This is a big question. At this point, you may be unsure whether or not your child has a problem. You may think he or she is going through a phase or just experimenting. Making it more difficult, your son or daughter is telling you they don’t have a problem.

You want to believe your child so badly and give him or her the benefit of the doubt. It’s easy to start second-guessing yourself. All parents go through this.

If there’s any question at all in your mind, it makes sense to have a professional evaluate your child. You’ll get the answers you need so you and your child can get on with life.

You know your child has a drug or alcohol problem. Still, taking the next step and getting your son or daughter help can be very challenging. You might fear offending your child and putting further strain on your relationship. Or you might be feeling helpless, overwhelmed or embarrassed about what others will think.

This is all normal. With everything going on, it’s easy to forget that drug and alcohol abuse affects many teenagers from every kind of family background. What’s important is that your child gets the help he or she needs.

EXPERIENTIAL THERAPIES

An important part of your child’s treatment consists of hands-on activities: playing sports, creating art, growing vegetables. These experiential therapies not only engage your child, they also allow him or her to learn important concepts like team building, patience and humility that can be applied to life outside Rosecrance. More important, experiential therapies teach your child new behaviors to replace drugs and alcohol.

COUNSELING

Counseling sessions are an integral part of your child’s treatment. In addition to individual, one-on-one sessions with a credentialed addiction counselor, your child will also participate in group and family therapy sessions.

FAMILY PROGRAM

Teenagers who have an engaged support system outside of Rosecrance tend to have an increased chance for a lasting recovery. For this reason, we developed our family program.

This dedicated program starts by helping family members understand the nature of addiction. On a regular basis, your family will have meetings with our credentialed counselors. In addition, you’ll participate in our special family weekend. This activity is a great opportunity for you to interact with other families, meet with Rosecrance alumni and learn about addiction from our professional team.

Most important, we prepare families for life outside Rosecrance. So your family knows what to expect and how they can help support a lasting recovery.

We understand how difficult it is to leave your child in someone else’s hands. But our staff—addiction counselors, physicians, psychiatrists, skilled nurses, dieticians, chaplain, physical fitness instructors, teachers and social workers—will quickly feel like family. Because they genuinely care and want it to work as much as you do. They take the time to get to know you and your child on an individual basis and design a program that’s best for everyone.

In addition to being kind and understanding, our staff is experienced and credentialed in addiction recovery. So they know what works and what doesn’t. Throughout your child’s recovery, members of our team will meet with you to review your child’s progress and make plans for his or her discharge.

We believe recovery is most successful in an environment that nurtures it. So every aspect of our campus is intentionally designed. Our treatment facility is warm and welcoming to put you and your child at ease. Our serenity garden provides a place to relax and is also part of our experiential therapies program, helping teenagers re-engage their senses and re-connect with nature.

The objective of this free service is to determine if your child needs help and whether or not Rosecrance can provide the kind of help your child needs. During the assessment you and your child will:

• Meet with an addiction counselor
• Tour our treatment facility
• Take a drug test if needed

At the conclusion of your child’s assessment, our addiction counselor will make a professional recommendation for your child.

ADMISSION IS A VERY EMOTIONAL TIME

You’ll be feeling a mixture of sorrow and relief. Our staff is here to support you and make this process go smoothly. At Rosecrance, your son or daughter is not just in the hands of experts, but of people who genuinely care and want him or her to succeed.

THE FIRST 24 HOURS

We know the minute you leave, you’ll be thinking about your child and worrying if he or she is all right. We will call you within the first 24 hours to let you know how your child is doing, what he or she ate, how he or she slept, etc. And you can always call us, night or day, to hear how your child is doing. We also make sure you don’t leave without your child’s schedule, so you always know what he or she is doing during treatment.

THE FIRST WEEK

The first week is a big transition: your child is away from home, they miss their friends and lifestyle and he or she may still be dependent on drugs or alcohol. For these reasons, most teens struggle at first. Many call their parents, begging to be picked up. While this is hard, it’s only temporary. We cannot stress enough the importance of staying the course. Within a week, your child will be more engaged and accepting of his or her treatment.