Seven Challenges: An Effective New Approach in Treating Addiction in Youth

Because Rushford is committed to providing the most effective, up-to-date treatments, it uses the Seven Challenges® Program to give young people a framework for recovery. For years, the treatment for youth with drug and alcohol problems involved dragging them into counseling and demanding they quit using. Research has shown this is not an effective approach.

The Seven Challenges® Program doesn’t force change, but rather motivates the young person to make a personal commitment to change. The program helps youth examine the importance of their choices and make healthy decisions on their personal road to recovery. The Seven Challenges® Program has been proven effective in treating both substance abuse along with other mental health and trauma issues.

How Does The Seven Challenges® Work?

Therapists trained in the Seven Challenges® program facilitate discussion and help youth speak openly about their addiction. During these group discussions, counselors seamlessly integrate the challenges as part of the conversation.

The Seven Challenges® guides youth to make healthy decisions based on these principles:

1. We decided to open up and talk honestly about ourselves and about alcohol and other drugs.
2. We looked at what we liked about alcohol and other drugs, and why we were using them.
3. We looked at our use of alcohol or other drugs to see if it has caused harm or could cause harm.
4. We looked at our responsibility and the responsibility of others for our problems.
5. We thought about where we seemed to be headed, where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to accomplish.
6. We made thoughtful decisions about our lives and about our use of alcohol and other drugs.
7. We followed through on our decisions about our lives and drug use. If we saw problems, we went back to earlier challenges and mastered them.

To schedule an appointment, please call 1.877.577.3233.

Rushford makes use of the The Seven Challenges® Program, which is designed specifically for adolescents with drug problems, to motivate a decision and commitment to change - and to support success in implementing the desired changes. The program simultaneously helps young people address their drug problems as well as their co-occurring life skill deficits, situational problems, and psychological problems.

The challenges provide a framework for helping youth think through their own decisions about their lives and their use of alcohol and other drugs. Counselors using The Seven Challenges® Program teach youth to identify and work on the issues most relevant to them. In sessions, as youth discuss the issues that matter most, counselors seamlessly integrate the Challenges as part of the conversation.

The Seven Challenges® Program is listed as an evidence-based program in the SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices.

Rushford also provides individual and family follow-up services at its Meriden facility.