Adolescent Behavioral Health Program

A Helping Hand for Adolescents

If your adolescent is struggling with substance abuse, Rochester Regional Health’s Behavioral Health team has a program for them. With a varied and knowledgeable team, we use evidence-based treatments to treat more than just your teen’s substance abuse. Learn more about our therapy types or call to schedule an appointment, today!

Goals of the Program

The Adolescent Behavioral Health Program (ADOL) at Rochester Regional Health is a 15-week program that aims to help teens develop healthy coping and problem-solving skills while learning how to avoid substance abuse. Together with their family, teens will address the underlying cause of their individual substance use, including anxiety, depression, bullying, anger, and others.

Therapy

We achieve our goals by employing proven, thoughtful, evidenced-based treatment methods. These methods allow us to not only treat substance abuse, but to offer therapy and treatment for the emotional catalysts that may be the cause. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy centered around making connections between behavior, feelings, and thoughts. Also called CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy is used by psychotherapists to help you identify and change your dysfunctional patterns.

Based on the idea that there is a clear link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior, CBT aims to break the cycle by changing the way you think or behave. An example of these negative thoughts is:

• Thought: I don’t fit in
• Feeling: Anxious
• Behavior: Never raise their hand

A teen who believes themselves to be awkward or different may not feel comfortable starting conversations with classmates. And then, when they do not have positive social interactions, their belief that they do not fit in is reinforced. 

Using CBT, we will help you challenge negative assumptions through behavioral experiments. We will work towards helping you change your thoughts, which can reduce any anxiety you may experience.

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works

We often develop distorted core beliefs about ourselves–CBT focuses on confronting and modifying those distortions. We use CBT to help your teen identify unhealthy thought patterns that contribute heavily to mental health problems.

During therapy, your primary therapist may ask a series of questions and ask you to keep a thought record to identify dysfunctional thoughts. We will use specific techniques in later sessions to teach new ways of adapting maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors.

Benefits of CBT

Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches teens how to interpret their environment differently. It is a problem-focused therapeutic approach that typically only needs a handful of sessions to be effective. Instead of focusing on the past or looking for hidden meanings in your behavior, CBT helps you with problems happening now. Benefits include:

• A change in negative thought patterns
• Identifying positive stress responses
• Improving communication
• Improving self-esteem
• Interrupting thoughts that lead to self-destructive or addictive behaviors
• Reducing fears and phobias

CBT will not work for everyone, but it is an excellent option for those struggling with mental health issues or behavioral issues. 

Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Motivational enhancement therapy (MET) is a person-centered therapeutic approach focused on improving your motivation to change. MET can help you view your behaviors more objectively, and you may become empowered to begin changing. 

The primary objective of MET is to help you overcome your resistance to behavior change. This is achieved by raising awareness of a problem, adjusting thoughts regarding the problem, and increasing confidence in your ability to change. 

How Motivational Enhancement Therapy Works

MET is often used as a stand-alone therapeutic treatment, but can also be employed with other therapy types.

MET is based on five principles that guide a therapist’s work. Those are:

Express Empathy

You will receive therapy in a supportive environment meant to make you feel accepted and respected as you engage in reflective listening, not direct confrontation. Your therapist will listen to what you say and reflect it back, with slight but purposeful modifications. These modifications are made to let you know that your therapist has heard and understood, and is now encouraging you to elaborate.

Develop discrepancy

Your therapist will direct your attention toward the discrepancy between your desired state of being and your actual state of being. This may help aid in recognizing ways that your current behaviors are hindering you from achieving goals, and can provide incentive for change.

Avoid argumentation

Your therapist will actively avoid attacking your behavior, as this is known to result in defensiveness and resistance. Instead, they will use gentler methods to raise awareness, and all statements regarding a change will come from you, not your therapist.

Roll with resistance

Through reflective listening or going along with what you are saying, your therapist will defuse any resistance you may have. Though this seems counterintuitive, it decreases the odds of defensiveness and makes it more likely that you will continue to benefit from therapy.

Support self-efficacy

Your therapist will help you become aware of your ability to successfully undertake the actions needed for change.

Benefits of MET

Motivational enhancement therapy has proven effective in increasing patients’ readiness to stop drug use, as well as reducing the severity of substance use. There are also indications that it is very useful in enhancing the treatment of conditions like anxiety, eating disorders, and gambling.

Regardless of a patient’s commitment level, MET can be an effective therapeutic treatment. Even in people with a strong resistance to change, it has shown to be highly effective. MET is an excellent treatment option for adolescents as they struggle with their identities and assert their independence.