By Stephen C. Schultz
Many young adults in today’s society, those who are 18 to
26 years old, find themselves contemplating mental health treatment of some
kind. This self- realization comes to them because they are struggling in college
to maintain good grades while partying throughout the week. There are some who
simply flunk out of school and go back to live with mom and dad. Still others
graduate high school, live with their parents and move from job to job never
really making that transition into adulthood.
When partying and gaming take over their lives, these
young adults start getting pressure from family to turn their life around. Their
behaviors start to affect family
relationships. They may also suffer
from bouts with depression, anxiety or other emotional issues that are
symptomatic of their situation. It turns into the typical “Failure to Launch”
syndrome.
When things get bad enough or when there is enough
pressure from family to take care of the problem, these young adults will seek
help. Often they start seeing an outpatient therapist in their community.
Sometimes, things are bad enough that they seek help from a residential
treatment program like a drug & alcohol rehab or mental health facility.
It is widely known throughout the treatment community
that the majority of young adults who enter treatment also drop out of treatment
before completion. There are many clinically complicated reasons why this is
so, but here are the five most common reasons that young adults fail to
complete treatment.
1) Difficult Detox
When substances such as drugs or alcohol
are consumed, the body builds up a “tolerance” to having the substance in our
body. When use is stopped, the body has to readjust to not having the substance
in us anymore. This readjustment is called “withdrawal”. Withdrawal symptoms
may include shakes, nausea, headaches, dizziness, rapid heart rate, sweats,
body aches and in severe cases seizures and or hallucinations. Withdrawal from
alcohol can be fatal and is often done in a medical setting.
At the first signs of discomfort, many
young adults simply decide they are not ready for treatment and would rather
continue using than go through the pain of detox.
2) I’m not like these people
By the time young adults get to the place
where they are pressured to get treatment, they generally have a “center of the
universe” attitude about themselves. They also tend to minimize the issues they
are struggling with. Therefore, they look around at others who are in
treatment, whether it’s in the waiting room of their therapist or the group
room of a residential center and say to themselves, “I’m not as bad off as
these people. I don’t need to be here. Mom and dad are just wasting their money
on this treatment.”
3) The therapist is mean
When working on any mental health or
emotional issues, the “therapeutic alliance” that is developed is the key to a
positive outcome. However, the therapist isn’t there to be a friend, but they
are there to ask some difficult questions. Their job is to have the client take
a difficult look at some very painful aspects of their life. Often, when
emotional pain starts to surface, the therapist is seen as the cause of that
pain. Many young adults mistakenly blame the therapist for their pain rather
than recognize it is a consequence of their own behavior and choices.
4) Day after day is the same. I’m not learning
anything.
Participating in therapy is often a long
and arduous process. These young adults are used to moving through life from
one exciting “event” to another. They are constantly chasing the next “high”,
whether it is through substances, exciting activities or both. However, the
life of most productive, responsible adult members of society is not moving
from one “high” to another, but managing and bringing meaning to the mundane
activities of daily life. For example; getting up every day and going to
work…on time. It’s getting the kids ready for school…each day. There is grocery
shopping and homework. College students spend structured time studying, writing
the paper and including the footnotes!
When therapy forces the young adult to try
and bring meaning to the mundane activities of life, they often leave treatment
with the excuse; “Therapy is boring. I’m not learning anything. It’s the same
every time I go.”
5) I know what I need to know.
Once a young adult enters treatment, the most
difficult aspect of therapy is getting them to be in touch with their emotions.
Emotions can be painful to experience if there has been drug or alcohol abuse,
trauma and family discord. Therefore, the young adult enters treatment thinking
they are there to “learn stuff” and then be done. This mindset reflects the
attitude that it’s to be learned in their head and not their heart. There are
many who become therapy “wise” but fail to integrate and apply the knowledge in
daily life.
Stephen Schultz was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. He graduated from
the University of Utah with a degree in psychology and was trained and worked
in addictions counselling. He spent several years in administration of clinical
services, operations and marketing. He currently enjoys administrative
responsibilities with the RedCliff Ascent, Medicine Wheel, Discovery
Academy, Discovery
Ranch for Boys, Discovery
Ranch for Girls, Discovery Connections and Oxbow Academy.
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