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Katy Christian Magazine
Every week Katy Christian Magazine gets about four to five requests for book reviews from various publishing companies across our nation and we turn down over ninety percent of them.
My bookshelves at the office are full of wonderful Christian books that they have sent me, and quite truthfully, I have not read a single one. Truth be told, I am not much of a reader even though I should really spend more time doing so.
When local Christian author Richard Capriola of the world renowned Menninger Clinic in Houston asked me to read his and to do a book review, something inside me told me that maybe I should.
So yesterday I spent the better part of the day consuming The Addicted Child and I am so thankful that I did. Once I started reading it, I simply could not stop.
I had no idea that over 70 percent of children, before they reach the age of 18, will experiment with drugs and/or alcohol, and that every year over 20,000 children under the age of 18 will lose their lives to this disease.
Just over 12 years ago I lost someone very close to me, whom I loved with all of my heart, to suicide. The warning signs were all there, I just did know what to look for. After that tragic day I have lived in a perpetual state of guilt that has tormented me every day since.
Earlier this year I almost lost a young woman that I have known and loved since birth to a drug overdose. If not for the quick action of her friends and family, the story would have been so much worse. Again, the warning signs were there.
As parents we believe that something like this could or never will happen to us, until it does. We live in ignorance, or even worse, denial, that our child will ever be led astray. But in a society with easy access to virtually every drug imaginable, the temptations are all too real for today’s child.
I had no clue that drug, alcohol, eating disorders, and yes, even gaming and cellphone addictions, are not addictions at all. As The Addicted Child clearly points out, there are no “addicted children.” There are simply kids trying to self-medicate away their pain from a whole host of issues.
The book is an easy to read, encyclopedia of sorts, that covers any and everything that we as parents, need to know. From what each drug addiction looks like and for what warning signs each possesses. It also shows you what to do when discovered, and what we as parents, should be doing to intervene.
It even gives you a vast wealth of knowledge from little known sources of support groups and government resources that very few know to exist.
I highly recommend The Addicted Child to every parent, grand parent, and even student, as a must read. Do not wait until tragedy strikes before you act. It takes a day to become informed, it takes a lifetime to heal a deeply wounded heart. Otherwise you could spend the rest of your life asking the same question over and over again, “what if…”
-- Joseph Menslage, Katy Christian Magazine
Katy Magazine News
Katy Author Advises Parents on Warnings and Dangers of Teen Medicine Abuse
National numbers of teen addiction continue to rise but most parents don’t realize how frequently these addictions involve easily accessible prescription drugs. A local author hopes to give parents a “roadmap” on how to navigate so this dark chapter isn’t a part of their teen’s story.
Alarming Teen Addiction Statistics Continue to Rise
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Twenty percent of teens admit to taking prescription drugs without a prescription. This risk continues to grow in young adults, in addition to drug and alcohol addiction. October is National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month and Richard Capriola of Katy has released a book to assist parents with this difficult subject.
“An addiction leaves parents feeling lost,” says Richard Capriola. “I want to give them a road map of what to do when they find their child is addicted to alcohol or drugs.”
Last year, 47% of American high schoolers admitted to using illicit drugs. 58% say they have drunk alcohol, according to American Addictions Centers.
"Parents Should be Aware"
“Kids can start abusing at any age,” says Capriola. “Parents should be aware of any changes they see in their child.”
Capriola has worked as a mental health counselor for 21 years including time at the nationally ranked Menninger Clinic in Houston, where he specialized in teen mental health.
“60-70% of those with substance abuse have a mental health issue as well,” says Capriola. “The two go hand in hand in many cases and you have to treat both.”
In his book, “The Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse,” Capriola hopes to give parents a resource on how to help their teen. The book also has an accompanying parent workbook for an additional resource.
Capriola stresses the importance of the comprehensive assessment to look beyond an addiction to find the true cause, which sometimes could be mental health.
“When you drill down deeper you usually find a bigger issue on why they are using,” says Capriola.
“The Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse” helps parents with:
- Signs to look for that can indicate a child may be abusing drugs.
- Steps to take right away once a problem is recognized.
- When to seek professional help.
“Parents must be aware and educated,” says Capriola. “I heard too many parents say, ‘I had no idea this was going on’ and I wanted to help.”
-- Natalie Cook, Katy Magazine News, October 22, 2020
Helping Parents Through What Could Arguably Be One of the Most Difficult Times in their Lives
By Rachel M. Anderson, Contributing Writer
Texas Substance Abuse Counselor Authors Guidebook for Dealing with The Addicted Child
(Houston, TX) – Has your child gone from being very social to being withdrawn? Have his or her grades
slipped, friend groups changed, and things that used to bring joy, like participating in sports or drawing, gone by
the wayside? If so, your child may be using alcohol or drugs.
Substance abuse is a bigger problem in this country than many people think. According to the 2018 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, 1 in 26 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, or 3.8 percent of American adolescents,
need substance abuse treatment. Of those adolescents in need of treatment, 1.5 percent or 358,000 of them have
co-occurring mental health issues.
Richard Capriola, author of The Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse coming out
in Oct. 2020, says the statistics are spot on. Capriola worked as an addiction counselor at The Menninger Clinic
in Houston, Tex., from 2007 to 2019. He estimates that 60 to 75 percent of the adolescents he treated during that
time period had co-occurring disorders. In addition to battling a substance abuse disorder, they were also
struggling with issues like depression and anxiety, or some sort of emerging personality disorder.
Capriola points out that a lot of parents may suspect their child is using alcohol or a drug but are usually
surprised at how extensive the use is or how issues like anxiety, depression and personality disorders may be
contributing to their child’s substance use. “Finding out their child may need treatment for substance abuse and
the accompanying psychological issues can be a pretty heartbreaking experience for these families. I think
many of them feel alone without a roadmap to guide them,” says Capriola.
So, after retiring from The Menninger Clinic in Spring 2019, he decided to provide them with one. The
Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse and its accompanying workbook provide
everything from information on how to get an assessment to where to find appropriate treatment.
The book is divided into 17 chapters. The text educates parents on everything from the types of drugs kids are
abusing and what drug use does to the adolescent brain, to the kinds of treatment available for substance abuse.
At the back of the book is an extensive list of resources that parents can tap into to find support for their child
and the rest of the family.
The accompanying workbook offers a way for parents to keep notes about such things as the family history of
substance abuse, which substances their kids are abusing, what interventions they’ve tried and the results, and
how they are feeling about the situation they find themselves in. The workbook also includes tips to help
parents cope with anxiety and connect with their child.
“I really wrote this book and its accompanying workbook to be a roadmap to guide parent
So, after retiring from The Menninger Clinic in Spring 2019, he decided to provide them with one. The
Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse and its accompanying workbook provide
everything from information on how to get an assessment to where to find appropriate treatment.
The book is divided into 17 chapters. The text educates parents on everything from the types of drugs kids are
abusing and what drug use does to the adolescent brain, to the kinds of treatment available for substance abuse.
At the back of the book is an extensive list of resources that parents can tap into to find support for their child
and the rest of the family.
The accompanying workbook offers a way for parents to keep notes about such things as the family history of
substance abuse, which substances their kids are abusing, what interventions they’ve tried and the results, and
how they are feeling about the situation they find themselves in. The workbook also includes tips to help
parents cope with anxiety and connect with their child.
“I really wrote this book and its accompanying workbook to be a roadmap to guide parents through the process
of how to help their child, and how to help their family,” says Capriola, who adds that the majority of the
content in the book and workbook is based on materials he prepared while working with adolescents. “Some of
the chapters, like the one that deals with how drugs work in the adolescent brain, a lot of that material comes
from group presentations I made to my patients.”