Drug Addiction And Internship Analysis

The last six months of my life have been life changing. Coming back from an internship in Washington D.C. I took a job working at as a mentor for a residential treatment center. This treatment center works with specifically with teenagers with drug addictions and behavioral issues. As I was interviewed, the interviewer explained one of our primary goals, as a treatment center, is to help the boys develop better relationships. According to my interviewer, these improved relationships were the means by which the boys were to kick their addictions. This was a complete paradigm shift for me—I was being told that bettering relationships was the remedy for drug addiction.
Up to that point in my life, all the second-hand stories of drug addicts I had heard followed a traditional storyline. Justin got curious one day and decided to the shady character at school. One thing led to another, and Justin was a full-fledged criminal (stealing things or money from friends or family members or out of cars, shoplifting) in order to feed his habit, he was expelled from school (in fact, several schools) ostracized from his family and any real friends, and he eventually is locked up for possession or dealing charges. Or there was the other story. Justin got in with the crowd at school, …show more content…
I come to realize that many addicts’ stories possess many of the same themes, while still maintaining their own originality. Through my experiences, I have a firm belief that the quality of one’s relationships and connections with others plays a large role in one’s susceptibility to an addiction whether that be drugs, pornography, or some other act. I have discovered that those in government who are hard on crime (particularly drug-related crime) are clueless, when it comes to understanding how to fight the war on drugs, and that our justice system is only breeding more addicts and harder