Families of adolescent drug abusers: systemic interventions to attain drug-free behavior

Adolescent drug use in the community is a widespread social problem. The abuse of alcohol and/or other illegal drugs ranges from random experimentation to a complex pattern of regular use of a combination of drugs. This paper addresses systemic therapeutic interventions which have been constructed to achieve drug-free behavior. The family is considered the unit of treatment. Contextual goals (necessary to attain a therapeutic climate) and family goals are delineated. These include unity and action within a parental coalition, therapeutic utilization of urinalyses, the bogeyman cometh, probation, home detoxification, and countering adolescent sabotage. Family structural and interactional features outside the explicit arena of drug-taking, such as marital conflict or adolescent autonomy/dependence issues, are not addressed but are discussed elsewhere. Clinical illustrations to document interventions discussed are provided.