Book excerpt: The first "adolescent primer" on the market Destructive trends among today's youth are growing, making life very different from when their parents were growing up. The primary four self-destructive behaviors in adolescence today are excessive alcohol and substance abuse, promiscuity, self mutilation (ie: cutting and burning), and eating disorders. These will be covered in detail, along with other issues like Internet addiction and suicide. These problems are not only detrimental to teens' mental and physical health, but the legal consequences for injurious behavior have also changed. Identification and prevention are the most important aspects in stopping teenage self-destructive behavior. This book offers a comprehensive look at teens self destructive behavior and gives parents solutions for dealing with it. Helping Your Troubled Teen instructs parents on how to identify an at-risk adolescent and discuss warning signs of injurious behavior, before the problem(s) become severe enough that a child is in crisis and/or legal actions are taken against them. Personal anecdotes and testimonials from both parents and their teenagers who have been confronted with and have engaged in self-destructive behavior are also included. McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric teaching facility of Harvard Medical School. Founded in 1811 as the original psychiatric department of the MGH, it moved to Belmont in 1895. McLean Hospital operates the largest psychiatric neuroscience research program of any Harvard University-affiliated facility and of any private psychiatric hospital in the country. The Child and Adolescent Program at McLean Hospital is one of the foremost clinical programs for helping young people and their families cope with psychiatric illness and the challenges it often brings. There are extensive ties with community services, and each therapeutic program of children and adolescents in inpatient, residential and outpatient services is tailored to the specific needs of the child and family.