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Customized program offers substance abuse treatment for teens and adults
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlands Behavioral Health Hospital has announced the expansion of its treatment services to include a detox program. The new program serves teens aged 12 - 17 as well as adults, and the hospital has added several new physicians that specialize in detox, mental health and dual diagnosis (substance abuse and mental illness).
Teen suicide rates nationally are on the increase, and the teen suicide rate in Colorado remains one of the highest in the nation at 17 deaths per 100,000, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Highlands Behavioral Health Hospital CEO David Morris said his hospital is responding to an increase in demand for substance abuse services.
"We find that substance abuse is a major factor in the majority of teen suicides," said Morris. "These problems seem to go hand-in-hand, and we believe our new detox program and interdisciplinary team of professionals can really make a difference in breaking the cycle of addictive behavior."
Substances covered by the new detox program include alcohol, marijuana, benzodiazepines (benzos), cocaine and methamphetamines. In the near future, the hospital will be adding several additional substances to its treatment program.
"Teens already tend to be impulsive and rash in their thinking," observed Morris. "But when you combine alcohol or drugs with that, you have teens trying things they never would have thought about or carried out otherwise."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that
the suicide rate in American adolescents (especially girls aged 10 to 24
years) increased 8 percent (2003 to 2004), the largest jump in 15 years.
Colorado currently ranks 8th nationally in teen suicides. For Coloradans
ages 10 to 34, suicide is the second leading cause of death, behind traffic
accidents, acco
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