From "Treatment" to "Care": Developing Youth Drug Treatment Services using a Social Model of Health

Abstract

The Youth Substance Abuse Service (YSAS) was conceived and developed as a youth alcohol and other drug (AOD) service when few adolescent treatment models existed. Although initially funded to provide drug support and treatment, our developing practice, training and research findings encouraged us to view our role more broadly. Now with 10 years' experience, YSAS increasingly draws on social health concepts and primary health practices to describe our work with young drug users. Through our growing practice and training experience we have developed services to meet client needs. Evaluation of these services and further research has refined our thinking and provided a theoretical basis for our work. This paper sets out to describe the evolution of a youth AOD service, and demonstrate how social health concepts and primary health practices have helped frame and facilitate our responses to young drug users during YSAS' first 10 years.