The Interpreted Rock

By Stephen C. Schultz Over the years I have had too many conversations with families about substance abuse. I have sat with parents brought to tears because addiction has ruined relationships and tarnished trust. I have discussed substance use disorder with teens that maintain a center of the universe attitude and are convinced they can use drugs now, only to recover later in life and be fine. I have witnessed the slow death that comes about because of a cirrhotic liver and the spur of the moment death brought about by substance induced suicide.  I have compassionately changed the bed sheets of a middle aged man in the throes of a medical detox who was trying desperately to maintain some semblance of dignity. In each of these cases, families and parents never once thought to themselves; “I sure hope that someone in our family struggles with addiction!” In fact, most families romanticize the Field of Dreams scenario. Unfortunately, addiction is no respecter ...

By Stephen C. Schultz If you are the parent of a teen, chances are you have a pretty good sense when something isn’t quite right. Most parents have that parental intuition —a quiet but persistent feeling that a child’s thoughts, attitudes, or behaviors may be heading in an unhealthy direction. The challenge is that, as parents, we don’t want to believe our teen could be struggling in a serious way. When concerning behaviors emerge, it’s common to minimize or rationalize them with thoughts like: “When I was their age, I struggled with some of the same things. It’s not that big of a deal.” “Oh…it’s just hormones. She’ll be fine.” “All teens go through this. He’ll grow out of it.” Sometimes those reassurances are true. Other times, they prevent us from recognizing when our child needs more support. When Is It More Than “Just a Phase”? As parents, how do we know when normal adolescent development crosses into something more serious? How can we tell the difference between typical teenage g...