New Research Center to Help Parents with Kids' Substance Use

Overcoming drug and alcohol addiction is the hardest challenge an addict will have to face in their entire life, but with recovery comes a new freedom and happiness. There are many aspects to recovery and there are challenges that arise from one addict to another; age and brain chemistry can affect one's ability to get sober, making treatment and other programs of recovery challenging to address by professionals in the field of recovery. There are many things that we still don't understand about addiction and the more research that is done on the subject the better addiction can be treated, thus allowing addicts the best shot possible at success. Child and Teen addiction is especially hard to address considering their brains are not fully developed which is why there has been a call for more research to be done so that the best treatment can be provided.

On September 14, The Treatment Research Institute (TRI) in Philadelphia announced that they will be opening a new facility in order to better aid parents in addressing substance abuse with their kids. The new center will be called the Parents Translational Research Center and they will be working with the Partnership at DrugFree.org (formerly the Partnership for a Drug-Free America) backed by a five year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The PTRC will conduct studies to help counselors and parents work with kids towards recovery.

"Two million youth ages 12 to 17 meet diagnostic criteria for substance dependence or abuse and yet only 10% of them receive treatment," said TRI, citing recent research. "The new Center reflects belief that a stronger continuum of care for adolescents is needed and that parents or other caretakers often can provide what's missing if properly equipped with science-based tools and services."


Three areas of that the PTRC will focus on are:

• preventing children from using drugs and alcohol
• finding appropriate treatment when it's needed
• working with children who refuse to go to treatment

The director of the Parents Translational Research Center, Kimberly C. Kirby, Ph.D., stated that they will, "direct parents needing immediate help to already available tools and resources informed by the existing state of science."