Teen Addictions Recovery Work

Facilitator Reproducible Assessments, Exercises & Educational Handouts

Teen addictions come in many different shapes and forms. When most people hear the word addiction, they usually think of drug use and abuse. In reality, many different types of addictive behaviors exist. Addictions have very different effects on the body and mind of the person. Different types of addictions include drugs and alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes, steroids, computer use and social networking, gambling, cigarettes and cigars, video games, texting, pornography, sex, sugar, money, shopping, self-injury, exercising, thrill-seeking and prescription drugs.

Teens have these addictions for a variety of complicated reasons including:

• To fit in
• To be accepted
• To change an image
• To feel more social
• To get in with a specific clique of peers
• To feel excited when bored
• To distance themselves from family
• To provide distance from school problems
• To relax from pressures of everyday life
• To gain confidence and loosen inhibitions
• To boost self-esteem
• To feel less lonely
• To ''numb'' feelings
• To feel important
• To feel less depressed
• To feel less anxious
• To rebel
• To seem ''cool''

The Teen Addictions & Recovery Workbook contains six separate sections to help participants learn more about themselves as well how addictions are impacting their lives.

• Do I Overdo My Habits? Scale helps individuals explore those types of habits they tend to overdo and identify ways to overcome these negative habits.
  
• Am I Likely to be Addicted? Scale helps individuals examine if they have a constellation of personality traits that predispose them to various addictions.
  
• Am I Addicted? Scale helps individuals to determine the level of their addiction to substances, activities and/or thought and behaviors.
  
• Am I Relapsing? Scale helps individuals identify the changes in thinking, feeling and behavior that accompany relapse.
  
• Can I Stop? Scale helps individuals define a clearer picture of the excuses that they may be using to continue their addiction and guides them to ways they can stop.
  
• Change and Recovery Scale helps individuals explore the level of self-discipline and willpower they have in combating addictions.

Use the exploratory activities, reflective journaling exercises and educational handouts to help teens discover their habitual and ineffective methods of managing addictions, and to explore new ways for bringing about healing.

Ester R.A. Leutenberg has worked in the mental health field for many years as a publisher, author, and advocate for those suffering from loss. She personally experienced a devastating loss when her son Mitchell, after struggling with a mental illness for eight years, died by suicide in 1986. Soon after, as a way of both healing and helping others, Ester co-founded Wellness Reproductions & Publishing with her daughter Kathy Khalsa and began developing therapeutic products that help facilitators help their clients.

With Whole Person Associates, Ester has co-written several books and corresponding card decks including: GriefWork ~ Healing from Loss, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Creating a Healthy Balanced Life, The Complete Caregiver Support Guide, Life Skills to Help Teens Balance Way Too Much, Motivation, and Veterans - Surviving and Thriving after Trauma, Transitional Life Skills for Teens series, and the Optimal Well-Being for Senior Adults series. Visit WholePerson.com for a complete list.

Ester, a breast cancer survivor since 2003, counsels other survivors in overcoming body and loss issues. Ester is a board member of SOS (Survivors of Suicide) in Tucson AZ and vice-president of the Coyote Task Force in Tucson. (An agency to support individuals recovering from persistent, chronic mental illnesses and to help them regain their ability to move towards their recovery with a focus on reintegration into the community.)

John J. Liptak, EdD has many years of experience in providing counseling services to individuals and groups in a variety of settings including job training programs, correctional institutions, colleges, and universities. In addition, John has years of teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Radford University.

John frequently conducts workshops on assessment-related topics. He has written three books on career-related topics. His books have been featured in numerous newspapers including The Washington Post, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His work has also been featured on MSNBC, CNN Radio, and on the PAX/ION television series, Success without a College Degree.

With Ester and Kathy, he has written three other comprehensive books for teachers and counselors to use with their students and clients: The Self-Esteem Program, The Social Skills Program and The Stress Management Program: Inventories, Activities & Educational Handouts.

Ester and John continue to co-write workbooks and corresponding card decks in each of these series that help facilitators help their teen and adult participants: Coping, Erasing the Stigma of Mental Health Issues through Awareness, Working With Families, Mental Health & Life Skills, Mind-Body Wellness, and Teen Mental Health & Life Skills, all published by Whole Person Associates. Visit WholePerson.com for a complete list.