A Psychobehavioral Residential Drug Abuse Program: A New Adventure in Adolescent Psychiatry

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Abstract
A description of a residential drug abuse treatment program for adolescents is presented. The program integrates psychodynamic understanding and principles of behavior modification. A theoretical model focusing on cognitive, affective, and pharmacogenic effects of drug use is explored in relationship to the program. Teen-age heroin use has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, particularly in New York City. Baden (1968) reports that “Narcotic abuse has become the leading cause of death … of persons between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five.” In a more recent paper Baden (1972) noted a particularly alarming statistic in that the number of teen-age deaths resulting from heroin was 225 in 1969 compared with 32 in 1965. Although the population of New York City has remained relatively stable during this period, these mortality statistics represent an 800 % increase in deaths from narcotic abuse. There is no doubt that heroin addiction is a major public health problem, having disastrous consequences particularly for youth. This paper offers a new theoretical framework for the treatment of adolescent drug abusers and discusses the therapeutic implications of this model for the program at the Holy Cross Campus of the Pius XII Schools.

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