Recovery center assists teens struggling with substance abuse

The environment is irresistible for a teenager: a multitude of pool, air hockey and foosball tables, more than a dozen video game screens and consoles, a snack bar offering numerous caffeinated drinks, large posters of modern day rock bands, and colorful concert stage lighting.

The goal at Teen and Family Services, however, is something much more earnest: to prevent adolescent youths from using illegal substances and counseling those who do, as well as their families.

"There are two populations that we serve," executive director George Youngblood said. "The first is kids who have had a harmful involvement in substance abuse but don't meet the diagnoses of dependency, and kids who have completed some kind of treatment program and need to be reintegrated into public. We are a community based recovery center."

Teen and Family Services was established one year ago thanks to seed money funded by Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital. Although its offices are on Woodstead Court in The Woodlands, most of the organization's work with youth is done at The Loft at Woodlands United Methodist Church, which allows Teen and Family Services to use its upstairs activities room.

The idea is to condition adolescents who may be abusing drugs and alcohol into a more positive, drug- and alcohol-free peer environment group.

"When adolescents first meet with a counselor, none of them are happy about being there," Youngblood said. "When kids are engaged in the program, other kids are pulling them in, giving invitations, going to the movies and the adolescent can start seeing this peer group as something they want to be a part of. They may feel like they have to give up their own friends, or they don't have any friends. That group pulls them into recovery."

Teen and Family Services serve youth and teens ages 12 to 18, along with their families. Youngblood said that all adolescents who go through the program must do so with the participation of their parents.

He said so far, the organization has worked with about 40 Woodlands-area families.

"One component that makes up substance abuse areas is the level of denial with parents," Youngblood said. "Parents can be so hyper-focused on academic success that they are willing to overlook other areas. [Parents may believe] as long as the kids are doing well academically the kids must be doing okay."

The higher income levels often seen in The Woodlands, he said, can potentially lead to higher levels of adolescent substance abuse.

"There are a certain percentage of kids who have problems with drugs and alcohol," Youngblood said. "I think it is a misnomer that only kids in lower socioeconomic environments struggle with substance abuse. What wealthy kids have is more disposable income, more free time on their hands."

Teen and Family Services, 1733 Woodstead Court, Ste. 102, The Woodlands, 713-464-3950, teenandfamilyservices.org