What makes a difference in the 50% of kids using or not

Karen Khaleghi, PhD, gives advice on what makes kids abstain from alcohol and drugs use
Parenting Teens| Why some kids use drugs and alcohol and others don't
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What makes a difference in the 50% of kids using or not

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What you have is half of the children using and half of the children that don't. What makes the difference? How can you identify whether your child is going to use or not, or has the vulnerability to use? The child that has high levels of anxiety, the child who has a sense of isolation, or high levels of loneliness, is going to be the child that turns to something to self-medicate--something to soothe them--and oftentimes, what soothes them is drugs or alcohol. When you talk about the first time of use, in some kids being as young as nine, you will see that they have not developed a sense of having to help themselves in another way, other than through drugs and alcohol. They're soothing and self-medicating through the use of drugs and alcohol. What they're going to use is the drug that's most available to them--whether that's alcohol, pills, or pot. The kids that aren't using are the kids that have a high level of support and communication with family; they have a constant dialogue.

Karen Khaleghi, PhD, gives advice on what makes kids abstain from alcohol and drugs use

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Karen Khaleghi, PhD

Co-founder of Creative Care Malibu

Dr. Karen Khaleghi is a pioneer in the field of dual diagnosis, or co-occurring drug and alcohol addiction along with mental health disorders. As one of the co-founders of Creative Care in Malibu and co-author of The Anatomy of Addiction, Dr. Karen speaks to parents and organizations about the formation of addiction, the critical aspects of nature and nurture and the resulting disconnection between emotions and behavior as well as the genesis of addiction and the path to recovery, a process she calls "connecting the dots." 

There are many things that set Dr. Karen Khaleghi apart from others including her individualized treatment approaches and excellent treatment facility Creative Care which is filled with clinical staff comprised of professionals that offer the highest standard of care in the industry. Karen graduated from California Graduate Institute with her Ph.D in 1989 and lives in Los Angeles, CA with her loving husband and children. Dr. Karen Khaleghi has been featured on The Today Show, KCAL 9, Dr. Phil and many others!

 

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