by Gregg Fischer | Feb 20, 2020 | Slider, Uncategorized
We are happy to announce that the iTeenchallenge.org website now has a language-translation tool. This means you can choose to view the website in 20 different languages. Just go to the language bar in the upper right to choose the language you would like to use to navigate the website. iTeenchallenge.org, our staff training, curriculum and resource website, has well over 3,000 items available for free download. We currently have items available in 19 different languages. One of the most popular items on our website is the GSNL Group Studies curriculum translations. The most recent course available is the Growing Through Failure course in Vietnamese. Take a few minutes and check out the amazing content on our website. If you have any questions or suggestions, contact our Curriculum Director, Gregg Fischer at...
by Gregg Fischer | Feb 18, 2019 | Slider, Uncategorized
By Gregg Fischer, Curriculum Director, Global Teen Challenge It can be very distressing to hear of students that did not complete the program, or one that completed, graduated and then relapsed. What could we have done differently? I want to address the importance of having Training Phase Group Studies (months 5-12) to prepare our students for success after graduating from the program.A Little HistoryWhen I first started working with Teen Challenge, most centers operated as induction centers where they would receive students and disciple them for 4-6 months before sending them to a training center where they would continue another 8-10 months to complete the program. The first 4-6 months, the induction phase, is where the students would go through the 14 GSNC/GSNL classes as well as several basic contracts of the PSNC/PSNL material. In the training center, they had a strong, developed curriculum to continue the discipleship process and prepare the students for a successful life after the program. What Happened?As new centers opened and others transitioned to a one-year program model, the training phase curriculum has not always transitioned as well or has been phased out altogether. As a result, students are missing much of the valuable training they need before they reenter society. Develop your own training phase/Level 2 Group StudiesSince the Teen Challenge does not have a curriculum for level 2 Group Studies, you get the opportunity to create and personalize your own. Since discipleship is part of our DNA, we need to keep in mind that we are not a Bible school, so we want to keep the courses relevant and practical for the...
by Gregg Fischer | Jan 5, 2015 | addiction, alcoholism, Slider
MYTH 1: Overcoming addiction is a simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really want to. Prolonged exposure to drugs alters the brain in ways that result in powerful cravings and a compulsion to use. These brain changes make it extremely difficult to quit by sheer force of will. It takes something supernatural to help empower people to overcome addictions. People need help from God and from people around them in order to get off drugs successfully. MYTH 2: Addiction is a disease; there’s nothing you can do about it. Most experts agree that addiction is a brain disease, but that doesn’t mean you’re a helpless victim. The brain changes associated with addiction can be treated and reversed through therapy, medication, exercise, and other treatments. God can help people overcome any addiction and any disease. Jesus came to heal our diseases and people can overcome addiction by coming to Jesus Christ! MYTH 3: Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better. Recovery can begin at any point in the addiction process—and the earlier, the better. The longer drug abuse continues, the stronger the addiction becomes and the harder it is to treat. Don’t wait to intervene until the addict has lost it all. MYTH 4: You can’t force someone into treatment; they have to want help. Treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be successful. People who are pressured into treatment by their family, employer, or the legal system are just as likely to benefit as those who choose to enter treatment on their own. As they sober up and their...
by Gregg Fischer | Dec 22, 2014 | addiction
People who struggle with personal problems have usually done so over a long period of time. Many times they have tried to change or to stop what they’re doing, only to fail repeatedly. They become very discouraged. They may desperately want to change, but they see no way that they can because of their history. You must never give up hope, because truly there is help. What many people don’t realize is that it’s not that we just need to change our behavior. But we must see ourselves as we truly are. It is the nature of the human person to want to solve problems on our own to find ways where we can manipulate our lives and make our own selves happy. You may struggle with the problem for many years, making every effort to overcome it. All of this results in despondency and often drives you deeper into the very problem you are trying to escape. There really is hope for you. Real change can come to you. It happens in an environment where you can experience the combination of the working of the Spirit of God, the people of God and the Word of God. Living Free groups seek to encourage such an environment. For more information on Living Free CLICK...
by Gregg Fischer | Nov 10, 2014 | addiction, Teens
It’s heartbreaking to watch a loved one destroy their body and mind through abuse, and we often feel as though there is nothing we can do to make things better, and not through lack of trying either. Addictions show incredible resilience, and addicts continue their abuse even in the face of some terrible consequences. Families yell, plead and bribe, to no good effect and if losing a job, a family and even good health can’t change behaviors, what hope can family hold? Thankfully, although things can sometimes seem bleak, families do have some powerful tools to effect change, and when they provide tough, educated and loving support, they can make a difference. Addiction is rarely intuitive, and what makes sense isn’t necessarily what works. Find out what you can do to get an addict into treatment, and what you can do during and after rehab to make sure that treatment brings sobriety, brings health and brings peace. People recover from addictions everyday; having a loving and supportive family can make the difference. Read more: Hope for families living with a drug addict or alcoholic. treatments that work and afforable drug and alcohol rehab Follow us: @choosehelp on Twitter | choosehelp on Facebook by John Lee Editor Google+ Twitter...
by Gregg Fischer | Oct 27, 2014 | addiction, Enabling
You run an intervention to break through a wall of denial and to convince a loved one to get the help they need. During an intervention, you need your loved one to feel concern and compassion rather than blame and shame and he or she needs to understand how serious things have become, how the behaviors of addiction affect everyone in the family and that things can’t go on as they have been any longer. An intervention’s persuasive strength emerges out of the compassionate repetition of the facts of the situation from all loved ones assembled for the meeting – so it’s important that everyone participating be ready and able to communicate the necessity of treatment. However, because interventions can get emotional and because you need to stay focused on conveying an important and compassionate message, you should always write out what you want to say in advance. The Intervention Letter The script each person reads during a family intervention is called the intervention letter. Ideally, you want your letter to: Communicate genuine love and compassion, and to convey that you only want to see your loved one get better Help the subject realize the severity of their situation Help the subject to understand that their ‘private’ actions cause hurt and pain to those who love them Clearly express that you wish them to accept the offered treatment Clearly express the consequences you will impose if they choose not to accept the treatment that is offered To ensure that you include all the necessary ingredients, try writing your intervention letter as 5 separate segments that make up a powerful...
by Gregg Fischer | Sep 29, 2014 | addiction, alcoholism, Parenting
What Parents Can Do If you have found out for sure that your child is experimenting with drugs and alcohol, what you do next is a matter of utmost importance. Some parents shrug drug experimentation off as a phase a child goes through as they grow up. Other parents just want to deny the problem and hope it will go away on its own. But the truth is you can’t ignore your child’s drug problem…it will not go away on its own, it will only get worse! Here are some suggestions on what you can do as parents if your child is using drugs or alcohol. You need to find out what kinds of drug your child is experimenting with. Often children will claim they are only smoking marijuana when they are really using other drugs also. Take the time to investigate matters for yourself, and find out what’s really going on. Begin to scrutinize your child’s choice of friends. If your son or daughter is experimenting with drugs, some of his or her friends are also involved. It is important to find out which of these friends are involved in this experimentation and get your child away from these influences. This is one of the most difficult things to accomplish, but it is also one of the most necessary. Bad friends corrupt good morals. Of those that leave Teen Challenge and end up back on drugs, one of the most common reasons is that they went back to the same old friends and environment where they used drugs before. Those that stay clean invariably find a new set...
by Gregg Fischer | Aug 19, 2014 | addiction, Enabling
How do we “raise the bottom?” You’ve heard it said, “They must hit bottom before they will be ready to get help.” Do you have to wait until they hit bottom? Or is there something you can do to help “raise the bottom” so your loved one can get help sooner? Here are three great ways that you can help raise the bottom for your loved one! 1. Stop rescuing your loved one All too often we have covered up their irresponsible decisions— paid bail so they could get out of jail—paid delinquent bills, or the rent. We’ve believed their heart-stopping stories of tragedy. “I cashed my check, and put the cash in my pocket. When I got home, the money was gone! I must have dropped it.” They played the part so well—the tears, the frustration—“I was trying so hard to be responsible, and now I have nothing!” Your heart of compassion goes out to them and you generously give to help them through to the next paycheck. You failed to see their story was a very convincing con job to get extra cash for drugs. You “raise the bottom” for your loved one when you say, “No,” and allow them to face the painful consequences of their irresponsible actions. 2. Tell them the truth You help “raise the bottom” for your loved one by being truthful about their problems. We often have perfect insight in seeing the problems in strangers and other casual acquaintances. But when it is your own family member—you want to believe the best—and you deceive yourself by saying, “Things really aren’t all that...
by Gregg Fischer | Aug 1, 2014 | addiction
You’ve heard it said, “They must hit bottom before they will be ready to get help.” Do you have to wait until they hit bottom? Or is there something you can do to help “raise the bottom” so your loved one can get help sooner? What does it mean to “hit bottom?” We often look at a person who has lost everything—job, car, home, respect, often family relationships have been destroyed by broken promises. They “hit bottom” when they are homeless and living on the streets. They’ve hit bottom when no one will loan them money to make it through their current “crisis.” One ex-addict told me, “ ‘Hitting bottom’ meant giving up my dignity and self-respect—doing whatever it took to get money for drugs. I even sold my body for a few dollars.” For another young mother on her way to “hitting bottom” it meant losing custody of her children—and still falling deeper into her addiction.“‘Hitting bottom’ meant I was in so much pain—I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. ‘Hitting bottom’ meant I was ready to change—to give up on my miserable life and find help.” “Hitting bottom” means facing reality—hitting a hard painful place— with nowhere else to go. Do you know someone struggling with an addiction? We have many resources that are here to help them. What are some ways you can think of that will raise the bottom in your loved ones life?...
