Students Attending Drug Education Program

Contrary to belief, adolescents are eager to talk about alcohol, other drug use, and personal health. As their social, cognitive and affective development matures and merges with a culture that all too often promotes health-damaging behaviors; the issue of substance use becomes more than a curiosity but a subject that is impacting their relationships. Determining whether to use substances or not is a contemporary developmental task for adolescents.

What We Do

Our seminars utilize a multi-modal approach including lecture, personal narratives, discussion, exercises, role-play, and the presentation of video clips to conceptualize a humanistic approach to personal health and to honor the non-linear learning characteristics of today’s teens. We draw from both developmental and learning theories to shape our programs.  We call this process “Psychoedutainment”.  Language creates reality, in order to change reality, you have to change language.  Our intention is a different conversation.  We see value in the process of talking, exploring thoughts and feelings around the role substances play in the lives of students, and reflection.

Traditional Drug Education

“Content, Context, Connection (If attempted)

Alternative  (Our Model)

“Context, Connectedness, Content”

Our seminars are co-created with students allowing the experience to change both the educator and student.  We believe intimidation, half-truths, and scare tactics are poor choices to build a foundation of trust with students.  We create educational experiences that are meaningful, practical, and empower students to seek the highest level of personal health.

Most learning that happens in schools happens “in between the lines” – it is informal and springs from people engaged in collaborative ventures with each other.  We design our seminars with this intention so each student can derive personal meaning from the work.

Teens face many challenges today regarding choices in their health.  We live in a culture where the messages of moderation and value-based decisions are drown out by messages of excess, distraction, and consumerism.  In response to these challenges, our seminars utilize research-based best practices and theory-driven instructional methodology.

Our seminars are often described by students as a four day conversation.  Many students have commented that they never felt they were being taught, but rather had a personal guide in a process of discovery.  We borrow the definition of dialogue from Duncan Campbell:

“Dialogue is not about judging, weighing, or making decisions, but about understanding and learning.  Dialogue dispels stereotypes, builds trust, and enables people to be open to perspectives that are very different from their own.”