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Hannah A. D. Kimbrough, Harm Reduction for High-Risk Adolescent Substance Abusers, Social Work, Volume 62, Issue 1, 1 January 2017, Pages 91–92, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/sww074
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Maurice Fisher is an expert in the treatment of substance abuse among high-risk adolescents. In his book, Harm Reduction for High-Risk Adolescent Substance Abusers, Fisher provides a well-researched timeline of the past, present, and future treatments as well as the difficulties involved. He addresses some barriers to treatment, including the teenagers’ need to integrate with peers while simultaneously maintaining their individuality. This paradox causes both interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts for the adolescent that can be interpreted by adults as opposition and defiance. The addition of a substance use disorder further complicates the already difficult task of engaging adolescents in the therapeutic process.
In addition to the complexities involved in adolescent treatments, Fisher indicates that many of the past and current treatments for substance abuse in adolescents have been correctional and threatening in nature. He argues that these treatments are ineffective and offers a paradigm shift in how to approach this population. Fisher boldly states, “A review of the professional literature shows a general lack of empirically based treatment approaches but a plethora of treatment approaches that are based on legion, myth, and folklore” (p. 65).