I wasn't meaning Children & Youth, or Child Protective Services - there are family services, usually, in each county that provide family counseling,
individual counseling, and, hopefully, comprehensive services that might include in-school assistance, at-home supervision and individual work (Therapeutic
Staff Support is what they call it here), and anything else that may help get a child and family back on track. In this area there are both private and
publicly-funded organizations that do that sort of thing. I realize it varies a lot from place to place, but if anything like it exists near you it could be
a lifesaver.
In addition to that, some of the best counseling my difficult child 1 got was in his outpatient rehab program. If your difficult child is doing pot (and almost certainly more), this
might be a way to approach it - look for drug and alcohol services for teens in your town and talk to them. The staff would likely know of other programs
available and give you some direction. If your difficult child refuses all counseling you can hopefully find something for yourself. If he continues on his present
course he's likely to get into the juvenile system fairly soon (unfortunately). At that point he might have mandated counseling. Our difficult child 1 refused medications
and counseling all through his teens and only went, eventually, when he had a drug charge and we told him he was going to outpatient, period. We didn't
really give an 'or else' - and he didn't push it then because he could see his back was to the wall.
Check your phone book, check online with your county web site, your educational intermediate unit (if there's one where you live), etc., and see what you
can access. Good luck!
