For the Client

Introduction:
For the last 25 years, Drs. Marshall and Gross have treated families and teens with behavioral, emotional, and drug abuse or dependency issues. They have worked with their clients in various hospital settings, as well as in private practice. Their Back on Track aftercare outpatient program was created in response to the need for a support structure that would assist teens in sustaining newly learned behaviors when returning from various wilderness treatment and residential therapeutic programs.

Our mission is to help teens integrate the tremendous gains made from previous treatment into their home, academic, and social lives.

Back on Track Goals

• To help teens apply the skills and maturity they have gained in their therapeutic program to their lives at home and in school, and to their relationships with their friends and family.
• To empower parents to provide safe limits and parameters for their children.
• To help parents reorganize their family structure and roles. When a family member is sick or dysfunctional, the whole system reorganizes around that person to maintain balance (homeostasis). When a teen returns home from their therapeutic program, the family has to organize itself in a different and healthy manner.
• To help parents and teens to communicate feelings, fears, needs, and wishes without alienating each other.
• To help in building trust. Before teens are sent to therapeutic residential programs, they may be engaged in lying, manipulating, stealing, drug and alcohol abuse, or having problems in school. These behaviors usually result in a complete breakdown of trust, communication, and closeness. Back on Track helps families hold on to the positive results of the teen’s residential program, restore trust, and achieve closeness.
• To reinforce teens’ self esteem and confidence through honesty, self-awareness, predictable behavior, and new achievements.

Admissions
Admission into Back on Track requires the following:

1. The adolescent must have successfully completed a therapeutic wilderness program or a residential treatment program. Both the treatment team at the program they are coming from and the Back on Track team participate in determining what constitutes successful completion.
2. Both the adolescent and the parents must meet with a member of the Back on Track team to assess their fitness for the program.
3. A commitment to full participation by the parents and adolescent in all Back on Track groups.
4. A commitment from the adolescent to abstain from drugs and alcohol for the duration of the program. We encourage parents to make the same commitment, but this is not required.

Program Description
The Back on Track aftercare program consists of 12 consecutive weeks of various outpatient support groups (teen support group, parent support group, and multi-family support group). These groups are educational and supportive, but not designed to be a substitute for therapy.

Teens
Teens meet twice per week in a confidential teen support group and once a week in the multi-family support group. Within the safety of these professionally guided groups, they are free to discuss family issues, peer issues, and struggles with staying substance-free. Teens get support, straightforward and honest feedback about their behavior, and the opportunity to share with other teens who are dealing with many of the same challenges. Their parents and siblings join them in the multi-family support group. This group helps them to bring the new insights and current issues generated within their peer group sessions into exploration within a family context. In addition, these groups also offer the teen a chance to understand the other family members’ perspectives and needs.

Parents
Parents participate in two weekly support group meetings. In the confidential parent support group, they are safe to discuss their fears, hopes, and successes. They can share their struggles with setting limits and receive support and ideas from other parents, as well as and advice and education from the group leader. In the multi-family support group, parents can hear the concerns and issues presented by the teens and other family members, and express their own in a supportive and professionally guided group of families.

Families
The family dynamic is explored within the weekly multi-family group. It is here that siblings can participate. The family can practice new communication and problem solving skills, share supportive experiences with other families, and address issues that arise from the newly reorganized family structure.

Our program is process-oriented and teaches practical tools (such as communication techniques, problem solving methods, and ways of building trust) that will help families after they complete the program.

Current Schedule:

Parent and Teen support groups meet at the same time in different rooms.

General Information:

• Ages: Our typical ‘teen’ client ranges in age from 14-20 years old.
• Siblings are encouraged to participate, but not required to do so.
• Size Limits: Multi-family support groups consist of 3-7 families.
• Late Entry: The Back on Track program runs for 12 consecutive weeks and, while most families begin the program together, we do allow late entry up until the 6th week..
• Location: The Back on Track aftercare program is located in the charming and serene setting of Mill Valley, California. Mill Valley is located in a central location in Marin County, with easy access from all parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Intake Session: Please contact us to discuss your family’s situation. It would help us if you would complete our Family Information Form and email it to us prior to our first appointment. You may download the form by clicking here.

We are fortunate to work with clients who are very motivated and eager to participate in the Back on Track aftercare program. Our approach is respectful to the teens and their families.

We encourage parents to maximize their teen’s chances for a smooth and successful reintegration into family and community by further exploring the Back on Track aftercare program.

To learn more about Drs. Gross and Marshall, please click here. You may also contact them by phone at:
Shlomit Gross, Ph.D   (415) 383-8172
Charles Marshall, Ph.D   (415) 970-0468