The Strategic Use of Urinalysis in the Treatment of Adolescents in Family Therapy

Recently, a great deal of attention has been focused upon urine screening for possible drug use because of President Reagan's “jar wars” proposals regarding federal employees. In therapy with drug-abusing adolescents and their families, the Family Systems team within the Adolescent Drug Treatment Program at Texas Tech University has attempted to create uses for urinalyses that move beyond the issues of use and nonuse of substances to systemically therapeutic strategies that seek to create contextual realities and maneuver system change. This paper outlines theoretical and clinical goals and strategies utilized by our team.