The Intersection of Social Media Sites and Narrative Therapy in Treating Substance Use in Urban African American Adolescents

Abstract

Social media has become prominent in the lives of many adolescents. This article addresses the intersection of social media sites and narrative therapy in treating substance use in urban African American adolescents. Risk factors of substance use in urban African American adolescents will be discussed, along with highlighting the importance of addressing issues around race, gender, and class in therapy, through a sociocultural lens. A case vignette is presented to demonstrate how narrative therapy techniques can be used to address therapy goals, specifically utilizing Facebook as an intervention tool to make progress in treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• Social media
• narrative therapy
• substance use
• African American
• adolescents
• race
• gender
• class