Sober High Schools are Helping Teens Escape Addiction and Finish School
Picture this - you’ve been battling addiction and have made the monumental step of going to treatment and getting healthy and clean. But after your treatment program ends you’re forced to spend 5 days a week surrounded by drug dealers and a party-heavy culture. What are the chances you’re going to be able to stay clean day in and day out? Oh, by the way, you’re also 17, your brain is still being wired and your hormones are out of control. You’re in high school. And you’re trying desperately to get your diploma and re-build your life.
For teens who are working to get healthy and free of addiction this is the battle - how do you get and then stay clean when drugs are rampant and are easily available in the hallways of your high school?
While recent NIH research shows that illicit drug use (other than marijuana) in high school age kids is declining, they’re still dangerously easy to obtain (one in three 12th graders said that prescription opioids were easily available) and for someone who’s newly out of treatment, close, daily exposure to drugs like Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Xanax and even marijuana can be a precursor to relapse.
Recovery or Sober high schools are a safety net for teens who are working to earn their diploma after attending treatment. These schools started operating in the 1970’s and have quietly grown across the country – there are approximately 40 in the US. One, Interagency Academy, is right in our hometown of Seattle. It’s likely that more will open with the young, human collateral left in the wake of the opioid (and benzo) crisis. If you’re interested in finding a recovery or sober high school you can so a search on the Association of Recovery Schools website.
Most recovery high schools use a similar format with different specific approaches. In most cases, the class size will range from 15-75 students in a school that often exists inside of a large school or a building that caters to multiple educational bodies. Students are kept apart from other classes and schools through different schedules or physical barriers to prevent interaction and potential exposure to triggers.
Almost all recovery high schools integrate daily meetings with addiction recovery counselors into their curriculum. This typically includes group meetings in the morning before classes begin and may include special sessions after classes. Counselors are licensed and fully qualified to help students through recovery. In most cases, schools will also offer counseling and therapy for mental disorders such as trauma, physical or sexual abuse, depression, or anxiety, as data shows that nearly 70% of students with substance use disorders suffer from these problems.
These schools work - where most students who leave traditional recovery and who go back to their original high school face a 70% chance of relapse in the first 6 months, that rate drops to just 26% for hard drugs in a recovery school. In one study, students reported that they stayed clean or sober only 32% of the time when out of school and compared to 82% of time when in a recovery high school. A panel of 174 students also showed that 62% remained completely abstinent of alcohol, 71% of cannabis, and 74% for all other drugs versus an average of just 20% in a traditional school over a 6-month period. At 90 days, that rate is typically 56% total abstinence with no relapse, and at 6 months is typically 56% total abstinence with no relapse.
I wish we’d known of the various options for high school when our son was struggling – he came home from a treatment program and became one of the statistics – the 70% who experience relapse if they come back to the same environment. So spread the word if you know of a family with a teen who needs extra support and care during this vulnerable and challenging time of life.