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The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach

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Introduction Adolescents are a population that can be at-risk in regards to drug and alcohol abuse. A program called the Community Reinforcement Approach was created and later adapted into the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach in the 1970s to address problems adolescents face when it comes to drug or alcohol abuse ("Intervention Summary - Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA)"). The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach works with adolescents from the ages twelve to twenty-five in both outpatient and residential settings. There are three parts to the program; the client has intervention alone first, next the guardian has intervention alone, and finally they have intervention together. It addresses mainly alcohol and drug abuse but also deals with mental health, homelessness, and other behaviors that can lead to substance abuse. The main focus of A-CRA is designed to change certain aspects of the participants’ environment to make it so that non-using behavior will be more rewarding than using behavior (Garner, et al., 2009). This program has been tested against multiple other approaches and it is usually the most cost-effective option, making it a desirable program when the success rate is also factored in. Many rehabilitation facilities utilize this approach, for example the Maryhaven treatment center in Columbus, Ohio. Maryhaven uses a combination of residential and outpatient treatment plans, incorporating the Adolescent Community

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