Abstract
Child and adolescent addictology is an emerging segment within the system of addiction treatment in the Czech Republic. Historically, the Child and Adolescent Detoxification Centre in Prague was the first and only medical facility providing this type of care.
Addiction treatment of juvenile patients has its own specific aspects and involves, in addition to the young age, a number of factors that complicate the achievement of successful treatment. In the following case series, we present two cases of adolescent patients (15 and 17 years old), users of illegal addictive substances, undergoing the process of detoxification.The aim of the article is to illustrate differences in the extent of adolescent patients' motivation to change, the support from their family and social environment, and the prospects of their functioning in the future.
The input data was provided by interviews with selected patients at the time of their hospitalisation in the Child and Adolescent Detoxification Centre. The data was further expanded to include interviews with the patients' statutory representatives and the detoxification centre staff and therapeutic notes from the programmes and the patients' documentation.
All data was anonymised, and authorisation for the publishing of the case series was granted on the basis of informed consent provided by the patients and their statutory representatives. The consent of the head physician was also sought.
The first case concerns a 15-year-old patient involving the heavy daily use of cannabis, the unstable background of a divorced family, resistance to change, a pre-contemplation stage, lack of self-reflection, and refusal to deal with the situation. The second case concerns a 17-year-old patient who uses methamphetamine and heroin intravenously.
Despite her complicated family situation characterised by drug-using relatives, she shows inner motivation and is in the decision-making stage, i.e. determined to enter follow-up treatment and change her life situation. Ensuring follow-up long-term care is essential to stabilise patients.