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Welcome to The Seven Challenges

The Seven Challenges® Program is designed specifically for adolescents with drug problems, to motivate a decision and commitment to change - and to support success in implementing the desired changes. The Program simultaneously helps young people address their drug problems as well as their co-occurring life skill deficits, situational problems, and psychological problems.

The challenges provide a framework for helping youth think through their own decisions about their lives and their use of alcohol and other drugs. Counselors using The Seven Challenges Program teach youth to identify and work on the issues most relevant to them. In sessions, as youth discuss the issues that matter most, counselors seamlessly integrate the Challenges as part of the conversation.
seven challenges

We decided to open up and talk honestly about ourselves and about alcohol and other drugs.

We looked at what we liked about alcohol and other drugs, and why we were using them.

We looked at our use of alcohol or other drugs to see if it has caused harm or could cause harm.

We looked at our responsibility and the responsibility of others for our problems.

We thought about where we seemed to be headed, where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to accomplish.

We made thoughtful decisions about our lives and about our use of alcohol and other drugs.

We followed through on our decisions about our lives and drug use. If we saw problems, we went back to earlier challenges and mastered them.

© Copyright Robert Schwebel, Ph.D