The Brain and the Alarm Brain. Source: Committee for Health Information

Young people and abuse

As a young addict, you can come to the small youth project at Alfa-Fredensborg.

The primary focus at Alfa-Fredensborg is to motivate the young person to a drug-free youth life and create opportunities for change together with the young person. We always work in partnership with the young person, so it is important that the young person wants to change.

Youth treatment is designed and organised for addicted young people aged 15 – 17. We offer addiction treatment to young people coming from families with complex social and mental health issues and we have extensive experience and expertise in dealing with young people coming from residential care.

The target group is therefore young people who can say yes to three or more of the following points

– Premature adult addictive behaviour.
– Social, behavioural and emotional difficulties.
– Has difficulty reading body language and social “rules of the game”.
– Has had difficulty functioning at school.
– Have poor or no relationships with parents.
– Have poor or no relationships with peers.
– Have experienced failure.
– Need to be in a place with a familiar daily routine and a social pedagogical content.
– Lacks trust in adults.
– Lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem.
– Inability to engage in committed social interaction.
– Unstable family relationships, general lack of network.
– Young people who have been subjected to physical/psychological abuse.

Youth treatment takes place as an integrated whole with the rest of the house’s residents, but with a focus on the young people’s special needs, and possibly involving relevant family members and partners.

Youth treatment is mainly aimed at changing the young person’s addictive behaviour and getting a clear structure in everyday life. Young addicts particularly benefit from a predictable environment and a good relationship with their treatment provider.

It is always our goal to work with each young person to give him/her new perspectives on thoughts, feelings and actions.

Method

A focused approach is used to establish a close relationship with the young person from day one. We have a mentoring scheme to help the young person into the house and the different activities as soon as the situation allows. The young person will therefore have a contact person in the staff group and a contact person in the residents’ group already on arrival and enrolment.

Work is also done with the young person to create or strengthen the lasting relationships in their life. For example, family and other acquaintances who can empower the young person to live a drug-free life in the future.
The work consists of motivating and creating opportunities for change, in order to create a basis for alternative development possibilities. We take the young person’s particular way of coping as our starting point, in order to use the young person’s resources in a positive way. Therapeutic treatment is offered to both the young person and the family, in addition to the daily social pedagogical work in the form of therapeutic conversations with trained staff.

Our primary aim in the first phase is to help the young person gain detailed knowledge of how their addiction mechanisms work, as well as support with ordinary daily living (ADL). This insight can later help the young person to make a living – perhaps for the first time in his or her life. Alfa-Fredensborg thus offers a holistic treatment programme, the aim of which is to make the young person better equipped for the future with new social skills that can prevent relapse into addiction.

Solution Focused

Most of the therapy takes place in solution-focused group settings. The young person practices networking and relationship skills with the others in the treatment. Many have previously felt that they don’t belong anywhere, so relieving emotional isolation is an important part of treatment. Due to the low number of residents, we are able to develop individual and close programmes. Youth treatment is characterised by being a safe base that helps the young person to build his or her capacity for close relationships.

We are curious to develop pedagogical and therapeutic tools that can strengthen young people’s mastery of life. Change processes are therefore in focus and we spend a lot of time talking about the patterns and strategies that have so far been holding young people back.

Treatment methods that inspire us

MST-SA (Multisystemic Therapy – Substance Abuse)

We have been very successful in applying the principles underlying the MST model, which are based on involving the whole system around the young person. In this way, we focus on maintaining the relationship with the immediate family and offer a family programme for parents and siblings of the young person. We also involve teachers, educators and other actors who have knowledge of the young person. Young people with antisocial behaviour in particular benefit from the principles of this model.

U-TURN

We work around the young person’s total situation. This means that we make use of principles from the U-TURN model, which is based on integrating or maintaining the young person in a meaningful youth life as soon as possible. We understand young people’s abuse as a symptom of unresolved issues and we talk about it as something temporary that we need to work on with the young person to reduce or stop. We do clarifying interviews and screen the young person in terms of. Education. We cooperate with the UU guidance in the municipalities and invite all relevant partners to status meetings.

U18 MODELS

We are inspired by this model and our youth treatment is based on some of its principles. Thus, we work from a non-stigmatizing and undramatic approach to drug issues. We work with individual programmes, where therapeutic one-to-one conversations with a focus on the cognitive are in focus. The young people are offered a course of treatment with the psychologist and they have the same therapist throughout.

The methods used are mainly social pedagogical and psychotherapeutic. In addition, various forms of medication are used, either as a withdrawal measure or if the young person arrives with a psychiatric diagnosis. Alfa-Fredensborg has a full-time nurse and a regular appointment with both a psychologist and a psychiatrist who come to the house every week.

The young people are offered

• Teaching of specific issues (e.g. society – rules – cognitive processes – behaviour)
• Social training
• ADL
• Sports

It is a prerequisite that the young person offered treatment is motivated. This means that the young person expresses a desire for help to change his or her addictive behaviour. A determined effort is made to maintain motivation during the (often long) period of time needed.

Our criteria can be understood as follows

– The young person must want to be at Alfa-Fredensborg.
– The young person’s network must be involved in cooperation with us as far as possible.

It is our experience at Alfa-Fredensborg that when the domestic problems that convinced the young person that treatment is necessary have receded, the “motivation” for drug use often grows and exceeds the young person’s motivation for treatment, so that the young person stops treatment. It is therefore necessary to be prepared for a course of treatment to be interrupted by relapses, although this should not prevent treatment being resumed when motivation returns. In the past, relapse to addiction was thought to show that the person was not motivated. At Alfa-Fredensborg, however, we see relapse as part of the process of change, when drugs need to be pushed into the background.

Substance intake

In the event that a young person consumes drugs or alcohol, this leads to a suspension of the current treatment plan, after which a new treatment plan is drawn up and treatment can continue, even without discharge.

As part of the treatment process, work is done to create a positive group dynamic, both among the young people, but also in relation to the rest of the house. As part of the treatment process, young people are also introduced to self-help groups – such as NA (Narcotics Anonymous) or AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) youth groups. Typically, a group of residents go to a meeting together in one of the nearby towns. Participation in the meetings is voluntary, and is thus an open offer. Alfa-Fredensborg has several minibuses and provides transport both ways.

Our offer

– Flexible physical and therapeutic settings that meet individual needs.
– High professionalism and close collaboration in a family environment. We offer a broad professional and well-trained staff, who through training, supervision, etc. are open to both personal and professional development
– Upon arrival at Alfa-Fredensborg, the young person will be registered and assigned a room. We aim to make Alfa-Fredensborg the home of our residents for the duration of their stay.

Collaborators

During the process, a written report will be drawn up in collaboration with the addiction counsellor and the social worker, based on observation, assessment and talk therapy. In addition, there will be the possibility of screening for possible mental diagnoses by our associated psychiatrist, and an assessment will be made as well as suggestions for possible future action. education/training etc.

Activities

At least twice a week, physical activities are programmed with a trained sports instructor. The house has a gym, an exercise room, a music room and regular trips to the swimming pool. In addition, there is the possibility of accommodating special interests that are positive for the young person to hold on to.

Mentoring scheme

We offer a mentoring scheme for the young person, in the form of contact with older residents of the house with good social skills and drug-free backgrounds. Mentors are selected by staff on the basis of social skills, successful treatment records and motivation.

Outreach treatment

We offer outpatient treatment, which can form an aftercare for the young person. Outpatient treatment consists of home visits with motivational talks, as well as support for attendance at various activities.

In case of relapse

In case of relapse, we will work with the resident to use the relapse constructively. What can we do to prevent relapse again? This is incorporated into the future treatment focus for that resident.

Weekly programme

The programme for each week is determined on an ongoing basis, as the needs of the young people vary greatly. If the young person(s) in the group have needs in a particular direction, the process is organised accordingly. For example, if there is a great need for social training or school education, this will take up more time.