Youth Best Practices Part II
Continued from Part I
Practice
Matrix Model
Description: Matrix Model is an intensive outpatient treatment approach for stimulant abuse and dependence that was developed through 20 years of experience in real-world treatment settings. The Matrix Model is designed for delivery in a treatment program with adults ages 18 to 55 focusing on stimulant abuse and dependence. The intervention consists of relapse-prevention groups, education groups, social-support groups, individual counseling, and urine and breath testing delivered over a 16-week period. Patients learn about issues critical to addiction and relapse, receive direction and support from a trained therapist, become familiar with self-help programs, and are monitored for drug use by urine testing. The program includes education for family members affected by the addiction. The therapist functions simultaneously as teacher and coach, fostering a positive, encouraging relationship with the patient and using that relationship to reinforce positive behavior change.
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
Mental Health First Aid
Description: Mental Health First Aid is an adult public education program designed to improve participants' knowledge and modify their attitudes and perceptions about mental health and related issues, including how to respond to individuals who are experiencing one or more acute mental health crises (i.e., suicidal thoughts and/or behavior, acute stress reaction, panic attacks, and/or acute psychotic behavior) or are in the early stages of one or more chronic mental health problems (i.e., depressive, anxiety, and/or psychotic disorders, which may occur with substance abuse). The intervention is delivered by a trained, certified instructor through an interactive 12-hour course, which can be completed in two 6-hour sessions or four 3-hour sessions.
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
The Model Adolescent Suicide Prevention Program (MASPP)
Description: is a public health-oriented suicidal-behavior prevention and intervention program originally developed for a small American Indian tribe in rural New Mexico to target high rates of suicide among its adolescents and young adults. The goals of the program are to reduce the incidence of adolescent suicides and suicide attempts through community education about suicide and related behavioral issues, such as child abuse and neglect, family violence, trauma, and alcohol and substance abuse. As a community-wide initiative, the MASPP incorporates universal, selective, and indicated interventions and emphasizes community involvement, ownership, and culturally framed public health approaches appropriate for an American Indian population.
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)
Description: MET is an adaptation of motivational interviewing (MI) that includes one or more client feedback sessions in which normative feedback is presented and discussed in an explicitly nonconfrontational manner. Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve their ambivalence and achieve lasting changes for a range of problematic behaviors. This intervention has been extensively tested in treatment evaluations of alcohol and other drug use/misuse. MET uses an empathic but directive approach in which the therapist provides feedback that is intended to strengthen and consolidate the client's commitment to change and promote a sense of self-efficacy. MET aims to elicit intrinsic motivation to change substance abuse by resolving client ambivalence, evoking self-motivational statements and commitment to change, and "rolling with resistance" (responding in a neutral way to the client's resistance to change rather than contradicting or correcting the client).
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Description: MI is a goal-directed, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavioral change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. The operational assumption in MI is that ambivalent attitudes or lack of resolve is the primary obstacle to behavioral change, so that the examination and resolution of ambivalence becomes its key goal. MI has been applied to a wide range of problem behaviors related to alcohol and substance abuse as well as health promotion, medical treatment adherence, and mental health issues.
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
Native STAND (Students Together Against Negative Decisions)
Description: Native STAND is a peer education curriculum for healthy decision making for Native youth. It is based on STAND—Students Together Against Negative Decisions—a curriculum that was developed for rural youth in the southern U.S. It is a comprehensive curriculum for training peer educators that promotes healthy decision making for Native youth. All youth—including Native youth—face extreme pressures to fit in and belong. (website excerpt)
Tribes Using Practice: Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board MSPI
Practice
Native Wellness Youth Leadership Curriculum
Description: From the website: Many of our young people are struggling and trying to find their identity and path. NWI is dedicated to giving Native youth the skills, confidence and self-esteem they will need to live–in a good way–in today's world. Our youth leadership and athletic camps, academies and gatherings allow our youth to make a "head to heart" connection and understand the "why" of the often negative behaviors they see and experience how we can promote and maintain living by the "Warrior's Spirit."
Tribes Using Practice: MSPI Eastern Shoshone Tribe
Practice
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
Description: A multi-level, multi-component school-based program designed to prevent or reduce bullying which restructures existing school environments to reduce opportunities and rewards for bullying. It has also been shown to reduce substance use and delinquency. It is a systems change program, meant to be implemented and sustained over time. It is not a curriculum nor is it a conflict resolution or mediation program. It takes time to implement, and the results of the program grow stronger over time.
Tribes Using Practice: Multiple Alaska-based projects
Practice
Project Venture
Description: An evidenced-based, outdoor experiential youth development program designed primarily for 5th- to 8th-grade American Indian youth focused on preventing alcohol and other substance use. It aims to develop the social and emotional competence that facilitates youths' resistance to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. It aims to develop the social and emotional competence that facilitates youths' resistance to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Based on traditional American Indian values such as family, learning from the natural world, spiritual awareness, service to others, and respect, Project Venture’s approach is positive and strengths based. The program is designed to foster the development of positive self-concept, effective social interaction skills, a community service ethic, an internal locus of control, and improved decision making and problem-solving skills. The central components of the program include a minimum of 20 1-hour classroom-based activities, such as problem-solving games and initiatives, conducted across the school year. The project also includes weekly after-school, weekend, and summer skill-building experiential and challenge activities, such as hiking and camping. Finally, the program includes 3- to 10-day immersion summer adventure camps and wilderness treks and community-oriented service learning and service leadership projects throughout the year.
Tribes Using Practice: Alamo Navajo MSPI School Board /ABQ, Southern Ute Community Action Program (ABQ) [used with Camp Venture] MSPI, Toiyabe Indian Health Project, Five Sandoval Pueblos MSPI
Practice
Rachel's Challenge (PP)
Description: Intervention to motivate and equip students to start and sustain a chain reaction of kindness and compassion that transforms schools and communities (anti-bullying prevention).
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
Reconnecting Youth: A Peer Group Approach to Building Life Skills
Description: Reconnecting Youth: A Peer Group Approach to Building Life Skills (RY) is a school-based prevention program for students ages 14-19 years that teaches skills to build resiliency against risk factors and control early signs of substance abuse and emotional distress. RY targets youth who demonstrate poor school achievement and high potential for school dropout. … RY also incorporates several social support mechanisms for participating youth: social and school bonding activities to improve teens' relationships and increase their repertoire of safe, healthy activities; development of a crisis response plan detailing the school system's suicide prevention approaches; and parent involvement …
Tribes Using Practice: Northern Cheyenne MSPI
Practice
Description: The Red Ribbon Campaign™ is now the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation reaching millions of young people during Red Ribbon Week®, October 23rd - October 31st each year.
Tribes Using Practice: Blackfeet DV Reduction
Practice
SMART (Skill, Mastery and Resistance Training) Moves Boys and Girls Clubs of America curriculum
Description: The program uses a team approach involving Club staff, peer leaders, parents and community representatives. The program teaches young people ages 6 to 15 how to say no by involving them in discussion and role-playing, practicing resistance and refusal skills, developing assertiveness, strengthening decision-making skills and analyzing media and peer influence. The ultimate goal: to promote abstinence from substance abuse and adolescent sexual involvement through the practice of responsible behavior.
Tribes Using Practice:
Practice
Signs of Suicide (SOS)
Description: SOS is a secondary school-based suicide prevention program that includes screening and education. Students are screened for depression and suicide risk and referred for professional help as indicated. Students also view a video that teaches them to recognize signs of depression and suicide in themselves and others. They are taught that the appropriate response to these signs is to use the ACT technique: acknowledge that there is a problem, let the person know you care, and tell a trusted adult. Students also participate in guided classroom discussions about suicide and depression. The program attempts to prevent suicide attempts, increase knowledge about suicide and depression, develop desirable attitudes toward suicide and depression, and increase help-seeking behavior among youth.
Tribes Using Practice: N/A
Practice
Too Good for Drugs; and Too Good for Violence (Mendez Foundation)
Description:
- Positive social norms
- Peer bonding
- Social skill development
- Social emotional competency
Social Emotional Learning concepts are infused with established theories of social development, social learning, and normative education to build protective factors and mitigate risk factors for substance abuse. A knowledge base of the negative health effects of substance use, including the misuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications, promotes no-use norms and expectations.
Tribes Using Practice: Choctaw Nation MSPI, Osage Nation OKC MSPI
