Jeff Wolfsberg and Associates, Inc. is a privately owned consulting firm that partners with independent and public secondary schools,  colleges, and universities to help design, implement, and sustain research-supported curricula, model policies, and outstanding educational programs on student health issues. Our integrative prevention approach is evidence-based and theory driven.  We integrate the three prevailing theories in drug education research: (1) Risk and Protective Factors; (2) Developmental Assets; and (3) The Resiliency Model.

Jeff is a highly regarded  leader in the world of school-based drug education and early intervention.  With more than a decade of counseling and educational experience,  Jeff has worked with more than 1,500 of the world’s finest independent secondary schools, colleges, and universities in enhancing their response to underage drinking, alcohol misuse, and teen drug use.

As a professional speaker and educator, Jeff has designed and presented programs to universities, Fortune 500 companies, educational conferences, and professional associations.  Jeff’s articles and comments on adolescent substance abuse and personal development appear in many publications, including TIME Magazine, The Boston Globe, Educational Digest, Independent School Magazine.  He is a regular guest expert for FOX TV and has provided commentary on adolescent and family wellness for National Public Radio affiliates and other national media outlets.  He is also the author and narrator of the two-disc instructional audio program “Mom, Did You Ever Try Drugs – Answers to the Most-Asked Questions about Parenting, Alcohol and Other Drugs” and “7 Mistakes Parents Make When Talking With Their Teen About Dating.”

Our “Behavioral Model” Approach

We take a cognitive-behavioral approach to addressing a biopsychosocial problem – namely teen drinking, mental health, and other drug use.  The essence of the cognitive-behavioral approach is (1) identify the behavior (s) to change, and (2) understand the functional relationship between the individual’s behaviors and the context in which the behaviors are embedded.  The cognitive-behavioral approach teaches students how to anticipate, identify, and manage high-risk situations, while also preparing for the future by striving for lifestyle balance; it seeks to outfit the student with the necessary behavioral “tools” to use whenever and wherever signs of trouble appear, rather than encouraging students to rely on “willpower” alone to manage behavioral changes.

We believe that effective drug education needs to abandon the old style where students ask questions of the authority figure and the authority figure dispenses wisdom and advice.  This approach reinforces the reliance on an outside figure and the tendency to look for truth outside ourselves.  We believe that teens have a natural internal compass to move towards health.  Our instruction assists in this natural movement.

How Would Your School Be Different?

• If students looked forward to attending prevention seminars and had a greater sense of ownership over the design and agenda?
• If everyone sent the same message about wellness – “many messengers sending the same message”?
• If your school policy/behavior around wellness was consistent with the your espoused values?

Drug Education Program Overview

Prevention is more than random good acts, done with the hope of touching “just one person.”  It is more than slogans, negative media messages, or an ex-addict telling their story.  Addressing substance use and personal health in school begins with early childhood education, continues through high school and into college.

Research and our professional experience informs us that an effective prevention strategy is better understood not as a single approach, but rather a portfolio of approaches to reduce the harms associated with substance use and promote healthy behaviors.  A single approach to drug prevention cannot meet the norms of every school community or the needs of every student.

Adolescent substance use is a complex social problem requiring the hard work of systems change and committed individuals.  Moving beyond “quick and easy,” schools and communities are encouraged to build multi-dimensional programs with intensity and duration.

A well conceived, comprehensive alcohol and other drug prevention strategy is a major undertaking, and one which requires substantive commitment to its planning, implementation, and sustenance. Coordinated, long-term efforts hold the best possibilities for making a permanent and meaningful difference in your community.

Our Consultation and Programs Help Schools To:

• Mobilize and engage diverse members of the community in positive youth development.
• Establish a shared vision, common language and collaborative prevention planning structure.
• Develop a data-driven profile of the school’s risks, strengths and challenges.
• Establish action priorities based on the data showing school and community needs.
• Develop clear and measurable outcomes that can be tracked over time to show progress.

Key Features of Our Drug Education Program:

• (IOM Type) Universal & Indicated Prevention Program
• Systems-oriented AND individual-oriented
• Evidence-based & Theory driven
• Combining both prevention and health promotion activities