ARC MANOR KITTANNING PA.

Getting Teens Talking

According to a survey of 6,500 teens by the Partnership for a Drug Free America, 73 percent said the number one reason they turn to drugs and alcohol is to relieve stress at school. As the new school year begins, how can you help your teen adjust -- and to open up about what's going on?

"You can push too much and that'll shut the child down. So it's a fine balance: Be available, be a good listener, and also know when you do need to push in case they're into some things that they shouldn't be," says Gloria Meaux, Ph.D., a psychologist.

Between a parent and a teenager, this might be the typical conversation: "How was school today?" "Fine." "Anything special happen?" "No." "What are you doing tomorrow?" "Nothing." Mumbles, a shrug, single word answers … how can you get your children to talk openly and honestly? How much do teenagers tell their parents? I hardly share anything with my parents," says 16-year-old Derek. "I share very little with my parents,"says 18-year-old Tyler.

Jessie gives an example of a question she hates: "How was your day?"

"When you've had a horrible day, you just feel like people at school are mad at you," she says. "Your classes went horribly, you failed a test. It can almost be an insult without them knowing it, because it just seems insensitive."

Experts say parents are better served asking about something specific: school projects coming up, weekend plans with a friend, or a test that the child may be worried about.

"The specific questions, you'll get more bang for your buck if you want them to communicate back to you than some general question that you could ask a stranger on the street," says Dr. Meaux. "Sometimes she'll be like 'so how is that situation going with this person' and I'll just burst out crying," says Jessie.

Experts say it starts by being easy to talk to. "You're sort of the approachable parent, that you listen more than you talk, and listening is the hard thing," says Dr. Meaux. And once they truly believe you're listening, experts say they'll open up more.

"The more talking they'll do because they'll be open," says Licensed Clinical Social Worker Freddie Wilson. "[They'll be more open if they feel] you're open to hearing what I'm saying rather than talking and giving them solutions and solving their problems for them. They want someone to hear them."

And knowing when your child really needs your ear comes from getting to know your child. "I’ll look at her and I’ll say 'You look like you’re down, did something happen?' Yes. Was it so and so? Yea," explains Jessie’s mom. "It helps to know that she cares and that she’s actually wanting to know about things," says Jessie.

*CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS CONNECT WITH KIDS NEWS STORY ONLINE.* 

            200 OAK AVENUE               KITTANNING, PA 16201

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Retreat at Lancaster County

Mission:

Is to provide a compassionate and spiritual environment for those suffering from the disease of addiction, and begin the journey to recovery by providing enlightenment and education to the individual and their families.

Overview:

The Retreat, a 120-bed inpatient Substance Abuse facility located in Ephrata, PA on a picturesque and secluded 24 acre campus. We provide our patients with inpatient medically monitored detox, inpatient rehabilitation, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient care. Retreat is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs for 30 detox and 90 rehabilitation beds accredited by CARF.

Our Staff:

Our professional and compassionate staff understands the complexities of addiction. Credentialed and licensed therapists under the guidance of our ABAM Certified Medical Director, use a unique multi-disciplinary model of addiction treatment to engage patients and motivate them to fully participate in their own recovery. Treatment plans are customized and tailored to each patient’s needs and reviewed daily by the medical and clinical team. Low patient-to-staff ratios and frequent individual therapy sessions are essential to ensuring that each patient is given the care and attention necessary to fully participate in their treatment.

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Whitney Houston’s Substance Abuse and Early Death at Age 48

If you’re looking for a good reason to get yourself some help for drug or alcohol addiction you don’t have to look much further than Whitney Houston’s tragic early death at only 48 years old

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Once the fresh faced and supernaturally talented queen of R'n'B pop, two decades of alcohol, crack and marijuana addiction left her haggard and erratic - with her once powerful multi-octave voice reduced to a raspy shadow of its former glory.

How do you hit rock bottom when you’ve got an estimated $100 million to insulate you from the consequences of your actions and to fuel decades of extravagant drug use?

For Whitney, money and fame offered no salvation from her personal demons, though she tried on multiple occasions to overcome her addictions and though she endured tabloid mockery after a number of bizarre public appearances and 

                                             disappointing performances over the last decade.  

Whitney Houston: Battled Years of Addiction

• 1963 – Whitney Houston is born into a musical family to singer mother Cissy Houston. She is also cousins with Dionne Warwick and goddaughter to Aretha Franklin.
• 1983 - Signed by mentor Clive Davis of Arista Records, who saw the 20 year old Houston singing at a nightclub and signed her on the spot.
• 1985 – Releases her first album ‘Whitney Houston’. It remains the biggest selling debut album by a female artist of all time.
• 1987 – ‘Whitney” her second album hits the charts and goes on to sell 25 million records.
• 1989 – Meets Bobby Brown
• 1992 – Marries Bobby Brown
• 1992 – Stars in the movie ‘The Bodyguard’.
• 1995/1996 – Stars in the movies ‘The Preachers Wife’ and ‘Waiting to Exhale’. In a 2009 Oprah interview Houston reveals that by the time she is filming these movies she has become a daily cocaine user.
• Jan 11 2000 – Airport security guards find marijuana in her luggage in Hawaii but her plane leaves before authorities can arrive
• 2004 – Whitney goes to rehab after Clive Davis threatens to cut her out of Arista Records if she doesn’t get help
• 2006 – Photos of Houston’s squalid home bathroom hit the internet. Pictures full of drug paraphernalia and old beer cans paint a depressing picture of her drug and alcohol use.
• 2006 – Whitney again goes to rehab on Davis’s prompting, spending months in a Pennsylvania residential addiction treatment facility. After rehab, she works intensely with a sober coach who has her move to LA to keep her away from using friends and family in New Jersey.
• 2007 – Whitney divorces Bobby Brown after a 14 year turbulent marriage characterized by drug use allegations, numerous arrests of Brown and allegations of spousal abuse.
• 2009 – Tells Oprah that she has beaten drugs for good.
• 2009 – Tries a comeback with the release of the album, ‘I Look to You’. The album goes platinum but her comeback tour is criticized for poor performances and odd stage-behaviors and her numerous tour-date cancellations fuel rumors that she is once again abusing drugs. She performs very badly in A Good Morning America concert to promote the album, sounding raspy and off key and failing to hit high notes.  
• May 2011 – Whitney enters rehab for the third time
• Wednesday, Feb 8 2012 – Whitney checks into the Beverly Hills Hilton. Witness reports over the next few days have her drinking heavily in the hotel bar and appearing sweaty and disheveled and smelling of liquor and cigarettes at a pre Grammy rehearsal.
• Saturday, Feb 11 2012 - Houston found dead in a bathtub in her hotel room. Although toxicology reports will take some time, because she was seen drinking heavily in the days prior to her death and because she had prescriptions in her room for drugs like Xanax, experts speculate that she could have passed-out from a combination of these substances and drowned in the tub or could have overdosed and died before submerging.

Where would she be today had she gotten help a few years sooner? Could anyone have saved her back when things weren’t so out of control?

We’ll never know what might have been had she taken steps to get help before things got so crazy, but we can remember her for what she once was, look to her descent from the top as a lesson on the costs of addiction and use her tragic end as a chilling reminder of just how dangerous these substances can be.

Whitney Houston - here's hoping you've found the peace that eluded you in this life and that you are remembered for your gifts and achievements and not for your very human frailties.

Here is some important information for those of you who want to get off Xanax. We encourage you to seek professional help now.

Read more: Whitney Houston’s Substance Abuse and Early Death at Age 48 

The Bible and Treatment

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God's way of preparing us in every way . . .(II Timothy 3:16-17)

The Christian historic belief is that Scripture is authoritative and complete and contains all the principles necessary to live life in Christ and fully as a human being.  We at Pacific Hills operate under the conviction that the inspired Word of God must be our foundational source and inspiration in the professional counseling, treatment and rehabilitation process.

Above all, we believe that love and compassion should be at the heart of a Biblically based ministry (I Corinthians, 13). Accordingly, we are committed to work with our clients in the spirit of tolerance (in the truest sense of the word) and reverence for each person's worth and dignity--beginning with where they are at the point we first meet.

The writers of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, with these same motivations, make it clear that the addict's problem is a spiritual sickness that only a "spiritual awakening" can remedy. In its simplicity, it calls the hurting ones to three pertinent and basic truths about themselves: (1) that they are alcoholic and cannot manage their own lives; (2) that no human power can relieve their alcoholism; and (3) that God can and will if He is sought. Despite the reports of some individuals who have experienced prejudice and abuse in the culture of Alcoholic Anonymous, the early history and the principles outlined in the Big Book of AA are squarely rooted in Biblical truth.

We are called to deal with a bio-psycho-social-spiritual disease. Its treatment must be comprehensive and aggressive. We know that left untreated, most die. Our Christian professional staff brings to our unique program the best of psychiatric, psychological, medical, behavioral, pastoral and theological training and experience in order to address substance abuse and the wreckage it brings to suffering human beings. Our goal is to actively stand alongside the walking wounded in the healing process, encouraging hope and renewal to their body, mind, soul, spirit and relationships.

Pacific Hills and Recovery Options exist to serve the chemically dependent and their families in the context of the local church ministry.  We prefer doing so by bringing resource, education and expertise to the local church pastor, counselor and therapist. When a residential program is needed, we seek to involve the church and counselor in the treatment process--with the intent to ultimately restore them to their community of faith.

 By Pacific Hills Treatment Center       32236, Paseo Adelanto Suite G San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Contact : (949) 973-9155

Get Help Now!

Happy Valentines Day!

Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy. It does not boast.  It is not proud. It is not  rude. It is not self seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts. Always hopes, always perseveres.
1Cor.13  REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

Support for Parents of a child struggling with drugs and alcohol!

We’re Here to Help.
Call Us Today: 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373)

Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed or have a specific question about your child’s drug or alcohol use?  Our Parents Toll-Free Helpline is a nationwide support service that offers assistance to parents and other primary caregivers of children who want to talk to someone about their child’s drug use and drinking. Our trained and caring parent specialists will:

• Listen to your concerns, challenges, setbacks and emotional turmoil that you have experienced with your child’s substance abuse or addiction
• Help you outline a course of effective action –  whether it’s prevention, intervention, seeking treatment or supporting recovery – grounded in science-based resources
• Inform you of different resources available to you nationally 

Our Helpline is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm ET.  We are closed on weekends and holidays. The Helpline is not a crisis line. If you do not connect with a parent specialist, please leave a message and we will make every effort to get back to you by the next business day. If you are in need of immediate or emergency services please call 911 or a 24 hour crisis hotline.

Our parent specialists are licensed social workers and psychologists with years of experience helping individuals and their families prevent and overcome substance abuse problems.  

We’re Here to Help – Call Us
Parents Toll-Free Helpline
1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373)
Monday to Friday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm ET