December 27, 2012 | 3:24 pm

Is Prevention Possible?

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

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By BTS Prevention

As a department within Beit T’Shuvah, Prevention has a different jurisdiction from “Rehab Proper.”  Instead of treating those who have already gone down the rabbit hole of addiction, the Prevention program attempts to attack the roots of the disease, preventing teenagers from having to become full-fledged addicts.

The question we receive more than any other within Beit T’Shuvah is, “Is it even possible to prevent someone from becoming a drug addict?”  Many people who are going through rehab think that their disease was pre-ordained; claiming that nothing said to them could have prevented them from their destiny.  But the Prevention program strongly refutes this claim.   We believe that addiction often arises as a solution to problems that many teenagers do not know how to solve.

Just as it is not clear what circumstance in my life caused me to breach the line and cross into the realm of addiction, so too it is not clear what will prevent somebody else from trudging the same path.  Maybe it is having a person to talk to, maybe it is awareness, maybe it is knowledge, maybe it is self-reflection, maybe it is the ability to cope with discomfort—what is clear is that we offer all of the aforementioned possibilities.   We believe in autonomy.   We believe that, on any given day, you have the power to change the course of your life.

Do you think preventing drug addiction is possible?  Let us know in the comments below.