The Narconon Fresh Start drug rehabilitation and prevention group uses a comprehensive drug education curriculum, because being in the rehabilitation services field, we truly understand that prevention is more effective, less time consuming and eliminates many of the hardships that we have to face every day in substance abuse rehabilitation. Also, the drug problem as a whole cannot be addressed by handing the effects of abuse, without also addressing the initial starting point of the problem.
In our over 45 years of experience in providing drug prevention services, it's been found that the majority of young people who gain true knowledge and understanding about the real dangers of drugs, will make the decision to stay away from them.
Components of our Evidence Based Program
In the early research for the development of our drug prevention program it was discovered where drug education efforts had failed in the past. Most early approaches applied the basic "scare tactic" method, which was an attempt to scare youth away from drugs. It didn't work and in many cases perpetuated drug use by presenting information that was easily discredited, as the youth and their friends did not experience any of the harsh consequences indicated in the presentations. Later, other programs even resorted to the "harm reduction" method, which also did not work as is an apathetic approach, based on the fact that people are going to use drugs no matter what, therefore they should be taught how to use them safely. So, it was early on that we understood that a better method of prevention was needed.
As stated above, once a child, teen or adult truly understands the consequences of using drugs, as it relates to their life and those around them, they usually make the rational decision not to use them. It is on this basis that our drug prevention program was developed and has since had decades of success with thousands of youth.
Our prevention program is evidence based and a recent outcome study of the Narconon drug education program shows effectiveness in reducing drug use amongst high school students. Please click here for the Narconon drug education study or view it online at www.substanceabusepolicy.com.
The key to our success is both in the content and delivery of the program. Our interactive presentations and practical sessions contain simple, true information about the physical and mental effects of drugs, as well as other social issues related to drug use. The delivery of the program includes hands-on demonstrations of the material with plenty of real life applications.
Our professionals provide a realistic picture of drug use. We don't just tell kids to "say no"; we educate them to come to that conclusion on their own, and more importantly, show them how to say no and what exactly they are saying no to.
Our drug education program utilizes the power of humor to keep children's attention and entertained during the talks. We discovered that the more humor we included in the presentations, the better the results. A direct correlation was found between the level of humor and how many surveys that we received after the presentations that indicated student were now not going to try drugs. So, although the message is clearly a serious matter, humor is an effective communication tool that allows information to reach the kids and for them to really "get it".
We also explore the factors that often underlie drug use, such as boredom, insecurity and lack of social interaction. Therefore, subjects such as setting and achieving goals are covered as a method of handing these factors. We clearly distinguish the feeling of "getting high", which is temporary and damaging, from the real feeling of self-confidence and true happiness obtained through productivity and accomplishments, which are permanent and real.
Outline of Presentation Subjects
The Fresh Start Truth About Drugs presentations are divided into several subjects. They are geared to the appropriate age groups and focus on the real life situations that often lead to drug use.