America’s young people are experiencing a mental health crisis. Suicides have increased. Many teens are struggling with anxiety, depression, and trauma—and they are turning to self-harm, drugs, and alcohol to cope with their pain. Few families have not been affected by a mental health challenge.
In July, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and the Director of National Drug Control Policy Rahul Gupta added their voices to the many dire warnings about the crisis.
“Every day brings more evidence that our nation’s youth are facing a mental health crisis: rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among young people are on the rise, and so are adolescent deaths from drug poisoning,” wrote Murthy and Gupta in July in an op-ed on USA Today.
“By late 2021, the number of adolescents dying from drug poisoning each month had more than doubled, with 84 percent of these deaths involving illicit fentanyl, including fake prescription pills. Two out of every 5 of these young people also had mental health issues.”
Current statistics paint a troubling picture. Last year’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) revealed that “in 2022, 48.7 million people aged 12 or older (or 17.3 percent) had a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year, including 29.5 million who had an alcohol use disorder (AUD)… The percentage of people aged 12 or older with an SUD in the past year was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (27.8 percent or 9.7 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (16.6 percent or 36.8 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (8.7 percent or 2.2 million people).”
Recovery coaches can play an important role in the ongoing efforts to overcome this crisis. According to addiction expert William White, recovery coaches provide emotional and informational support, assistance in task accomplishment, and companionship, that is, “helping people in early recovery feel connected and enjoy being with others, especially in recreational activities in alcohol- and drug-free environments.”
Building up recovery capital—the total resources that a person has available to find and maintain their recovery from addiction—is an essential goal of peer recovery support services as they partner with individuals toward a healthier future.
Peer recovery support services (PRSS) “are peer-driven mentoring, education, and support ministrations delivered by individuals who, because of their own experience with SUD and SUD recovery, are experientially qualified to support peers currently experiencing SUD and associated problems,” wrote Eddie, Hoffman, et al in their systematic review of peer recovery support services and recovery coaching. The evidence they reviewed suggested that peer support has “the ability to improve outcomes for individuals engaged in inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment for SUD and co-occurring mental disorders.”
The mission of Avanti Recovery Coaching is to offer empathetic assistance to those recovering from drug and alcohol misuse and other addictive habits detrimental to their well-being.
We aim to provide our teenage clients with the tools they need to transform their lives and live a life free from drug and alcohol misuse. To assist people in overcoming the obstacles to recovery, we provide a variety of coaching and support services, including group support and referral services.
For more information about our services, call us at (720) 753-4030.
