Teen Addiction Anonymous Program Helping Arizona Students Battle Addictions
"On their Own Turf"

PHOENIX - September 1, 2009 - A program aimed at meeting teens on their own turf when it comes to battling addictions is hoping to make a difference in Arizona public schools.

The program, called Teen Addiction Anonymous, is an Alcoholics Anonymous-inspired 12-step program developed by teens for teens. And, its founder, Susan Rothery, is working hard to get it into as many high schools, churches, halfway houses and hospitals as possible.

Rothery, a long-time educator and intervention counselor, spent the summer training representatives from 20 schools and school districts statewide on how to implement programs of their own.

Mimi Bolduc, a counselor at Shadow Mountain High School in northeast Phoenix, started her school's Teen Addiction Anonymous program late last year. She said students and parents seeking help with addiction issues have embraced the on-campus treatment and recovery program, which addresses all addictions including substance-abuse, eating disorders, cutting, gambling and sex addictions.

"It is a program to which teens can relate," Bolduc said. "Teen Addiction Anonymous uses a time-proven process through the AA principles in a totally voluntary support group format, which works really well in a school setting."

Rothery said in the five years leading up to Teen Addiction Anonymous' incorporation, teens who participated in on-campus support groups at Polaris High School, Paradise Valley High School and Ocotillo Charter School made the traditional 12-step program their own.

In addition to altering some of the wording to suit their vernacular, they addressed the issue of church and state separation by substituting "Higher Power" for "God" and by changing the name of AA's famous Serenity Prayer to the Serenity Pledge.

Rothery's statistics collected from 2003 to 2008 show that of the nearly 300 students who participated, 90-percent improved behaviorally. Eighty percent showed better daily attendance and 40-percent grew academically.

Rothery is also reaching out to build awareness among Native Americans, as well as health care providers, social workers, juvenile justice departments and insurance companies. She recently enlisted a new parents' support team called Parents 4 Teen Addiction Anonymous to help spread the word, and is hoping to partner with Arizona State University and other state universities and community colleges to train counselors and social workers before they move into the field.

"Our goal is to have every high school in our state offer this program, with meetings available at local hospitals and through juvenile support programs," Rothery said. For more information, visit: www.teenaddictionanonymous.com.