Adolescent Addiction: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?

In this course (the first in our two-part series on this topic), Dr. Amanda Giordano (Ph.D., LPC) and Dr. Brandee Appling (Ph.D., LPC, NCC, ACS, CPCS) – both Associate Professors, University of Georgia – outline the types of drugs of abuse that adolescents tend to use, what the positive and negative reinforcements for using them tend to be, and what the four Cs of addiction are. Listing of prevalence statistics is followed by neuroscience explanation of the impact of drugs on brain circuitry and development, especially related to motivation, control, and compulsivity. The biopsychosocial model of addiction is presented, along with signs of adolescent substance use. The presenters discuss motivational interviewing and show how its techniques help adolescents overcome addiction.