide emergency help, short-term treatment, and evaluation and referral. Says George Doering, Jr., director of the Ramapo Counseling Center in Spring Valley, New York, “Sometimes it’s just a question of giving a kid the opportunity to grow up with some support. For a lot of kids, four to six moths of treatment are fine.” These centers can also be used as a transition into more intensive care of for aftercare once a child has returned from inpatient treatment.

Psychotherapy and counseling are usually provided in a clinic or mental health center or by a private practitioner. The therapist is usually a psychiatrist, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, credentialed alcoholism counselor, drug abuse counselor, or pastoral counselor. Talking about personal problems on a one-to-one basis is the crux of this treatment method, which may also offer other services such as peer groups and family therapy.

Finding the right counselor is vital. To assess one, you should know:

? What kind of formal training the counselor has; how much and what kind of experience he or she has had with chemically dependent people. (If the therapist has the basic tools and is honest and caring, the professional label is not of great importance.)
? Whether this person insists on no drug or alcohol use during treatment. (There is general agreement that abstinence is essential, but no agreement on giving up cigarettes simultaneously.)
? What knowledge the counselor has of self-help programs.
? How he or she views adolescent drug use. Authorities agree that anything beyond fleeting experimentation should be taken seriously.
? If you are comfortable with this person and if you think your child will be.
? If you can ask questions without feeling that you are an overanxious parent.
? Whether you will have regular meetings with your child’s therapist or counselor to discuss what progress is being made, how he or she sees your child’s problem, and what the long-term treatment plans and prognosis are. You have a right to know what you’re paying for—not the details, but the general outline.

If the first person you interview doesn’t seem right, keep trying.

Sometimes finding the right person in as much a matter of luck as of sophisticated choice-making. When one mother finally cajoled her son into accompanying her to a psychologist’s office, the man pulled a form from his top drawer and, looking down at the page, asked, “Birth weight?” Mother and son knew immediately they were in the wrong place. The next person they saw was a youth advocate whose storefront office was part of a community outreach program. The worker was not much older than hi client, had been through a drug treatment program, and was clearly familiar with this kind of kid.

All-day treatment centers and alternative day school operate from early morning to evening and provide, a highly structured environment that includes school, chores, peer counseling, and individual counseling. The youngsters are taken out of their usual daily environment and go home only to sleep. The staff is made up largely of recovering alcohol and drug abusers, who are often supervised by mental health professionals. Family participation is an important part of the program, and those who are often supervised by mental health professionals. Family participation is an important par of the program, and those who graduate from day treatment usually attend aftercare programs there so that they aren’t abruptly attend aftercare programs there so that they aren’t abruptly thrown back into the outside world. Youngsters are often in treatment for a year or more.

After-school programs are designed to catch the drug use before it gets too bad. These use confrontational techniques, peer pressure, family participation, and other techniques to help a child stay in his or her regular school setting.