Enhancing adolescent substance abuse treatment engagement.

Trends in adolescent drug use are encouraging and suggest the importance of preventative programs for youth. Yet, among those who become involved with illicit substances and seek treatment, only a fraction report positive outcomes. This article describes an approach to enhance adolescent participation in substance abuse treatment. Aspects of the transtheoretical model are integrated into a treatment program designed to meet the unique developmental needs of adolescent alcohol and marijuana abusers. The result is a treatment that better engages adolescents in participation, thereby increasing the likelihood for treatment success.