Online Alcohol Drug Classes at Tom Wilson Counseling

The Roles of Culture, the Justice System and Support Groups in Adolescent Drug Treatment, Part 8 Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 15. What are the unique treatment needs of adolescents from different racial/ethnic backgrounds? Treatment providers are urged to consider the unique social and environmental characteristics that may influence drug abuse and treatment for racial/ethnic minority adolescents, such as stigma, discrimination, and sparse community resources. With the growing number of immigrant children living in the United States, issues of culture of origin, language, and acculturation are important considerations for treatment. The demand for bilingual treatment providers to work with adolescents and their families will also be increasing as the diversity of the U.S. population increases. 16. What role can the juvenile justice system play in

Questions about Medications to Treat  Adolescent Drug Use Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 13. Are there medications to treat adolescent substance abuse? Several medications are approved by the FDA to treat addiction to opioids, alcohol, and nicotine in individuals 18 and older. In most cases, little research has been conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these medications for adolescents; however, some health care providers do use these medications “off-label,” especially in older adolescents. 14. Do girls and boys have different treatment needs? Adolescent girls and boys may have different developmental and social issues that may call for different treatment strategies or emphases. For example, girls with substance use disorders may be more likely to also have mood disorders such as depression or to have experienced physical or sexual a

Frequently Asked Questions about Adolescent Drug Use, Part 6 Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 12. Is adolescent tobacco use treated similarly to other drug use?   Yes .  People often don’t think of tobacco use as a kind of “drug abuse” that requires treatment, and motives for quitting smoking may be somewhat different than motives for quitting other drugs. But tobacco use has well-known health risks–– especially when begun in the teen years––and the highly addictive nicotine in tobacco can make treatment a necessity to help an adolescent quit. Laboratory research also suggests that nicotine may increase the rewarding and addictive effects of other drugs, making it a potential contributor to other substance use disorders. Common treatment approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are now being used to help adolescents quit smoking (and quit using oth

Frequently Asked Questions about Adolescent Drug Use, Part 5 Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 11. What role can medical professionals play in addressing substance abuse (including abuse of prescription drugs) among adolescents? Medical professionals have an important role to play in screening their adolescent patients for drug use, providing brief interventions, referring them to substance abuse treatment if necessary, and providing ongoing monitoring and follow-up. Screening and brief interventions do not have to be time-consuming and can be integrated into general medical settings. • Screening. Screening and brief assessment tools administered during annual routine medical checkups can detect drug use before it becomes a serious problem. The purpose of screening is to look for evidence of any use of alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs or abuse of pres

Frequently Asked Questions about Adolescent Drug Use, Part 4 Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 7. How do other mental health conditions relate to substance use in adolescents?  Drug use in adolescents frequently overlaps with other mental health problems. For example, a teen with a substance use disorder is more likely to have a mood, anxiety, learning, or behavioral disorder too. Sometimes drugs can make accurately diagnosing these other problems complicated. Adolescents may begin taking drugs to deal with depression or anxiety, for example; on the other hand, frequent drug use may also cause or precipitate those disorders. Adolescents entering drug abuse treatment should be given a comprehensive mental health screening to determine if other disorders are present. Effectively treating a substance use disorder requires addressing drug abuse and other

Frequently Asked Questions about Adolescent Drug Use, Part 3 Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 5. Is abuse of prescription medications as dangerous as other forms of illegal drug use? Psychoactive prescription drugs, which include opioid pain relievers, stimulants prescribed for ADHD, and central nervous system depressants prescribed to treat anxiety or sleep disorders, are all effective and safe when taken as prescribed by a doctor for the conditions they are intended to treat. However, they are frequently abused— that is, taken in other ways, in other quantities, or by people for whom they weren’t prescribed— and this can have devastating consequences. In the case of opioid pain relievers such as Vicodin® or OxyContin®, there is a great risk of addiction and death from overdose associated with such abuse. Especially when pills are crushed and injected

Did you get a DUI, MIP, Alcohol or Drug arrest in one state but live in another state?    Our online classes have been accepted by most states, courts, judges, attorneys, probation, parole, employers, colleges and universities to meet court, agency, employment and student requirements for a DUI, Alcohol Drug Awareness, Minor in Possession, or Drug charges, as well as meeting requirements for education for employment or college and university enrollment. Please check state or court requirements before enrolling. Complete DUI, Alcohol Awareness, Minor in Possession, Drug Diversion Programs Online for court with Certified Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist. Includes FREE 60 minute Victim Impact Panel for Court Requirements.  Tom Wilson Counseling Center has been providing approved classes online since 2004 for DUI, Alcohol, Drug, Anger Management, Conflict Management, Petty Theft Shoplifting, Traffic Safety, Parent Education, Thinking Errors, Cognitiv

Frequently Asked Questions about Adolescent Drug Use, Part 2 Reprinted from the  National Institute of Drug Abuse  by  Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering  online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents . 3. How do adolescents become addicted to drugs, and which factors increase risk?  Addiction occurs when repeated use of drugs changes how a person’s brain functions over time. The transition from voluntary to compulsive drug use reflects changes in the brain’s natural inhibition and reward centers that keep a person from exerting control over the impulse to use drugs even when there are negative consequences—the defining characteristic of addiction. Some people are more vulnerable to this process than others, due to a range of possible risk factors. Stressful early life experiences such as being abused or suffering other forms of trauma are one important risk factor. Adolescents with a history of physical and/or sexual abuse are more likely to be diagnosed with

A new study in the American Journal Of Psychiatry (Volume 171, Issue 6, June 2014) shows that incorporating the web-based educational intervention in the treatment of drug abuse can not only help people stop using drugs, but can also keep them in treatment longer. TES is a web-based version of the Community Reinforcement Approach plus Contingency Management, a packaged approach with demonstrated efficacy.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the NIH, funded this study. TES consists of 62 interactive modules that teach patients how to achieve and maintain abstinence from drug use and includes prize-based motivational incentives to encourage adherence to treatment.  Patients given TES were less likely to drop out of treatment than those in the control group.  Also, the web-based intervention helped patients stay abstinent from drug use, even those who were not abstinent at the beginning of the study.  With such findings, web-based interventions like TES are promis

Understanding Pretrial Diversion A criminal conviction for an alcohol or drug offense, whether misdemeanor or felony, can create an avalanche of unintended consequences that often ends with individuals becoming further enmeshed in the legal system which can prevent them from being a productive member of the community. Tom Wilson Counseling Center specializes in online alcohol and drug abuse education for participants who have qualified for a pretrial diversion program in any state. Pretrial diversion programs afford individuals an opportunity to address their behavior without resulting in a criminal conviction. These diversion programs may occur as early as street-level law enforcement intervention, or as late as court involvement, but the distinguishing characteristic is that there will not be a conviction recorded in an individual’s record. Many pretrial diversion defendants are referred for alcohol and substance abuse intervention , with low risk offenders sent to less inte

Frequently Asked Questions About Adolescent Drug Use Reprinted from the National Institute of Drug Abuse by Tom Wilson Counseling Center  offering online substance abuse education for adults and adolescents. 1. Why do adolescents take drugs? Adolescents experiment with drugs or continue taking them for several reasons, including: • To fit in: Many teens use drugs “because others are doing it”—or they think others are doing it—and they fear not being accepted in a social circle that includes drug-using peers. • To feel good: Abused drugs interact with the neurochemistry of the brain to produce feelings of pleasure. The intensity of this euphoria differs by the type of drug and how it is used. • To feel better: Some adolescents suffer from depression, social anxiety, stress-related disorders, and physical pain. Using drugs may be an attempt to lessen these feelings of distress. Stress especially plays a significant role in starting and continuing drug use as well as returni

Online Substance Classes for Court at Tom Wilson Counseling Center We have developed a simple app for attorneys to quickly refer clients to online classes for court.  Be sure to have court approval for online classes before enrolling.  Each state has different requirements.  You can check state requirements by visiting www.tomwilsoncounseling.com .   Visit http://m.twccsolutions.com.mobapp.at to download the app. Best solution for; Those unable to attend live classes Rural communities Out-of-state offenses Deployed military personnel Employees working abroad Foreign exchange students DUI, DWI, OUI, MIP, MIC, Alcohol, Drug, Substance, Theft, Shoplifting, Anger, Conflict, Thinking Errors, Cognitive Self Change, Relapse