Transposing the Adverse Social Dynamics of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders Into More Effective Treatment and Clinician Resilience

ABSTRACT

As the American opioid epidemic continues to spiral out of control and our medical model remains unable to reverse the staggering trends, this article seeks to broaden clinician understanding of adolescents with substance use disorders by discussing adverse causative social–psychological dynamics: the marginalization of today’s youth, decline of institutions of community and faith, and the burden of childhood trauma. The article then offers a holistic, multilevel model of substance use disorder treatment that recognizes and remediates these adverse dynamics in order to improve treatment outcomes and enhance clinician resilience.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• opioids
• social dynamics
• recovery capital
• adverse childhood experiences
• holistic treatment
• clinician resilience

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Maria Pagano, Case Medical School, for assisting us via the Internet in Cincinnati, and Dr. Judith Ragsdale, MDiv, Senior Director of Pastoral Care and Associate Professor in the Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, for the Grand Rounds invitation and her hospitality.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This article was not grant supported.